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.
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What is Zucchini Lasagna?
When prepared correctly, zucchini is one of the best pasta substitutes out there. It’s also really good for you! Did you know zucchini is rich in potassium? It’s also loaded with fiber, which can help you feel fuller longer. This recipe for zucchini lasagna lets this versatile veggie take center stage, replacing traditional lasagna sheets with zucchini slices. When layered with herby ricotta and mozzarella sauce, Italian sausage (or your favorite vegetarian alternative), and a tomato sauce, this veggie-packed dish is JUST as satisfying as classic lasagna.
If you’re worried the zucchini will make this dish watery, fear not! I’ve shared my favorite tips for preventing soggy zucchini below.
Ingredients for Zucchini Lasagna
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy zucchini lasagna recipe:
- Zucchini: Choose zucchini that are straighter and have nice, firm skin. The skin is edible, so there’s no need to peel it. The zucchini you often find in the grocery store are typically smaller, so make sure you have enough to slice and layer. I usually pick up 5-6 and will happily grill any leftover.
- Tomato Sauce: Use your favorite store-bought sauce, or try our easy marinara if you prefer homemade.
- Tomato Paste: Helps to thicken the sauce, resulting in a less watery lasagna, and adds a concentrated tomato flavor.
- Ground Italian Sausage: Any ground meat will work, but Italian sausage is a classic choice. Vegetarian? No problem! Skip the Italian sausage or swap it with whatever meat substitute you like best.
- Seasonings: Sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and an Italian herb seasoning add all the flavors you need to make this recipe taste amazing. You’ll also use the salt to draw out moisture from the zucchini slices.
- Ricotta Cheese & Mozzarella: These cheeses make up the cheesy layers in your zucchini lasagna. I recommend using whole milk ricotta cheese for the creamiest consistency.
- Garlic: Freshly minced garlic adds a ton of flavor to cheese sauce.
- Eggs: This helps to bind the cheese sauce and give it structure when you slice into it.
- Cooking Oil Spray: Helps to dehydrate the zucchini slices in the oven and prevents sticking. You can also use a little cooking oil and brush it on instead.
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.
How to Keep Zucchini Lasagna From Being Watery
- Use a mandoline slicer or a sharp knife to get thin, even slices. This will help the zucchini to cook evenly and reduce the amount of moisture in each slice. Any thicker slices can be layered on the bottom for added stability.
- Sprinkle salt on each slice and let it sit for about 10 minutes to draw out excess moisture.
- Pat each zucchini slice dry after salting with paper towels or a clean cloth.
- I dehydrate the zucchini slices in the oven to avoid a watery, diluted lasagna. However, that step isn’t necessary if you don’t mind your zucchini lasagna a bit more juicy.
- Drain the liquid off the top of the ricotta cheese before using it to reduce the added moisture.
- I save some tomato sauce to serve on the side so the lasagna isn’t swimming in sauce as it cooks! Please refer to the note section in the recipe card to see how I layered the sauce in this recipe.
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.
Zucchini Lasagna
Servings 10 servingsIngredients
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 and sprinkle with garlic powder. 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!
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Equipment
- Food Processor
- 9×13 Baking Dish
- Mandoline Slicer
Notes
Nutrition
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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 and sprinkle with garlic powder. 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!
I made this for dinner last night and it was a hit!
Unfortunately, I had some zucchini issues. My Trader Joe’s zucchini were not large enough, and I cut the slices too thick, so as I started to build the layers, I could tell there would be some major gaps. Thankfully, I remembered I had a roll of polenta in the pantry, so I sliced that up to fill in the spaces and then baked it for 45 mins.
When served, the finished result didn’t look as quite as pretty as the picture (it actually fell apart a bit), but no one cared at all because it was SO tasty and comforting. I’m using this as an excuse to buy a mandolin so I can make it again!
Hey, Becca! Awesome thinking on the fly. I’m glad it worked out in the end! Mandolin slicers help with prep big time. So glad you enjoyed!
I might be looking right past it, but when do you use the garlic powder that’s listed in the zucchini prep section of the ingredients? Thanks!
Good catch, Maggie! It goes on the zucchini after patting dry and before going in the oven to pre-roast. Just updated the recipe!
Thanks Paige! I made this for dinner earlier this week and we loved it!
So glad you enjoyed it, Maggie!
I love this flavorful low carb lasagna! Yummy!
This looks delicious! Another trick for watery zucchini, which has the bonus of being a prep-ahead trick and a way to deal with zucchini if the garden gets ahead of you. It also gives you a taste of summer in the middle of coldest winter.
The trick is to freeze the slices you need for this recipe. When you thaw the frozen zucchini slices to assemble the dish later, the excess water will drain out as they thaw out.
This looks wonderful. I like veggie lasagnas, too. I often make one with eggplant, but zucchini absorbs much less oil and is definitely a more healthy choice. I also like to use jarred pasta sauces–I have a couple of faves and although a homemade tomato sauce is always a good choice, the jarred ones are big time savers, not to mention usually as economical. There are a couple of very good mid-priced brands that are often on sale at supermarkets. I’ve already assigned 5 stars to this recipe because I know I will love it.