Zucchini Lasagna

Zucchini lasagna has all of the comforts of your traditional lasagna; melty cheese, creamy ricotta, savory beef, and a classic red sauce, but with a veggie base to make it a little bit lighter. This dish can be served as a gluten-free dinner but will most definitely be enjoyed by noodle lovers as well.

Zucchini Lasagna

You'll have to pre-cook the zucchini beforehand and set it on paper towels to draw out any excess water.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

• olive oil
• 3-4 medium zucchini cut lengthwise into thin strips
• salt
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 15 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
• 1 cup parmesan cheese shredded
• 2 cups marinara sauce

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 9×11 glass dish with a thin layer of marinara sauce on the bottom. Save the rest of the sauce for later.
• Drizzle olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add as many thin strips of zucchini as you can fit into the pan without overlapping. Season with salt. Cook for 1-2 minutes per side (longer for thicker pieces and shorter for thinner pieces). Set on a plate with paper towels to soak up the excess moisture. Continue to cook the zucchini in batches. Once all of the zucchini are cooked, each layer should go between a new paper towel, so the lasagna does not become watery.
• In the same pan, add the ground beef and onion, breaking apart and cooking until fully done about 8 minutes. Drain excess grease. Turn off the heat and add the marinara sauce to the ground beef and onion mixture.
• Now it's time to make your lasagna! Start with a single layer of zucchini on top of the thin layer of marinara sauce already on the dish's bottom. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta on top of the zucchini, 1/3 of the parmesan cheese, and 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese. Finally, add 1/3 of the beef sauce. Layer exactly the same way one more time. Once you get to the zucchini's final layer, follow a slightly different pattern. Add the rest of the ricotta, the rest of the parmesan cheese, and the rest of the sauce in that order. Top with the rest of the mozzarella.
• Place in the oven uncovered and cook for 40 minutes. Let rest for a couple of minutes then serve!

Notes

I like to use Rao’s marinara sauce in this recipe, but feel free to use your favorite!

I used 3 medium zucchini for my recipe, but if you want the dish to be zucchini heavy, you can definitely use 4. Also, make sure to use 4 if your zucchinis are small!

You can make this dish vegetarian by leaving out the ground beef.