Love lasagna but don’t love eating leftovers for a week?

If you’re cooking for one or two people, a full 9×13 pan can feel like a lot. That’s why I love making this small-batch veggie lasagna in my Pampered Chef Stoneware Loaf Pan. It makes about four generous servings—perfect for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow.

Even better? This recipe is a great way to use ingredients you already have on hand.

Here’s the recipe

Shop Your Freezer First

One of my favorite money-saving habits is freezing leftover ingredients before they go to waste.

For this lasagna, I didn’t start from scratch. I simply took a trip to my freezer!

The last time I made lasagna, I had a few cooked noodles left over. Instead of tossing them, I froze them flat in a freezer bag. When I was ready to make this smaller batch, I thawed them by covering them with hot tap water for a couple of minutes and then drained from the bag. That’s it!

I also grabbed:

• Chopped onions I had frozen in a thin layer so I could break off only what I needed.
• Freshly grated mozzarella from my freezer.
• A jar of pasta sauce from my pantry.

Meal prep doesn’t have to mean cooking entire meals ahead of time. Sometimes it’s simply saving ingredients that make dinner easier another day.

Build Flavor with Fresh Vegetables

For this version, I sautéed:

• Half a red bell pepper
• About two small carrots
• Half an onion
• Zucchini
• Fresh spinach
• One clove of garlic (because I can’t imagine pasta sauce without garlic!)

As the vegetables soften and caramelize, they create incredible flavor while adding nutrition and color to every bite.

Don’t worry if you’re using frozen onions—they thaw quickly as they cook.

A Creamier Cottage Cheese Filling

Instead of using ricotta, I use cottage cheese.

Here’s a little trick that makes a big difference:  blend about half of the cottage cheese together with some of the cooked vegetables using my Pampered Chef Twist & Chop, leaving the remaining cottage cheese whole. The result is a filling that’s creamy without losing all of its texture.

The vegetables become finely chopped—not puréed—which helps them spread beautifully between the layers.

It’s one of those simple little techniques that makes homemade lasagna even better.

Layer It Up

Assembling this smaller lasagna is just like making a full-sized one.

Start with a little sauce in the bottom of the Stoneware Loaf Pan.

Then layer:

• Lasagna noodles
• Half of the cottage cheese mixture
• More sauce
• Mozzarella cheese (I always add an extra layer—even if the recipe doesn’t call for it!)
• Repeat the layers one more time.

Don’t stress about making perfect layers. Tear the noodles if you need to. Once everything bakes together, no one will know the difference.

Baking Tips for Stoneware

Cover the pan with foil and bake for about 18 minutes.

Then remove the foil and continue baking for another 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and lightly golden.

One of my favorite Stoneware tips is to place your pan on the bottom rack of the oven. Stoneware bakes beautifully from the bottom up, giving you more even cooking and delicious results.

Why I Love This Recipe

This little lasagna checks so many boxes for me.

• It’s perfect for smaller households.
• It helps reduce food waste.
• It uses ingredients I already have in my freezer and pantry.
• It’s packed with vegetables.
• It gives me homemade comfort food without making a huge batch.

Cooking for one or two doesn’t mean giving up your favorite meals. Sometimes it just means making them a little smaller—and maybe even a little smarter.

If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how you make it your own. Do you add mushrooms? Italian sausage? Extra spinach? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Happy cooking,

Julie Gizzi
Cooking with Julie Gizzi