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Low-Carb Zucchini Lasagna is a delicious, noodle-free lasagna that uses zucchini in place of pasta, it’s SOOO good you won’t miss it!
Zucchini Lasagna Recipe
I’ve made this Zucchini Lasagna Recipe a gazillion times and even shared it in my first cookbook! One of the biggest challenges I had with this recipe was making sure the dish wasn’t watery once it was cooked. I don’t like to give up, so I tested this over and over again until I got it perfect!
Zucchini is definitely low in calories (a medium zucchini has around just 30 calories) and chock full of heart-healthy nutrients! I won’t lie, this recipe does take some time to prep but it’s so worth it! It’s a great way to get more vegetables into your meal and since zucchini is pretty low calorie, this lets you have a pretty big portion. If you’re gluten-free, this is also a great option.
Here’s a few tips to make perfect zucchini lasagna that is not watery:
- Start by cutting the zucchini ribbons which replace the noodles in this dish. You will need a mandolin fitted with adjustable thickness settings to cut the zucchini into thin 1/8th inch thick ribbons, it’s quick and easy but please be careful you don’t cut yourself.
- Since zucchini tends to be very watery, grilling it first is a must (I use my grill pan).
- After it’s grilled, I leave it on paper towels to soak up extra water while I make the sauce.
- I take this a step further and leave it uncovered in the oven while it bakes for half of the bake time, which lets the heat from the oven dry out any more moisture. The results are worth the extra steps, don’t skip them!
Variations and Tips:
- To make it vegetarian omit the meat and make it without.
- Use a variety of squashes and eggplant if you want to mix it up.
- Refrigerate leftovers up to 4 days.
How To Make Zucchini Lasagna
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Zucchini Lasagna
Low-Carb Zucchini Lasagna is a delicious, noodle-free lasagna that uses zucchini in place of pasta, it's SOOO good you won't miss it!
Yield: 8 servings
Serving Size: 1 /8
Ingredients
- 1 lb 93% lean ground beef
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 large onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- black pepper, to taste
- 3 medium, 8 ounces each zucchini, sliced 1/8" thick
- 1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta
- 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
- 1 large egg
- 16 oz 4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, brown meat and season with salt. When cooked drain in colander to remove any fat.
- Add olive oil to the pan and saute garlic and onions about 2 minutes. Return the meat to the pan, add tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer on low for at least 30-40minutes, covered. Do not add extra water, the sauce should be thick.
- Meanwhile, slice zucchini into 1/8" thick slices, add lightly salt and set aside or 10 minutes. Zucchini has a lot of water when cooked, salting it takes out a lot of moisture. After 10 minutes, blot excess moisture with a paper towel.
- Preheat a gas grill or grill pan to medium high, and grill 2 to 3 minutes per side, until slightly browned. Place on paper towels to soak any excess moisture.
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- In a medium bowl mix ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and egg. Stir well.
- In a 9x12 casserole spread 1/2 cup of sauce on the bottom and layer the zucchini to cover. Spread 1/2 cup of the ricotta cheese mixture, then top with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and repeat the process until all your ingredients are used up. The last layer top with remaining zucchini and sauce, cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover the foil and bake 20 minutes (to dry up the sauce) then place the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and bake until melted, 10 minutes.
- Let stand about 5 - 10 minutes before serving.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Nutrition
Serving: 1 /8, Calories: 275 kcal, Carbohydrates: 13 g, Protein: 26 g, Fat: 13 g, Saturated Fat: 7 g, Cholesterol: 84 mg, Sodium: 648 mg, Fiber: 2.5 g, Sugar: 5 g
Categories:
I made this lasagna but I added 1/2 cup of each, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, spinach, mushrooms, string beans, and carrots. It really made a big one. It was very delicious. I know I will make it again. I need to get more vegetables into my diet.
Even my husband liked it! I didn’t do anything to remove the moisture from the zucchini and it was not watery. Great recipe!
This is my go to lasagna recipe. Love it, even better than regular lasagna.
Very good recipe. I would add more zucchini next time. I used 2 pounds and could have used more. I added basil and fresh spinach into the ricotta mixture. This one is another keeper.
Like many of us when the garden starts to yield zucchini, we have to get creative to find different ways to cook with it. I made this recipe twice within the last few days. I omitted to use salt completely. Pre-cooking on the BBQ is a great way to burn off much of the excess water. The results were awesome!
I made this and the zucchini was hard to cut with the skin on once it was all baked. Do we take the skin off?
I have never had that problem! Did you cut it too thick maybe?
My husband and I loved this recipe, so much so that I’m making it for our whole family (kids and grandkids),for a big birthday celebration, even though it is labor intensive, but worth it! I cannot do cow dairy products so I substituted goat cheese and goat milk yogurt mixed for the ricotta, and pecorino, sheep cheese, very much like Parmesan. It worked beautifully. Just thought that would be helpful for anyone for cow dairy allergies. 😊
Glad you all enjoyed it and thank you for sharing!
Love this recipe!
I’m a carb lover and did not miss the pasta. This is so delicious. It did not disappoint.
Thanks!
Excellent!!!
The BEST healthy recipe. Thank-you ❤️
This was so delicious! I was cursing myself during the prep because it was so much work, but it really is worth the effort! I broiled the zucchini after salting, draining and blotting and was happy with the result. It feels indulgent for so few calories!
This recipe is extremely good. Give it a try! Does take time but really worth it.
My daughter asks for me to cook this every year for her birthday! Labor intensive-she knows I’m putting time into her dinner. I do use a jar of sauce instead of crushed tomatoes-I simmer down till no liquid. I also bake the zuchini first
Like noodley lasagna this takes prep time and isn’t a quick throw together dinner but it’s delicious and the leftovers are even better. I’ll find time to make this again!
This was a hit- made it as my meal prep for the week.
Like the other comments said it is labor intensive but so worth it as I had food to eat for several days.
Felt so indulgent with few calories!!
Very good we really enjoyed this lasagna. It is the best recipe I’ve found that wasn’t watery from the zucchini
I LOVE this recipe and have made it several times since 2018. It is ABSOLUTELY worth the work, but since it’s so labor intensive, here’s some of the tips I use to really make this dish shine:
1. Salting, resting, blotting, and grilling the zucchini is non-neogotiable. You don’t want a watery mess.
2. You need way more zucchini than the recipe calls for if you want true layers in the lasagna; more on this below.
3. I cut the zucchini thicker than the recipe calls for. If you salt the zucchini, let it rest, blot, let it rest, then blot again before grilling- you won’t have excess water; in addition, the thinner the zucchini is, the more fragile it will be after grilling. Plus, the zucchini shrinks, so you’ll need more. I find using thicker slices (half inch?) helps, as well as buying the biggest fattest zucchinis I can buy. When I make this, I go to the best most expensive store available, since they usually get better and bigger zucchinis.
4. I find using the amount of garlic in the recipe to be a bit much for us- I use 3 cloves or some of the garlic paste.
5. I do a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes PLUS a large bottle of Rao’s marinara. I like lots of sauce, and leftovers are not a concern.
6. I do about 1.5 lbs of ground beef- makes the sauce nice and thick and helps fight any watery-ness.
7. Play around with the sauce, let it simmer longer….
8. I add basil and parsley to the ricotta mixture. I use an entire large tub of it, as well.
9. Use a foil extra strong lasagna pan! No mess no clean up.
Loved by all.
This is so delicious and flavorful! I did not have enough zucchini, so I used eggplant and it worked like a charm. Also, I used turkey instead of beef. Will be making this often.
A family favorite!!!
Love this recipe! Have made it for many years. My daughters absolute favorite 😍
Amazing!
I love your recipes. I make them all the time and have never been disappointed. I cook a lot, but I made this one tonight, and it’ was hard for me to follow. But I got all the ingredients in the baking dish! Still waiting to taste.
Excellent! Better every time i make it!
I made this recipe with my teenage daughter. It was really easy to follow and turned out wonderfully. Thank you!
Making it again tonight. This time with meat. It is a bit tedious to prepare, but so worth it, and we will eat it for several meals. Cook once, eat twice, or thrice.
This time I cut the zucchini in rounds. The julienned pieces sort of fell apart on me the first time around. When my husband walked out of his office tonight and into the kitchen, he was excited to see what I was putting in the oven.
This is soooo good. I’ve made watery ones before, but the salting + grilling (I used a Grill pan on the stovetop) really works! My husband and I loved it! I probably won’t make it again because it just takes way too long. But it sure is delicious.
Excellent recipe! I used ground turkey instead of beef. Thanks so much!
