Category: ricotta

It’s no secret that I love any recipe where I can make vegetables the star of the show. This healthy Zucchini Lasagna is a masterclass when it comes to working with zucchini! Even those overgrown giant zucchinis you forgot about in your garden are perfect for this recipe. I layer fresh zucchini slices (instead of noodles!) between tangy meat sauce and creamy cheese sauce for a lower-carb, gluten-free, and utterly delicious lasagna. This recipe involves a bit of technique, but it’s worth the time you’ll spend slicing the zucchini just right.

What is Zucchini Lasagna?

What Else Can I Add?

Thinly sliced mushrooms, bell peppers, and onions are all great additions to this zucchini lasagna. You can also use eggplant slices instead of zucchini if that’s what you have on hand! Follow the recipe as written, and treat the eggplant slices as you would the zucchini.

Storage Instructions

Let the zucchini lasagna cool completely before storing it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat any leftovers in the oven at 350°F until heated through. If you have extra cheese or sauce left over, you could use it for another meal, stuffed inside cooked shell pasta, etc. Both elements of this recipe freeze well for up to 3 months. You could also freeze the assembled lasagna, but the zucchini may become watery when thawed overnight in the fridge and reheated.

Got Some Leftover Zucchini?

Aside from grilling or adding it to a stir-fry, I’d make zucchini fritters or baked zucchini fries! Zucchini boats are also perfect for leftover whole zucchini, whereas zucchini muffins and zucchini bread are great for any scraps, as they just need to be grated.

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Zucchini Lasagna

This zucchini lasagna recipe uses zucchini slices instead of traditional noodles to create a low-carb, gluten-free, and delicious lasagna!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Amercian, Italian

Total Cost ($15.47 recipe / $1.54 serving)

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings 10 servings

Calories 357kcal

Author Jess – Budget Bytes

Equipment

• Food Processor
• 9×13 Baking Dish
• Mandoline Slicer

Ingredients

Sauce Ingredients

• 1 24 oz. jar tomato sauce $1.67
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste $0.49
• ½ lb ground Italian sausage $1.78

Zucchini Prep

• 4-5 large zucchini* $3.72
• 1 tsp sea salt $0.01
• ½ tsp garlic powder $0.02
• cooking oil spray** $0.05

Cheese Layer

• 32 oz whole milk ricotta cheese, liquid drained off top $4.48
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella $2.24
• 3 cloves garlic, minced $0.03
• 2 Tbsp Italian herb seasoning $0.56
• 2 large eggs $0.32
• ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper $0.01
• 1 tsp sea salt $0.09

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut zucchini into long 1/8 inch thick planks using a mandolin slicer or a sharp knife, reserving any slightly thicker slices for the bottom layer of your lasagna.
• Sprinkle each zucchini plank with salt and let them sit for 10 minutes to release water while you prepare the cheese layer.
• To prepare cheese layer, combine ricotta, shredded mozzarella, minced garlic, Italian herb seasoning, eggs, black pepper, and 1 tsp sea salt in a food processor and pulse until combined. ***
• Dab zucchini slices dry with a clean cloth or paper towels. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets (I used 2) and lightly mist zucchini with oil. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes to help dehydrate them slightly. (This is an important step if you don’t want extra juicy lasagna!)
• Remove zucchini from oven and set aside.
• In a large skillet, break apart ground Italian sausage with a spatula and cook until browned. (I did not have any extra oil in my pan, but if you do, you’ll want to strain it off.)
• Add jarred sauce and tomato paste to the browned Italian sausage and stir together to combine. The tomato paste helps thicken the sauce, which is very important for this recipe if you want to avoid a watery lasagna.
• Spoon a few spoonfuls of the finished sauce into the 9×13” baking dish and spread around to cover the bottom. On top of the sauce, begin adding layers of zucchini, overlapping strips halfway to form a barrier to keep layers separate (just as you would with noodles!)
• Then, add a layer of cheese mixture, another layer of zucchini, another layer of cheese, and a layer of sauce— repeating this order until your lasagna pan is full. Sprinkle more cheese on top, if desired. ****
• Bake for 35-40 minutes, broiling for 3 min at the very end to lightly brown the cheese on top. Let your lasagna cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Top with fresh parsley or basil if you have some on hand. Enjoy!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

* Layer thicker slices of zucchini on bottom. This will give the lasagna a sturdy base that help everything stay together when it comes time to slice and serve.

** If you don’t have cooking oil spray, you can lightly brush each plank with about 1 tsp oil. They don’t need to be drenched since we are just baking them for the purpose of dehydration.

*** If you have a small food processor, you can do this step in batches and mix everything together well by hand before spreading.

**** I saved most of the sauce for the final layer on top instead of adding layers of sauce throughout. Instead of drenching the lasagna as it cooks, I saved some sauce on the side for serving. I find this helps ensure that the zucchini lasagna is not watery or falling apart when it comes time to serve. I didn’t want to waste the extra cheese I had, so I added dollops on the top layer with dollops of sauce. It came out perfect and nothing went to waste!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (1 slice) | Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 25g | Sodium: 1216mg | Fiber: 3g

how to make Zucchini Lasagna – step by step photos

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut 4-5 large zucchini into long 1/8 inch thick planks using a mandolin slicer or a sharp knife, reserving any slightly thicker slices for the bottom layer of your lasagna.

Sprinkle each zucchini plank with ½ tsp sea salt and let them sit for 10 minutes to release water while you prepare the cheese layer.

To prepare cheese layer, combine 32 oz. of whole milk ricotta cheese, 2 cups shredded mozzarella, 3 cloves minced garlic, 2 Tbsp Italian herb seasoning, 2 large eggs, ½ tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp sea salt in a food processor and pulse until combined.

Dab zucchini slices dry with a clean cloth or paper towels.

Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets (I used 2) and lightly mist zucchini with cooking oil spray. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes to help dehydrate them slightly. (This is an important step if you don’t want extra juicy lasagna!). Remove zucchini from oven and set aside.

In a large skillet, break apart ½ lb ground Italian sausage with a spatula and cook until browned. (I did not have any extra oil in my pan, but if you do, you’ll want to strain it off.)

Add 24 oz. jarred tomato sauce and 2 Tbsp tomato paste to the browned Italian sausage and stir together to combine. The tomato paste helps thicken the sauce, which is very important for this recipe if you want to avoid a watery lasagna.

Spoon a few spoonfuls of the finished sauce into the 9×13” baking dish and spread around to cover the bottom. On top of the sauce, begin adding layers of zucchini, overlapping strips halfway to form a barrier to keep layers separate (just as you would with noodles!) 

Then, add a layer of cheese mixture.

Add another layer of zucchini, and another layer of cheese.

And a layer of sauce— repeating this order until your lasagna pan is full.

Sprinkle more cheese on top, if desired.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, broiling for 3 min at the very end to lightly brown the cheese on top. Let your lasagna cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Top with fresh parsley or basil if you have some on hand. Enjoy!

This zucchini lasagna recipe is so hearty and satisfying—you won’t even miss the noodles!

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