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You are here: Home / Recipes and Cooking Tips / Mexican Lasagna

Mexican Lasagna

April 1, 2011 by Alea Milham 10 Comments

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Hot Mexican Lasagna (640x503)

Lasagna is one of those meals that is almost impossible to make without compromising your food budget for the week. Even vegetarian versions are expensive because the cheeses are just so pricey.

Last week I had a revelation…my kids don’t like those expensive cheeses. I have been bribing persuading them to eat expensive cheese that they don’t like, when I could have just been feeding them the cheap cheese that they do like. I decided to replace all of the cheese with mozzarella cheese, which I buy in bulk, shred, and freeze. Then I decided to make my lasagna even more frugal by replacing 1/2 of the meat with black beans. It only seemed natural to use taco seasoning and salsa after that… My kids absolutely loved it, went back for seconds, and asked for the leftovers for breakfast the next morning.

Mexican Lasagna
 
Print
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
55 mins
Total time
1 hour 5 mins
 
Author: Alea
Recipe type: Main
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • ½ pound hamburger
  • ½ medium onion, chopped
  • 1 cup black beans (How to quickly cook beans in a pressure cooker)
  • 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 3 teaspoons taco seasoning or 1 pkg. (Taco Seasoning Mix Recipe)
  • 16 oz. cottage cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 9 - 12 lasagna noodles, prepared according to package directions
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • ¼ cup salsa
  • ½ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro (or use 1½ teaspoons dried)
Directions
  1. Brown hamburger with onion. Add beans, tomatoes and taco seasoning and mix well.
  2. In a small bowl combine cottage cheese, egg, and mozzarella cheese.
  3. In a small bowl combine tomato sauce with salsa.
  4. Spoon ½ of tomato sauce mixture into the bottom of a greased casserole dish. Place 3 – 4 lasagna noodles over the sauce.
  5. Spoon ½ of the meat and bean mixture onto the lasagna noodles.
  6. Spread ½ of cheese mixture over the meat and beans.
  7. Place another 3 – 4 noodles down and then top with remaining meat mixture and cheese mixture.
  8. Place remaining noodles on top of cheese mixture. Top with remaining tomato sauce mixture. Top with ½ cup of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with cilantro.
  9. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes.
3.1.09

 

Slice of Mexican Lasagna (640x484)

Have you ever forced an expensive food on your family, when there was a frugal alternative?

For more delicious recipes, visit Foodie Friday,  Feed Me,Tweet Me, Follow Me Home and $5 Dinner Challenge.

 

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About Alea Milham

Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.

Comments

  1. April @ The 21st Century Housewife says

    April 8, 2011 at 4:28 pm

    Oh Alea, you've combined my two favourite cuisines here – Mexican and Italian! What a fabulous recipe! I can't wait to give it a try. Thank you for sharing it with Feed Me Tweet Me Follow Me Home – I really appreciate all your support!

    Reply
  2. [email protected] says

    April 2, 2011 at 8:59 pm

    I'm so with you on adding the beans! I've been doing the same thing lately. They fill everyone up, save a bit at the checkout, and cut down on the meat factor.

    Nice recipe 🙂

    Reply
  3. Elsa says

    April 2, 2011 at 1:47 pm

    Yes, kids never appreciate quality. haha! Looks delicious!

    Reply
  4. Joanne says

    April 2, 2011 at 1:05 pm

    Well, I do love expensive cheeses but I definitely also adore this version of lasagna! What a fun fusion twist!

    Reply
  5. Shana says

    April 2, 2011 at 4:13 am

    Oh goodness. Mexican and lasagna in one meal. I am in heaven. Thank you I will be trying this one.

    Reply
  6. J L Health 918-836-0565 says

    April 1, 2011 at 10:31 pm

    I love mexican food and could eat it twice a day with no problem!! But I have to add any heat to it after the fact as the boys aren't big fans…Glad to have you in the Hearth and Soul hop!

    Reply
  7. Swathi says

    April 1, 2011 at 8:02 pm

    Love this Mexican touch to Italian dish.

    Reply
  8. Alea Milham says

    April 1, 2011 at 6:57 pm

    All I served as a side was a garden salad. I am lucky that my family likes salads because they are very easy to put together.

    Reply
  9. Laura says

    April 1, 2011 at 5:50 pm

    I don't think I've ever forced an expensive food on my family, but they don't seem to be fans of some of the really expensive stuff (like steak).

    This recipe looks fantastic. I cannot wait to try this! We love Mexican food, love lasagna so it should be very popular here! It definitely would make great breakfast leftovers (if there is any leftover, that is!). What did you serve for sides?

    Reply

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Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.

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