Turned out great! It’s a bit of work and takes time but worth it. We added some extra veggies and it wasn’t watery at all. It was so good, we made it two weeks in a row – once with beef and once with impossible fake beef. Thanks!
I’m making this for dinner tonight. One of my favorites !
Delicious! It is a lot of prework, but it is well worth it! We did not miss having the pasta. The zucchini is an excellent replacement. Thank you for the work you did to perfect this recipe. When my husband tells me I can fix something again, that is saying something!
This was amazing! Instead of a grill pan, I used a gently oiled cast iron skillet and they came out great. Only a couple of minutes on medium per side, just a touch of brown. They softened up perfectly once baked! Highly recommend this recipe.
I make this a lot. Time consuming but yummy. I increase the sauce and decrease the amount of mozzarella – I’ve gotten it down to 7 points a serving. You don’t miss that Mozzarella in the middle in my opinion, its just cheese for the sake of cheese! I put it on top only, and even then just a sprinkling. I also make a regular pan with noodles for my kids along side it 🙂 (Typically double the recipe – I put more sauce on mine and more cheese on the kids) Sometimes it comes out liquidy – but its fine – the flavours are still fantastic!
Great recipe! It is time consuming but the results are worth it.
LOVE this recipe and make it all the time!!
This recipe is outstanding!!! I used ground turkey instead of beef. Use 85% lean ground turkey. If its leaner it is too dry.
Excellent recipe! I used ground turkey Italian sausage, and added some red pepper flakes and dried basil and oregano to the sauce, as well as some seasoning to the ricotta mixture. Otherwise I followed the recipe and was really pleased with the result and how well the zucchini held up and how little liquid there was. Will definitely make again as a healthier alternative to noodle lasagna.
I rave about this recipe to anybody who will listen! It is a favorite in our house and my grown kids are always asking me to make it for them! If you have instructions for cooking after freezing, please share.
I don’t understand why you have to cook it so long. all you are doing is heating up the meat which is cooked, melt the cheese, and the zucchini is cooked on the grill. one hour seems like a long time to me.
Have you tried the hour cooking time? Or is this just guess work?
I cooked mine for 30 mins uncovered and it was perfect.
This was a big hit! Thank you for sharing. The salt on the zucchini slices and grilling was a great idea to decrease the water content of zucchini.
Made this last night and I honestly didn’t expect to like it as much as I did! So good. ?i think grilling the zucchini was gold! Take the time. Worth it, I also swapped out the beef for Isernio’s Ground Chicken Mild Italian Sausage. Great recipe!
I like my zucchini thicker and we don’t have a mandolin so I cut them 1/4” thick and some were probably a little thicker than 1/4”. I also did not take the time to salt and let them sit for 10 min or get any ny water out at all, I put them in my Cosori air fryer for 10 min. (Used all 3 trays of the air fryer at once.) Turned out perfect. I also only did 2 layers of zucchini. My husband said he loved it better than real lasagna. Thank you for the recipe!
Oh, I also used Jimmy Dean Italian sausage instead of beef.
Can you freeze this dish? If so, what area the instructions for cooking once it has been frozen?
Yes. I froze it. Came out fabulous
If you like lasagna you will love this recipe ! I don’t think you miss the lasagna noodles at all.
I was careful to dry off the zucchini before I put the casserole together and it was not watery…One change I did make was to bake the zucchini for 10 minutes ahead instead of using a grill pan and I had not issues..
Made this with some sweet Italian sausage substituting for the ground beef, and a can of San Marzano tomatoes, and it was fantastic!
Can’t wait for the little leftovers I will have for lunch tomorrow!
My whole family thought this was delicious. This is my new go to Lasagna recipe.
So glad everyone enjoyed it!
This was outstanding. Yes, a little bit of work up front but my whole family (including kids) devoured it. Did not miss the noodles at all. I thought I was going to have too much zucchini (2 1/2 cookie sheets worth when I laid it out to salt) but I almost wished I’d included a fourth one. I was glad I did this on a grill pan instead of the grill because the zucchini ended up being fragile once it was dried & grilled. Will add to our weekend rotation!
I would like to use tomato meat sauce that I have in the freezer, how much do you recommend for half of the recipe.
So good, even better than regular lasagna! Will make again!
