Dutch Oven Lasagna Recipe

Start your coals before prepping the lasagna… we use a charcoal chimney starter.  They work really well and only require 1 sheet of newspaper and no lighter fluid :)

I made the meat sauce and cottage cheese layer at home and kept them in glad containers in the cooler. This makes it so much quicker to get the lasagna cooking:

Start layering.  Break the noodles to fit your Dutch oven.

Layers finished and ready for the hot coals:

Use enough coals to equal 350 degrees.  Here is a general temperature guide for Dutch oven cooking:

Source: scoutingmagazine.org via Prairie on Pinterest

However, I don’t find that it applies well for high altitudes.  So if you are camping higher than sea level and your Dutch oven doesn’t seem to be heating up well, try adding a few more coals :)  At 7600 feet, we needed 17 coals on top, 11 on bottom to equal 350 degrees.  And I added 2 coals to the bottom for the last 10 minutes.

Bake for 45-50 minutes.  Remove top and continue cooking 5-10 minutes more.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Finished!

Mom’s Famous Lasagna Sauce:
1 pound hamburger, browned and drained
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
28 oz. can diced or crushed tomatoes
8 ounces tomato sauce
1.5 cups water (omit if you cook your noodles first)
1 cup salsa
2 tsp. sugar
1-2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. fennel seed
1.5 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil leaves
1 tsp. salt
Cottage cheese layer: 16 oz. cottage cheese
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup grated parmesan
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. minced parsley or 1 tsp. dried parsley
4-6 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
9-12 regular lasagna noodles

Combine sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine cottage cheese, egg, salt, parmesan and garlic.  Mix well.

Breaking noodles to fit your Dutch oven, layer 1/3 of the uncooked noodles, about 1/3 of the meat sauce, 1/3 the cottage cheese and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers twice.

Cook with 17 coals on top, 11 on bottom for 45-55 minutes.  Uncover and allow the bottom coals to continue cooking for 5-10 minutes more.  Let stand 5 minutes with no heat. 

Enjoy the view while you dine: