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Creamy Venison Lasagna with Cottage Cheese is a traditional lasagna made with deer meat. This hearty pasta dish makes enough for a crowd!
Get ready to make the lasagna of your dreams! If you are intimidated by cooking with deer meat, don't be! You cannot taste the difference between ground venison and traditional ground beef in this recipe. And, if the idea of cooking with deer meat bothers you, substitute the ground venison for ground beef!
This recipe feeds a crowd. I swear this lasagna weighs 5 pounds. If you are looking for another crowd size meal, try my Sweet and Spicy Venison Chili. Another venison dish, this chili is full of vegetables and spices and slowly cooks all day. It is perfect for football parties! Or, try these Crockpot Chicken and Vegetable Enchiladas! The meat and vegetables cook in the slow cooker and then are baked to a cheesy perfection!
Venison Lasagna tastes like a cheesy, meat pasta dish flavored with traditional Italian spices in a tomato sauce combined with a creamy cottage cheese layer and layered with mozzarella cheese. In other words, venison lasagna tastes just like traditional beef lasagna!
I can't tell you how many times I have served venison and people stop in their tracks and say that they don't like or eat venison. But, if I never mention that the meal is venison, EVERYONE loves it! Heck, my Sweet and Spicy Venison Chili won second place in a Crock Pot Cook Off and half of the people who attended told me they didn't like venison! Trust me, this Venison Lasagna is a winner and tastes like a traditional lasagna. Delicious!
Level of Difficulty: Medium! I give this a medium rating not because it is a difficult recipe to make but because there are multiple steps to make Venison Lasagna. I promise, these steps are simple and worth it!
Flavor: This lasagna has traditional Italian flavors combined with a spicy pork sausage. The creamy cottage cheese layer adds a smoothness to the dish.
Time: From start to finish, this lasagna takes around an hour and 20 minutes to prepare and cook. The meat simmers for 30 minutes. During that time, you can make your cottage cheese layer. After the lasagna bakes, it will need to sit for at least 10 minutes to congeal.
While the ingredient list for Venison Lasagna may seem long, most ingredients are pantry staples. This lasagna will feed your family for days so all of the ingredients are worth it.
Help! My lasagna is watery. The lasagna may look watery when you remove it from the oven. Once the lasagna sits, the sauce will continue to absorb into the noodles and other ingredients. Letting the lasagna rest will help the lasagna to stay together when you slice.
What does cottage cheese taste like in lasagna? Cottage cheese tastes just like ricotta cheese in lasagna! I like to use cottage cheese because it adds a little extra creaminess to the cheese layer.
Where can I purchase ground venison? If you don't have hunters in your life (like I do), you can purchase ground venison online from Wild Fork. They offer specialty wild game at reasonable prices!
Can I freeze venison lasagna? Yes, you can freeze lasagna. In fact, whenever I make this lasagna, I make two! One to eat now and one to freeze. Assemble the lasagna in a foil pan. Do not bake. Let the lasagna completely cool. Wrap tightly with two layers of tin foil. Freeze on a level surface. I have not kept the lasagna in the freezer for longer than 1 month.
Use a BIG pot. It may seem strange to use a pot to cook the meat but, trust me, you need a large pot! There are lots of ingredients that go in here and you don't want to have sauce spilling over a saute pan.
Try No-Boil Lasagna Noodles. While these noodles may not be the most authentic, they are easy and will save you one less pot when doing dishes.
Add veggies! If you're trying to get more vegetables into your diet or your kids diets, add some extra veggies to the sauce. Chopped peppers or diced carrots would cook well in the sauce!
Make two lasagnas! One to enjoy now and one to freeze! If you are going to get out all of the dishes and make the mess, you might as well knock out two meals. This lasagna is the perfect freezer food!
This recipe has been adapted and altered from The Pioneer Woman's Best Lasagna.
Creamy Venison Lasagna with Cottage Cheese is a traditional lasagna made with deer meat. This hearty pasta dish makes enough for a crowd!
3 Responses
Love love love venison lasagna! I make it just like this, and add whatever veggies I have on hand, onions, sweet peppers, zucchini, squash. I like a lot of sauce, and sometimes add a quart bag of blanched frozen garden tomatoes. The extra moisture is great for the no boil noodles as they will absorb it. I’ve split the recipe into (2)8×8 pans so cooking for 2, can eat one now, freeze 1 for later. This recipe is a winner! 😋
Love this! I will have to split mine next time so we aren’t eating lasagna for a week!
Love this! As a family of hunters, the freezer is always full of ground venison this time of the year. Adding the pork and the mushrooms was a new spin for me. YUMMY. Thanks.