Super yummy! Will definitely make again
I am allergic to cheese and wheat. I can sometimes tolerate cheese but not everyday maybe 2 times a week.
try the vegan cheeses?
Very good, everyone loved it
Yummmy. We just made this tonight and it was well worth the effort. I would say it took three hours from start to finish and was so delicious. I’d take veggie noodles over pasta noodles any day. We used our little Forman grill and it worked great.
Can you make this the night before?
I gained a ton of weight over summer break, so I’ve been eating very healthily. Thanks for this!
Could you have a tab that automatically halfs the recipe?
Made this tonight and it was delicious. I subbed lactose free cottage cheese for ricotta. It was just perfect.
Amazing! A little bit of extra work but well worth the effort.
Great , loved it, a little more work than the regular lasagna, but well worth it.
Gina – why is this recipe not Keto friendly in your opinion? It looks like a perfect Keto dish to me. Thanks in advance for a response.
Did anyone else feel like you needed more zucchini? Mine weighed out to be 25oz total but I barely had enough to do three layers and in the video I counted four layers. Maybe I didn’t cut it thin enough! The recipe is awesome and I will make again. Really enjoyed the flavors and extra vegetables instead of noodles.
I agree, I always buy extra zucchini when I make this recipe. Better to have extra than not enough! 🙂
I have made this several times and always need at least 5. Zucchini is cheap, calorie-wise, so the more the merrier.
Amazingly delicious. Didn’t miss the noodles at all!
Anyone making this meatless? I’m making this today and currently following a pescatarian diet. I’m not a fan of fake meat products, so I plan to just add extra vegetables and otherwise follow as is sans the meat. Any advice or feedback is welcomed!
We usually use plant based meat and it comes out amazing! We can’t tell the difference. We also press our zucchini between paper towels and then bake in the oven on low heat for a bit to dry the zucchini out even further.
The first time I made this I sautéed diced mushrooms in place of the meat. It turned out great.
Did not miss the noodles one bit! I used slice option on a box grater and my zucchini came out a bit too thin so when I grilled them, they got a bit charred in spots. Next time I will hand cut. Flavors were great and it’s super cheesy. I made the day before and reheated the next day and it still had the crunchy cheese edges that I love so much. I added about an 1/8 tsp of red pepper flakes to the meat to spice it up a bit but I think even 1/4 would be good too. This will definitely be in our rotation.
Made this tonight with coins of Zucchini (yellow and green) and in the center I put eggplant coins. Will be a favorite of our families especially when the garden produces so many of these wonderful plants.
This recipe was great, didn’t miss the pasta at all!
I made this with Jennie-O turkey sausage and we LOVED it! A healthier alternative to traditional lasagna, and it made a good dent in all our home grown zucchini!
Do you think I could grill the zucchini today & make the rest tomorrow?
I’m sure you could! Personally, I prep and assemble the whole thing the day before and just pop it in the oven the day of 🙂 Makes weeknight dinners much easier.
This is so good!! Thank you! I had it for dinner last night with a salad and for lunch today with a piece of sourdough toast. Delicious!
This is quite possibly one of my favorite meals EVER. Great for meal prepping. A little time consuming but worth it. Didn’t have a grill pan so just used a frying pan on high heat. Came out so much better than I thought it would. Will be in regular rotation.
Rarely do i ever follow a recipe verbatim… ok i added spinach because i had it on hand! But i just have to give kudos for this recipe! The tip on salting and precooking the zuchinni was the best way to reduce the wateryness! Superb!
Sounds delicious and I’m planning to make this tomorrow. Do you recommend peeling the zucchini first? Just not sure about using the end slices that still have the skins on after I cut up the zucchini. Thanks!
Pleasantly Surprised this really was delish!
I used Jennie-O Italian Turkey sausage and just had to added oregano to the meat sauce.
My tip: Although the recipe is Easy Peasy, , its a bit labor intensive having to prep the zucchini. So give yourself extra time. And Remember, If you salt your zucchini to draw the moisture out like I did before broiling them, be careful about adding salt to the rest of the dish. I did not and was so happy with my decision. it was pretty salty as is.
Can you make this a day ahead?
