Zucchini Rollatini is a delicious, cheesy, veggie-loaded dish! Made with strips of grilled zucchini stuffed with a basil-cheese filling, then rolled and topped with marinara, mozzarella and baked in the oven until the cheese is hot and melted.
Zucchini Rollatini
Zucchini RollatiniSwapping pasta for zucchini in these roll ups make them low-carb and keto friendly. Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables. If you need some zucchini inspiration you can see all my zucchini recipes here.
The inspiration for this dish came from my eggplant rollatini, one of my favorite summer meals. I modified that recipe a bit, keeping the cheese filling pretty simple and swapping the eggplant for zucchini. I looked for two large zucchinis, that were pretty thick so that the rolls would be large enough to make a meal and sliced them with my mandolin (affiliate link) so they are all the same thickness.
To make the zucchini pliable, and to reduce liquid when they bake I grilled them on my grill pan before filling and rolling. This recipe was super easy and pretty quick to whip up. The first time I tested these I baked them longer but I didn’t like how watery they were. This time, I only baked them for 20 minutes and they came out perfect, not mushy or watery and the zucchini had the perfect texture – guys these came out SO good! This could be prepped ahead then baked when ready to eat.
How To Make Zucchini Rollatini
Zucchini Rollatini
Ingredients
- 2 large, 14 oz each zucchini, cut lengthwise into 12 (1/4-inch thick) slices
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- fresh black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup quick marinara sauce
- 1 large egg
- 2/3 cup part skim ricotta cheese, I like Polly-O
- 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving
- 1/4 cup chopped basil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3/4 cup 3 oz shredded mozzarella (I like Polly-O)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Spread 1/4 cup marinara sauce on the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
- Cut the zucchini lengthwise, into 1/4-inch thick slices until you have a total of 12 slices about the same size. It’s easiest to do this with a mandolin. My mandolin is from OXO.
- Season both sides of the zucchini with 1/2 tsp salt and pepper, then grill on a grill pan over high heat to help dry out the zucchini, until pliable and grill marks form, but not fully cooked, about 2 minutes on each side.
- In a medium bowl, beat the egg then mix together with ricotta, Pecorino Romano, basil, garlic, 1/8 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper.
- Spread the ricotta mixture (about 1 1/2 tablespoons each) evenly onto each zucchini slice, spreading to cover.
- Roll up slices and arrange them each seam side down in the prepared dish. Top each with 1 tbsp marinara sauce and 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese and tightly cover with foil.
- Bake 20 minutes, or until the cheese is hot and melted.
Last Step:
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The prep is a little time consuming but these are absolutely worth it, with hubby declaring this recipe needs to go on the “keeper list.” Great flavor and texture, and a nice way to use up late summer zucchini bounty and also disguise it a bit for the picky eaters. Thanks Gina!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe is amazing! Since my husband and I are the only ones at home, I have used it several times with a slightly scaled down amount of filling and sauce. It has been great for that lonely zucchini kicking around in the crisper! Also did an eggplant rollatini with this recipe. Mandolin and grill pan very useful.
Thank you, Gina
can this be made before baking and frozen ?
Delish! Loved it!
I made the zucchini and also stuffed chicken with cheese mixture, topped with marinara and mozzarella. Take out zucchini after baking 20 minutes. Place chicken back in oven a cook additional 15-25 minutes. Loved all of it.
This is almost exactly like the cheese graters they use at Olive Garden, and if you’ve seen those in use you know that a LOT a cheese gets grated per crank of the handle. Keep that parmesan comin’! 🙂
I made this for my wife, she really enjoyed it. Extremely easy to prepare, even though I don’t have a mandolin. I’ll definitely make this again.
i put all ingredient into recipe tracker and came up with 12 points on blue. anyone else? Gina any ideas?
Hi Maryann. The only accurate way to determine any recipe’s SmartPoints® value is to plug the ingredients into the recipe builder on the Weight Watchers website (Click on “My Foods,” select “Recipe,” and click “Create a recipe.”) which does not count fruits and vegetables in recipes in the calculations as they are now 0 points.
The SmartPoints® calculator isn’t meant for recipes and will often give you the wrong points (usually higher) because it’s counting the fruits and vegetables. So if you see a recipe with a SmartPoints® value that’s different from what the calculator tells you, now you know why.
Delicious and easy. Thank you.
These were great! Currently living in our RV so no mandolin with me but was able to slice thin enough to make it work using a chef’s knife. I also broiled zucchini slices instead of grilling since it is rainy and dark right now. I seasoned ricotta filling to taste and added more salt and some garlic powder. Used a quality, organic jarred marinara with roasted garlic but followed recipe otherwise. It was so delicious! Better yet, both my boys gobbled it up when I told them they were pizza roll ups lol. I served them alongside chicken Italian sausages for a healthy and relatively quick weeknight meal. These are definitely going on my regular rotation! Thanks for the great recipe!
Great idea to broil rather than grill…thanks
Great recipe! Made it for the first time the other night. I had to cut my zucchini by hand and was afraid I wouldn’t be able to roll because it might have been too thick. After growing I realize that wouldn’t have been a problem but I had already cut it in half to make like lasagna.. Which was excellent. Next time I’ll make it as rolls.
That should have said “after grilling”
I make this every year. It is delicious and super easy to make. I would highly recommend this receipe to everyone.
Ok I guess I am the only one! I am generally a good cook, I can follow a recipe. This turned out tasteless. I use ST recipes all the time so I do not know what happened. Also, I thought it was very time consuming for the finished dish. I have seen other recipes that the zucchini was baked to soften. That may be a little easier. Very disappointed. Darn!
Anne I don’t know if it matters, but you want to slice it thin and grill it to soften. I made this and missed that part the first time I read through. Came out good for me. I did make like lasagna instead of rolls because I couldn’t slice thin.
How many net carbs?
Love!!! So much easier than it seems, and so delicious. Added ground turkey and it was so satisfying.
These were great! I actually bought the mandoline you recommended at kohls and made. My husband also loved them and he is definitely a carnivore. I ate the leftovers for lunch and they were also delicious. I do not own a grill pan so I followed the advice of several others and cooked the zucchini strips on a dry pan for a few minutes to get extra water out of it. Turned out perfect.
Delicious!
Excellent! Pretty easy to put together. Just used my grill to fry out the zucchini a bit and then rolled them up and put in fridge until I was ready to pop in the oven. So tasty! Wouldn’t know you’re missing the pasta 🤩
How are these as leftovers? I could only eat 1 or 2 rolls max (bariatric surgery).
Hi Gina! First, I love your recipes-I’ve never commented here before, but wanted to make sure to tell you that!
I wanted to ask-is this freezer friendly? I’ve had good luck freezing stuffed zucchini-but wasn’t sure about the rollatini and thought I would ask-thinking of making some freezer meals for a friend. Thanks again!!!!
Yes, freeze before baking. 🙂
Awesome! Thank you SO much!!!!!
Big hit with the whole family!!!
My e mail is not being recognized. I would appreciate being validated
Hey Evelyn! I’ve got you in!
Amazing !
Excellent!! Tastes so decadent. Definitely going into the rotation
This recipe was very good! It was easy, but a little time consuming with assembly (or I’m just a slow assembler). I don’t have a grill pan, so I just cooked the zucchini in a dry nonstick pan for a couple of minutes until they were pliable.
Holy moly, these were amazing! I have to admit, I kept putting this dish off. I wasn’t excited about them, and was a little intimidated to slice the zucchini properly without losing a finger. I have a mandolin (actually the same one that she recommends here) but I have never sliced anything long lengthwise like this. It sliced up like a dream, I was done in about 3 min. The whole recipe was way easier than I thought it would be to put together. My husband called this recipe, “little zucchini lasagna sushi style rolls of heaven” Lol
I must admit, I used a different recipe for the sauce. I have tried Gina’s and loved it, and am sure it would have still been great. However, my hubby has been begging me to try a copycat version of Round Table’s pizza sauce, so this was a good opportunity to give that a try.
We paired this with the Vegan Caesar Salad as outlined in the meal plan. All in all, we felt like we were in a fine dining restaurants between those two spectacular courses. This is one of the things I love most about the meal plan. It prompts me to try fantastic recipes that I normally wouldn’t consider.
Thank you Gina!
Absolutely delicious! I added a little bit of dried oregano over the marinara sauce before adding the mozzarella. Very nice recipe!
I made this for dinner for my Cowboy boyfriend last night who believes food is meat. He LOVED it, ate my plate and his. Thank you for the recipe!
This was delicious. I cheated and used Rao’s marinara because it’s easier than easy marinara, and I have a micro-sized kitchen. I have an old Krups deli slicer that makes perfect slices and used my Le Crueset grill pan for those perfect grill marks. It makes for a very pretty dish. I was worried it wouldn’t be filling enough, but it definitely was. Definitely a keeper.
We used to make this from time to time. Thanks for reminding me – your version looks so delicious.
I would like t know if I can make this recipe without tomato sauce, since my body doesn’t agree with nightshades.
This was so good, well worth the effort. And I do have a grill pan and a mandoline to do these preliminary, but important steps. Definitely only 2 min per side On the zucchini. In the finished result, and cut with a steak knife and fork, it amazingly cut like a lasagna noodle and was not mushy or too soft. The sauce was Lucini brand organic, sugar free and very low carb found at Walmart. Better and better price than Raos I think. I did add some cooked and crumbled sweet Italian turkey sausage and fennel seed to the sauce for the carnivore in this house. And didn’t drown the dish in sauce, as you suggested, using only a little more than a cup total. I will definitely make this again, it’s company worthy. Wish I could post a picture!. Thx.
Soooo so 😋 yum and delicious 😊
My family love it so much and they asking me to cook it again 🥰
Thanks so much
Sooooo good. I highly recommend grilling the zucs like the recipe calls for. The flavor came thorough. We will definitely be making this again.
The recipe says to cut 12 slices, but the portion is 4 rolls. Does this mean the meal makes 3 servings? Wondering if the portion and nutrition is correct.
This recipe is amazing, but should come with a free mandolin or at least a safety warning! I spent 4 hours, 2 cuts, 4 stitches, and lost some self respect in the process. If you’re thinking “this recipe looks delicious, but I don’t have a mandolin using a knife shouldn’t be too hard” YOU ARE WRONG!!!! Two zucchini’s into the cutting and I nearly lost my finger ruined my table runner,, passed out, woke up confused as to why it looked like I was laying in a crime scene. Moral of story, buy a mandolin, or at least learn from my mistakes.
Mandolin won’t necessarily help you there. I got 4 stitches last time I used mine. Now I have a Kitchenaid sheet cutter attachment for my stand mixer and still have all my fingers.
Buy “no cry” gloves on Amazon. Always wear when doing lots of food chopping or mandolin use
This was SO good. Only had a fixed mandoline that sliced the zucchini a bit thin, so I kind of overlapped two pieces and they stayed together beautifully! Added halved cherry tomatoes to the pan. Absolutely delicious and a new family favorite
Absolutely delicious I chopped up and added fresh veggies from my garden to the sauce and a layer of sliced green tomatoes on top then covered in Italian cheese blend…and 💥🎉💥
I used a marinara with garlic and basil and skipped adding it separately. It was very good. Next time I will chill my grilled strips before putting the filling on and rolling. Loved it though!
Yuk! Am I the only one who didn’t like this recipe at all? Very disappointed. Thought it had a very funny taste. Followed recipe xactly. Have had much better luck with Weight Watchers recipes. Cannot recommend.
I’m 16 and I made this all from scratch it was amazing would deffinatly recommend. I didn’t grill my zucchini I just placed it in a pan for 2minutes each side still worked.
Followed her instructions exactly & they turned out perfect! Delicious.
This is a great recipe. Easy to make. I added fresh sliced mushrooms to mine. Thanks!
Made this twice now and it is so delicious!! Everyone who tries it loves it! Low calorie yet very filling. Thank you for sharing!!
Amazing, Amazing, Amazing! I did add Italian turkey sausage, diced peppers and onion to the sauce to make this a main meal. I also added buffalo mozzarella to the shredded. I am wondering the width and length of zucchini others have used. Also, did not have a grill pan, but broiled on baking sheet a few minutes each side then laid on paper towels to soak up moisture before rolling. I had rave reviews from skeptics who are not fond of zucchini so I encourage you to try this dish! Thank you Gina, I am now officially a true fan of you!!!
This is very good. I added a touch of nutmeg. Mmmmmm
This was so good. I used cottage cheese because I had it and ran out of ricotta. I added a two diced up mushrooms. It was a little wetter due to the cottage cheese but delicious none the less. I made my own marina sauce and that made all the difference. My zucchini were not large so I only had 9 rolls so next time I will use three instead of two zucchini.
I forgot to rate it when I left my comment 🙂
This was very good and I will be making it again. I followed the recipe except for using jar sauce, and I used grated parm. Definitely a keeper!!
This recipe is absolutely delicious! Thank you so much! Easy to prepare, tasty, full of flavour, low cal and healthy. I made it for a girlfriends birthday lunch and serve it with fresh corn on the cob. It was a huge hit. I love your recipes!
Oh my word!!!! I make so many of your recipes, but this one s by far the best. I used yellow squash instead of zucchini and I have found my new favorite.
My noodles were way too thin, so I just turned it into a lasagna. Yum!!
Absolutely delicious! And very easy to make!
Have you ever frozen this meal after prep and if so does it taste as good?
What Marinara did you use?
These were fabulous. Will definitely make again. Thanks!
OMG. This was to die for. I used my homemade spaghetti with meat sauce and it was wonderful. I gave an order to my friend and she loved it too. Thank you so much. Can’t wait to try others from you
I would like to know what other filling could you use other than ricotta cheese ?
I made this last night and it was so yummy! Thank you for another great recipe! 🙂
SUPER yummy and so easy to make! You also feel full after eating the portion size. As a law student with very limited time, this recipe was perfect for a quick dinner!
Great!
This was delicious! I wish I’d made a double batch.
I’m trying these for the first time, my family is just starting to eat healthier. I’m afraid the no meat might be a problem, but it looks so rich. I hope they all like it. I’ll let you know later!
Made this one with pesto instead of basil (what I had), was very good.
I made this for dinner and my family loved it! I don’t have a grill pan and too rainy to grill so I warmed the slices of zucchini in a large nonstick pan (no oil needed) and it worked perfectly. It tasted great the next day for leftovers too! Thank you!
I liked so much about this, but it was just a little too…. zucchiny for me. I definitely enjoyed the thinner sliced zucchini more than the few that were thicker. And I’d say I really, really liked it cold the next day all around.
Great taste! Followed exactly! Took zucchini and placed in dry Pan to “grill” since it’s winter.
Can you put spinach in the filling in this one as you did for your eggplant?
Sure, why not!
Made this great recipe again tonight! Delicious as always! Thank you!
You’re welcome! 🙂
I made this yesterday for dinner and it was delicious, as usual I added 5 garlic cloves and used a Mario Batali marinara sauce.
Tomato and I don’t get along too well. Any suggestions for another sauce? OR just none at all?
You could use an Alfredo sauce instead. In fact I’m gonna try it that way next time! ?
I would try this…but it appears to be way to high in sodium content…I like to keep sodium levels in food much lower…can you do anything to change the sodium amount?
Following.
Would I be able to make this ahead say prepare it tonight,
put it in the fridge, and then bake it tomorrow evening?
Or would it get too soggy? Thanks!
Should be OK.
This is the first time in my life that I have ever left a review or commented on anything online ever. That is how good this recipe is! My two year old couldn’t get enough and my sister asked to take some home with her. The sauce is so good that it doesn’t need meat. Amaze balls…
Thanks Kim!
How far ahead of time can I make this and keep in fridge? Dont want it to get soggy.
