This high protein creamy ground beef noodle casserole is rich, cozy, and packed with flavor, but gets a boost from cottage cheese that makes it extra satisfying without feeling heavy.

A nostalgic, family-friendly ground beef noodle casserole that uses cottage cheese to make a genuinely high-protein dinner—without tasting like “health food.” Each serving has 18g of protein!

It’s like a homemade version of Hamburger Helper—cheap, familiar, kid-friendly and comforting, but this one is secretly high protein which makes it more healthy!

Love easy ground beef dinners? Try our Korean Ground Beef Noodles or Korean Beef Cottage Cheese Protein Bowl next.

My mom was in the depths of motherhood—five kids, a husband traveling a lot for work, and dinner was starting to feel like a burden. Then my grandma called and said, “I have this casserole recipe for you. It’s super easy and cheap to make!”

My mom needed both, and this casserole has been in our family ever since.

Over the years, we’ve figured out how to make it even better: cottage cheese makes the filling extra creamy while adding protein, without making this taste remotely like “health food.”

This crockpot lasagna is cheesy, saucy and loaded with layers of tender noodles, beef and Italian sausage, cottage cheese and plenty of mozzarella. With about 20 minutes of prep and no need to boil the noodles first, you get all the layers of a classic homemade lasagna without hovering over a pot of pasta or heating up the oven.

And YES, you really can put the noodles in uncooked! They soften right in the sauce as the lasagna slowly cooks, which is exactly why this has become one of my favorite ways to make lasagna.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Ground Beef: Adds hearty, beefy flavor to the meat sauce. We combine it with Italian sausage so neither one overpowers the lasagna.
• Italian Sausage: The easiest way to add loads of flavor without measuring a bunch of extra seasonings. Mild or hot Italian sausage will both work.
• Yellow Onion: Mince it fairly small so it melts into the meat sauce as it cooks.
• Garlic: Fresh garlic adds another layer of savory flavor to the sauce.
• Marinara Sauce: This is one place where using a really good jarred sauce makes a difference. We love Rao’s, but use your favorite marinara or Bolognese sauce.
• Heavy Cream: Just a splash rounds out the acidity of the tomato sauce and makes it a little richer. It’s optional, so feel free to leave it out.
• Lemon Juice: It might sound unexpected, but a little squeeze brightens the rich meat and cheese layers.
• Cottage Cheese: Creates the creamy cheese layer in place of traditional ricotta. We love the texture and mild flavor.
• Egg: Helps bind the cottage cheese mixture so the lasagna holds its layers better when sliced.
• Parmesan Cheese: Freshly grated Parmesan adds salty, nutty flavor to the cottag

Fresh, crisp vegetables, creamy dressing, AND chicken and bacon? I never really have to sell this Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad to get someone to try it. With all this and more, it’s no wonder that it is consistently a hit at our table.

I love pasta salads. They’re so versatile, supporting a seemingly endless array of ingredients. And I’m always experimenting with new versions. I was making my bacon pasta salad the other day and on a whim I tossed in some grilled chicken. It turned out soooo good! I knew I had to recreate it as it’s own recipe asap. So, here we are.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

When I was developing this recipe for chicken bacon ranch pasta salad, I couldn’t stop coming back for more. It’s so snackable! Light enough to enjoy in the summertime, but hearty enough to feed a crowd. And what little leftovers we had were just as good for lunch the next day.

Don’t have homemade ranch dressing in the refrigerator? Don’t worry! I’ve included some instructions below on how to make it from scratch. It’s well worth a few minutes to make the dressing yourself. Once you taste the difference from store-bought, you’ll never want to go back.

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This one pot Garlic Butter Pasta is creamy, cozy, and packed with rich flavor from garlic, butter, and freshly grated parmesan. Sometimes the simplest recipes are the ones you come back to over and over again.

It’s the perfect quick dinner, easy side dish, or late-night comfort meal that is ready in just 15 minutes!

In college, I lived on buttery noodles with mozzarella or Parmesan cheese. It was quick, easy, and I wasn’t super into spaghetti sauce, so it was my way of enjoying pasta. It’s perfect for anyone who’s single, in college, has a family, or is an empty nester, so I love that it works for everyone! This garlic butter pasta is an elevated version of my dorm room favorite!

Ingredients You’ll Need For Garlic Butter Pasta

This recipe uses just a handful of pantry staples, but when they come together, the result is silky, flavorful pasta with incredible depth. Freshly grated parmesan makes all the difference here, so don’t skip that step.

• Fresh Parmesan Cheese: Freshly grated for the best melt and flavor. Blending it into a fine texture helps it cling beautifully to the pasta.
• Olive Oil: Sautés the garlic and help toast the pasta slightly for added depth.
• Garlic: Minced fresh garlic gives the dish its signature savory flavor.
• Ditalini Pasta: Small tube-shaped pasta that cooks directly in the broth and absorbs flavor as it softens. Orzo or macaroni works in a pinch.
• Chicken Broth: Cooks the pasta while infusing it with rich, savory flavor.
• Heavy Cream: Adds silkiness and brings everything together into a smooth sauce.
• Unsalted Butter: Stirred in at the end for richness and a glossy finish.
• Salt and Black Pepper: Balance and enhance all the flavors.
• Fresh Parsley: Adds freshness and color right before serving.
• Aglio Seasoning or Red Pepper Flakes: Optional for a little heat and extra depth.

With just a few simple ingredients, this one pot garlic butter pasta transforms into a creamy, garlicky dish. Measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

How to Make This Pasta Dish

This is a true one-pot pasta recipe, meaning the noodles cook right in the broth. That means less cleanup and more flavor infused into every bite.

1. Blend: Add a chunk of Parmesan to a blender and pulse until finely grated, almost powdery. This helps it melt smooth

Rich, creamy Kielbasa Pasta with broccoli has been one of the highlights at our dinner table lately. With such a simple list of ingredients and incredible flavors that come together in no time at all, it’s sure to make multiple appearances at your table, too.

I love to fill out our pasta dishes with plenty of vegetables (see our one-pot jambalaya pasta as an example), so there is almost as much broccoli on display here as there is pasta. Add some hearty sausage and sharp, crumbly cheese on top, and you’ve got a weeknight meal with something for everyone.

Kielbasa Pasta

Many years ago, we had a dinner tradition called “not-eat foods”. Each of my boys was allowed to choose one food which they could skip tasting, if it was part of dinner that night. For several years, my eldest son chose broccoli as his not-eat food.

So when this pasta was a huge hit with ALL of my family, I knew I’d found a new dinner staple. My eldest went back for seconds, and even thirds! It makes me grin to watch my son who normally dislikes broccoli eat every single saucy broccoli bite.

Ingredients and Substitutions

The Pasta –