Great recipe and versatile too. I was going to make the new eggplant Moussaka from the new cook book and my husband said he wanted lasagna. So I decided to make this with strips of Eggplant ( I had about 2 pounds of raw eggplant) that I salted and then roasted till soft in the oven as in some other Skinny taste recipes. Eggplant was wonderful in this. I always use 2% cottage cheese as it has more flavor to me–then I cut way back on the other cheese and we don’t miss it at all. Don’t miss the noodles either. A favorite
I’ve made this many times and everyone always loves it!
This lasagna is/was delicious! I made it tonight only I used 2x as much garlic, added mushrooms & used ground turkey instead of beef….it was amazing. My 9 year old, who has become really picky lately, loved it!
Rave reviews, thanks so much, will be making it again soon!😁
This was a big hit! I could not grill the zucchini so decided to try broiling it. First salted the zucchini for at least 10 min (probably more) and wiped it dry before placing the slices on a baking sheet fitted with a rack. Broiled about 3 min per side. The slices did not get browned, but dried out quite a bit. I placed them on paper towels to dry further until assembly. It turned out great, the zucchini had a very pasta-like texture in the finished product. I had no fresh basil for the sauce, so used 1t dried oregano and 1t dried basil. Also used one 8 oz. ball of fresh mozzarella in place of the 16 oz. of shredded part skim mozzarella. 95% lean beef, no olive oil. I calculated 7 blue points with my adjustments.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Oh wow this was so delicious and worth the effort! It was definitely a labor of love and made a special meal. I used dried italian seasoning since I didn’t have fresh basil, and I seasoned the ground beef with additional salt and pepper. I also roasted the sliced zucchini at 400F for 10 mins. Will be making again for sure, and will add some sliced olives next time for my little olive lover.
This recipe is amazing!!! I didn’t miss the noodles – in fact, I prefer it with the zuicchini. Not as heavy. Great dish!!!
Ok, first time makeing my own sauce. I checked it at home and at the store because I couldn’t find a 128 oz. Can of crushed tomatoes. So, being the engineer, I did the math and bought 5 – 28 oz cans. I thought it was a lot. When I got home my wife says ” wow, are you sure it didn’t day 1 – 28 oz can” . Daaaaaaa, there is an extra space between the 1 and the 28. So, I suggest maybe changing it to “1 can (28 oz) for those of us who are first time saucers. Still laughing. Feeling kinda stupid and looking for recipies to help use up a 5 year supply of crushed tomatoes 😉
Amazing!!! I didn’t even miss the noodles. I made it with hot italian chicken sausage which fit right in with the flavors of this dish. I had no problem with the dish being to runny thanks to how the zucchini is prepped. Everyone had seconds of the lasagna. I will definitely be making this again and again!!!
Great for Noom Program
More recipes for casseroles like this
Excellent recipe! I didnt have zucchini so i used eggplant and it came out great!!
Is it better to freeze this before or after baking?
I want to make this but do you have grill the zucchini first? I don’t have a grill pan or grill. TIA!
I made this tonight and didn’t actually grill or salt the zucchini. Instead, I prepped the zucchini and laid it out on paper towels in the fridge the night before. No problems with water! If after baking your lasagna you find excess liquid, just dab carefully with paper towels.
I’ve been looking to use up a glut of courgettes, this recipe was lovely. I was surprised at how filling a portion was. Will definately make it again.
Very very delicious! Didn’t miss noodles at all. My husband &I loved it, and he doesn’t particularly care for zucchini. Will make again for sure! 😋
LOVE! I just made this for my family and the kids had no idea there wasn’t pasta in this. I followed everything exactly and 3 zucchini gave me enough for 2 real layers with filling and then a top layer. Worth the extra steps to avoid any watery problems with the zucchini. Will make again soon.
So delicious! My husband and I agree this is the best lasagna I’ve ever made, and I’ve made lots of lasagnas through the years!
Thanks Maureen!
This is a keeper. So very good!
I love making this recipe. It is labor intensive so I don’t do it often. I always add a layer of whole wheat lasagne noodles just to add a carb and for fullness. If you use fat free mozzarella even with the 1 layer of noodles it still comes out to 9 points per serving.
I love this recipe, but unfortunately I don’t have the patience to make it frequently because it’s a process. It is worth the work, and easier if you have a helper to grill the zucchini while you’re working on the sauce and making the cheese mixture. Also, I have a small grill pan so I can only grill 3-4 slices at a time and it’s time consuming, so if you have an outdoor grill, this could probably go much faster. 😀
It is one of my favorite ways to use really big garden zucchini. They make wonderful large slices. It’s saucy and cheesy and guilt-free comfort food – fits into our gluten-free and keto diet! The kids love it, too!
Took me all afternoon but darn it, it was worth it! So good! I made my own marinara sauce just because there was no way I’m running to the store for a jar of sauce. Besides, like the Urban Peasant used to say..”Use whatcha got!”. My husband isn’t a fan of zucchini but he loved it too. We’re having it again tomorrow and the rest will be frozen for another meal down the road.
Awesome recipe…thank you!
If I increase the serving size – say to 12, the pan size does not change.
We loved this recipe!!!
I added onion, orange pepper, and spinach to the meat mixture
It was awesome
This was our first time trying zucchini lasagna but won’t be our last!
This came out great
My family prefers this recipe to all other lasagnes. I slice, slightly salt and stack layers of zucchini and paper towels, weight and let sit overnight. Zucchini is then grilled on a panini press until tender and nicely marked up. It takes two hours to grill and assemble a double recipe in a huge lasagne pan. To die for. Thank you..
even better than traditional lasagna!
This recipe is delicious. Worth the time and effort. Does not disappoint and you don’t miss the pasta! So much less guilt eating lasagna. Made for second time and will be made many more. Love it.
ok hear me out: I added green bell pepper to the meat, and then I added frozen spinach and sliced mushrooms (not sauteed) between layers. so so good and the added veggies make it even better. I strongly recommend 🙂
I made this tonight – delicious but more like Lasagna soup. I both salted and grilled the zucchini, and followed the directions to a T. I did add extra ricotta cheese. Any iideaswhy it got so soupy and what I can do next time?
that doesn’t usually happen for me! I think the most important step to help is putting paper towels on the zucchini and applying pressure to get all of the moisture out. I also make sure I don’t make it too deep and bake uncovered so more moisture can evaporate.
Oh, also, maybe this is a big factor, I usually just use jar sauce! it’s probably thicker
Absolutely amazing. Made for my husband and his friend and they didn’t even notice there weren’t noodles. Subbed diced tomatoes because that is what I had, and worked out fine. Definitely getting added to the rotation, thanks for another fantastic recipe!!
Sauce was flat…after tasting it as it cooked so added more Italian spices and salsa…it worked. Definitely need to grill zucchini after baking for 4 minutes and dry. Considering slicing 1/4 inch thick net time. The PolishChef.
This was so good! I didn’t even miss the noodles.
When i tracked calories for this meal it came out to +100 cals more than listed. Any ideas?
Can I bake the zucchini instead of grilling? Can I add eggplant slices as well? How would you prepare the eggplant?
Yes. Look at this recipe https://www.skinnytaste.com/lighter-eggplant-parmesan-5-pts/
I’ve made this several times before, it’s always came out tasting great.
I do add more meat and cheese as the first time I ran short, but if you follow the directions, you can’t go wrong.
Delicious!! Great idea placing zucchini’s on paper towels, I was amazed at how much water It actually absorbed! My husband hates vegetables and he had two huge helpings! Thank you!
This was fabulous.!!! Truly a keeper!
Even my husband, who would rather have noodles than zucchini, said it was delicious.
The only thing I did (and this is only to please my taste) was to sprinkle Fennel Seeds on top of mine..
I did pre blot my zucchini and baked it for 12 minutes and blotted it again.
Thanks for a great recipe!
If I made it again, I would use one more zucchini (although I didn’t notice the spaces with the amount I had)
Love this recipe! Probably my favorite skinnytaste recipe, and that says a lot. The only changes I make: I use about 5 zucchini, and to dry them out I put the zucchini slices on a metal baking rack in the oven and then broil them. Since it is just me, I make two 8X8 pans and freeze one uncooked (with the cheese already added to the top). To freeze it I cover tightly in plastic wrap and then add a layer of foil. If going straight from the freezer to the oven I remove the plastic wrap and replace the foil, then cook at 375 covered for about 1 and 1/2 hour (could be longer for a full recipe instead of a half). Once it is thawed in the center I uncover and cook another 20-30 minutes until the cheese is melty and slightly brown. Then I let it rest for 10 minutes. Yum!
