Name: Cottage Cheese and Ground Turkey Lasagna Roll-Ups
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 8 lasagna noodles (regular, not no-boil); 1 lb ground turkey (93% lean); 2 cups cottage cheese (full-fat or 2 percent); 2 cups fresh baby spinach (roughly chopped, or 1/2 cup thawed frozen spinach, squeezed very dry); 1 large egg; 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning; 1/2 tsp garlic powder; 1/2 tsp kosher salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper; 2 cups marinara sauce (divided, jarred or homemade); 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella (divided); 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (for topping)

From the roundup: 24 High Protein Dinner Recipes Easy Enough for Busy Weeknights

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These cottage cheese and ground turkey lasagna roll-ups have become one of my most-made weeknight dinners, and the reason is pretty simple: I can put the dish together the night before, slide it into the fridge, and bake it straight from there the next day. Active time is about 25 minutes. The rest is the oven doing its job.

The filling is cottage cheese mixed with cooked turkey, spinach, and Italian seasoning, spread down each noodle and rolled up tight. It bakes at 375 degrees for 30 minutes total, covered first to steam through, then uncovered to get the cheese bubbly. Eight rolls, four servings, no messy cutting at the table.

Cottage cheese stands in for ricotta here and honestly I stopped noticing the difference after the first time I made it. It melts into the filling and you get more protein per serving without doing anything differently.

How this one actually started

I started making these during a stretch where I was trying to get more protein into dinner without a big production. I had a tub of cottage cheese in the fridge that needed to be used and a pound of ground turkey I had already thawed. I figured if it worked in a regular lasagna, it would work rolled up. It did, and now my oldest specifically requests these when she has a long practice night because she knows they reheat fast.

The first time I made them I did not undercook the noodles enough and two of them tore when I tried to roll them. Now I pull them two full minutes before the package says, rinse them in cold water right away, and lay them flat on a kitchen towel so they are not slippery. That step matters more than it sounds.

Why you will love this

You can assemble the whole dish the night before and refrigerate it unbaked, which means dinner is mostly done before the day even starts.
Eight individual rolls portion themselves, so serving is just lifting them out with a spatula.
Cottage cheese adds protein without changing the texture you expect from a filled pasta dish.
Ground turkey keeps it lighter than a beef lasagna but the filling is still substantial enough that no one is looking for more food.
Leftovers reheat well, which matters when you are feeding people on different schedules.

Tips for success

Undercook the noodles by about 2 minutes: they finish in the oven, and a fully cooked noodle will tear when you try to roll it.
Drain the cooked turkey and let it cool for 5 minutes before mixing it into the filling. Hot meat will make the cottage cheese watery and the rolls harder to handle.
Spread the filling in a thin, even layer and leave about half an inch bare at one end of the noodle so the roll closes cleanly instead of squeezing filling out the sides.
Cover the dish tightly with foil for the first 20 minutes. Skipping the foil dries out the tops before the centers are heated through.

If your rolls turn out watery

The most common cause is wet spinach. If you use frozen spinach, squeeze it in a clean towel until almost no liquid comes out before adding it to the filling.
Fresh baby spinach that was just washed can also add water. Pat it dry or let it sit on a towel for a few minutes first.
Letting the cooked turkey cool before mixing it in also helps keep the filling from getting loose.
If the dish looks watery after baking, just let it rest uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes. Most of the liquid will reabsorb as it cools slightly.

Substitutions

Ground chicken works in place of turkey with no other changes. If you want to use extra-lean ground beef, drain it well and give it a few extra minutes to cool before mixing. Ricotta swaps in cup for cup for the cottage cheese if that is what you have. Frozen chopped kale can replace the spinach, but squeeze it completely dry first.

For picky eaters who notice the spinach, you can chop it very fine or skip it entirely without affecting how the rolls hold together. The filling is still plenty substantial without it.

Make-ahead and storage

To make ahead, assemble the rolls completely in the sauced baking dish, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Take the dish out while the oven preheats and add about 5 minutes to the covered bake time since you are starting from cold. Baked roll-ups keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. To reheat a single roll, cover it with a damp paper towel and microwave for about 90 seconds. For a larger batch, cover the dish and warm at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

To freeze, wrap individual unbaked rolls tightly in plastic wrap, place them in a freezer bag, and freeze for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen at 375 degrees, covered, for about 50 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes to brown the cheese.

Brittany Stage