Just made this tonight! DELICIOUS! I thouhgt I read somewhere “how” to freeze this, but now I can’t find that. There was something about covering it….. I looked in The Skinnytaste cookbook where I found the recipe but it’s not there. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Michele A
In the comments, Gina suggests freezing after baking. I plan to make this on Christmas Day for my gluten-free father-in-law. I’ve decided to make and freeze the sauce weeks in advance, and slice the zucchini a day in advance. Hopefully this will help cut the prep time for me on Christmas Day. I’ve made this several times. It is labor intensive!
My favorite lasagna. The meat sauce rocks. We also use the meat sauce with your butternut squash noodles, Thank you for your recipes.
This is one of my very favorite recipes, and a go-to choice for special occasions! Everyone likes it (even the pasta-loving Italian in-laws). My one recommendation is using more zucchini. I usually go with 5 instead of the recommended 3, and I haven’t had issues with it getting watery so long as I bake them in the oven first. Thanks for this great staple!
I have made this recipe 3 times. Instead of ground beef I used ground turkey italian sausage, 2 -28 oz cans of tomatoes, at least 4 medium zucchini. It is a favorite and no one ever misses the pasta. It does take some time though to pre-cook the zucchini. Not an everyday meal sort of effort.
OMG this is a wonderful dish! I don’t even miss the pasta, in fact I think I really like this version much better! It does take a while to prepare but well worth the effort. I ended up freezing half of it because there is only the two of us so tonight’s dinner is the remaining of the dish. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!!!
Loved it! Worked well for me! I used a mandolin to get the zucchini to 3 mm strips then salted and left the strips for 30 mins. Then broiled the strips tool they were dry dry while the sauce was getting ready. No liquidy lasagna for me. I did wash off the salt from the zucchini strips and reduced the salt in the recipe by half (I made a double batch if everything else in reality). Would definitely make again!!!!
Im trying it tonight with reconstituted TVP granules and mushrooms, should be excellent!
Jenna
Can you use a dehydrator for the zucchini?
I slice the zucchini very thin with my mandolin, and then I microwave them in stacks to reduce their water content – it’s too thin to pan fry without tearing. Furthermore, I use extra crushed tomatoes and boil it down to make it thicker. Even then it still produces a lot of liquid once cooked, but not a problematic amount. I also use fennel seed and make extra ricotta and meat, so that each layer is relatively thick, and I put big pieces of Genovese basil on each layer. Clearly, I don’t follow the recipe to a T by any means, but I do make my zucchini lasagna in the spirit of this recipe, and it turns out great every time. 5 stars!
How long do you have to microwave the zucchini?
Can this be frozen , either uncooked or cooked?
Absolutely delicious! Grilling and drying the zucchini makes all the difference. I do not have a grill pan so I just used a large fry pan and quick seared each side. We served it at our weekly family dinner and everyone loved it! I have made other zucchini lasagna receipes but they all turned out sort of sloppy. This one sets up and slices perfectly.
Failed very badly for me – white sauce part split and courgettes not good as a layering veg. Won’t be repeating this one…
Made it tonight. It’s true about making sure the zucchini is very very dry. I pan fried a good chunk of them, and then left the rest. I didn’t drain the fat juice from the meat, but instead, used a strainer spoon afterwards when applying the sauce to the dish (the fat really helps caramalize the onions). I also added mushrooms, and left out the Parmesan as I dont really like it and didn’t want a jar of it that i’d never otherwise use.
Anyways, it was great. My wife was full, but insisted on another piece anyways. At the bottom of the dish, afterwards, there was maybe 1/8th of a cup of liquid left. So it wasn’t TOO bad, but I get why drying them is a must.
Definitely will apply what I learnt from this to make regular lasagna too (this was my first lasagna to be honest).
AMAZING. This tastes so good and is a great way to sneak in vegetables. Super easy to prep and pick up during a busy week. This meal is a staple in our house for sure.
It took far to long to prepare, I worked on it for 1-1/2 hours. Zucchini was too salty, warning only a tiny bit needing. Takes far to long to dry it down. It was a full 4 hours of total prep.
If I haven’t oversalted it, it would be very good. I also feel it’s too much cheese. Would not do again?
This zucchini lasagna was the beginning of a truly beautiful evening. My partner helped grill the zucchini on the bbq as I prepared the sauce (as we do not own a grill pan). As we waited for the lasagna to cook (this thing did take a long time from start to finish) we played cards, had some wine on the balcony and enjoyed each others company while the heavenly smell of lasagna wafted out from the kitchen. The lasagna came out amazing. I would hands down make this again for company. I was so proud of this masterpiece that I desperately wanted to share this meal with more than just my partner. – I like sharing food with people.
The only adjustments I might make is adding a zucchini or two – I used two medium sized and 2 small sized, but after slicing, salting and grilling, they reduced in size considerably. I might enjoy a little more zucchini. I also added mushrooms but might add spinach next time – I was worried that this would make the sauce too liquid, but you could just cook it down for longer. Also, we found 1 and 1/2 tsp to be a touch too salty. May reduce salt to 1 tsp for next time.
OMG!! This recipe is soooo good. Who needs pasta?? Made this last night. As others have said it took a little longer then stated, but it was definitely worth it. This is definitely a “company worthy” entree. Can’t wait to make it again.
HI – Thank you for this recipe! My hubby and I made it last night, and we both enjoyed it. We modified it alittle… We found we could use less mozzarella cheese, (to save me WW points) but we did add an extra 1/2 C of ricotta as we didn’t seem to have enough to spread nicely on each layer. Also, we sautéed some mushrooms with the onions and that was a tasty add.
The only complaint or suggestion I have is to please modify the prep time. There is no way one person could make this dish ready for the oven in 30 min. First off, just the time you have once everything is done for the sauce to cook said 30-40 min! There is time to get everything out, open things, cut the onions and garlic, assemble the layers, etc. Even if the other steps are all done while the sauce cooks, it’s not possible to prep in 30 min. I did not notice this until we started, so dinner was alittle late, though worth the wait. We had two of us making this, and we are not the fastest in the kitchen, but it took both of us nearly an hour to get it in the oven.
I also have a question. When I went to our local Kroger brand grocery store, I asked for 93% beef. They don’t sell it. They sell 93% grnd. turkey, but beef is not sold that way. Was this supposed to be turkey, or maybe our grocery store in CA is different? Note, I think the beef really made it.
Thank you! It was neat my hubby even like this as he’s not a big zucchini person, and loves regular lasagna.
I agree the recipe is great and thorough, but the prep time is way off. It took me that long to just grill the zucchini strips. I know wegmans and target carry the 93/7 ground beef, so I don’t think that was a mistake.
Also, there was no way I could fill a 9×12 pan with the three zucchini, especially after they reduced in size from grilling. I used the next step down and still had room to spare
Can you make this ahead of time? Like earlier in the day?
Yes!
Great lasagna! I used half beef and 1/2 turkey to cut on points. I also added about 1/4 C. Marinara sauce as the first layer and put no bake lasagna noodles over that for just one layer. It turned out great. I cooked it uncovered for 30 min then added cheese for 15 min and it didn’t dry out . I think the first layer of pasta helped soak up some “water” and provided a solid layer for serving it. I also added 2 t. Italian seasoning to the meat. Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely AMAZING! I’ve made several other duke recipes over my almost 50 yrs cooking and baking for our family, but they are no match for this one. We don’t eat beef, so I used ground turkey instead. I detest mincing garlic so I used Rachel Ray’s genius zesting of the cloves. Used a medium shallot in lieu of the onion (easier for my digestive issues; no black pepper either for same reason). I have a small greenhouse filled with herbs, so I used fresh basil, parsley, and a bit of oregano. Muir Glen Organic whole peeled tomatoes (pulsed to break down in processor) in lieu of crushed tomatoes in ingredient list, Grilled the zucchini on the stove (Cuisinart large grill pan worked really well; loved the dark grill marks and flavor it imparted made it all worth it). I had 2 not-so-large dukes and one longer one, so I left the long slices for topping it all. So. Doggone. Good! Used an 11×7 ceramic pan and I loved how “high” the layering worked out. Thank you, thank you, thank you! DEFNITELY an outstanding meal. My husband always thanks me for dinner, but tonight he used a word that grabbed my attention: “That was a BEAUTIFUL meal..” He had 2 servings!.
Ugh, the spell checker changed “zuke” to duke….. same happened several sentences down…
I think this recipe will taste fantastic, but, I only had enough grilled zucchini to make 2 layers. Maybe it’s better to spread the zucchini out more so you can get 3 layers, as there would have been plenty of sauce and cheese. So, my top layer is sauce and cheese!