Thanks!
I am not sure honestly!
Made this for lunch today, was in a hurry so used store-bought sauce. It was delicious, can’t wait to take this to work.
Everyone I served these to loved them. And the leftovers were even better if that is possible. I have to say I really Ike this with eggplant but zucchini rollatini get 5 stars.
I added a step in preparation., salting the sliced zucchini then letting it weep on paper towels for hour. You can never over dehydrate zucchini! And the pepper I used was a smoked ground black pepper I picked up on my summer travels, made by a local chef in TN. It did add a gentle smokiness that was surpringly good.
Thank you Gina for helping us to stay on a healthy diet by making healthy food delicious and fun to prepare. FYI, one of our kids gave us this idea so we also take a meal to two of our pastors each week who spend so much time looking after their flocks they don’t have time to eat properly. Costco and Amazon sell takeout containers and it’s easy to send one of your healthy meals to someone who is alone.
That is a great idea, giving back is so important! 🙂
My WW calculator app is putting this as 9 SP. How did you calculate it? Thank you!
This looks perfect for our next batch of zucchinis from the garden. So simple to make. Consider it on the menu.
Do you think I could use non fat greek yogurt instead of ricotta?
You could use a low fat or fat free cottage cheese…either straight from the container or creamed in the blender or food processor. I don’t like ricotta much, so I tend to do 1/2 ricotta & 1/2 cottage cheese.
We made this tonight with all the basil and zucchini coming in the garden….it was amazing! We cooked for 30 minutes in oven and took off foil halfway through to brown the cheese. I also sprinkled Italian seasoning on top of all of the rolls. We always like extra sauce with lasagna and loaded it with fresh julienned basil before serving. (The zucchini was hard to cut evenly without a mandolin.) Big hit!
Hi Gina, Just curious if your mandoline can also be used for “spiralizing” veggies? I feel like there is a whole slew of your recipes I am missing out on because I don’t have a spiralizer, and am wondering if one tool could do the trick?
Made this last night for my husband and I – delicious! A neighbor had given me a large zucchini and it was perfect for the 2 of us. I used my grill pan and it made the zucchini “rollable” and the filling was delicious, the Pecorini cheese enhanced the flavor. Honestly all of your recipes are so good, I’ve never had a meal we all didn’t love. Thank Gina!
These were delicious!! I added a bit of the shredded mozzarella to the filling plus some fresh parsley. I like to mix the filling ahead of time as the flavor gets better. Otherwise I followed the recipe to the letter and it came out perfectly. Next time I might bake it uncovered as there was quite a bit of liquid at the bottom of the pan (it mixed with some of the ricotta that oozed out and created a wonderful sauce).
Made this for dinner last night. Everyone loved it! Only 1/16th of a pinky was sacrificed to the mandolin. (OUCH!) I can’t wait to make this again. This time I will use the safety guard. 🙂
yes please be careful!
Made this tonight. Very tasty! I think I liked it better than using pasta! I added very finely chopped, roasted carrots, sweet peppers, garlic and spinach to my filling.
How did you add the spinach and how much did you use? Trying to find tasty ways to hide spinach from my fiancé 🙂
This looks delicious! I can’t eat dairy. Does anyone have any ideas on something I could substitute for the cheese?
I’ve seen people make dairy free cheese from cashews.
The recipe reminds me of the Weight Watchers no noodles lasagna which I love. It is made with both eggplant and zucchini (although you could just use zucchini). I just cut the slices in rounds since I don’t have a mandoline. It is easier than this one as you don’t need to roll each piece, and broil the pieces (not grill) and is fewer points. Google no noodle lasagna from Weight Watchers. Really good. This looks good too, making serving easier, just not sure it’s worth the extra steps.
I have one on my blog as well, an oldie. This is actually faster and easier to make.
I just did this and they turned out great! I wanted to do the rollatini but I don’t have a mandolin and couldn’t slice them well enough to roll them up. It takes less prep time but longer to bake. Thanks for sharing Gina! 🙂
We made this for company last night. It was delicious, and so pretty when served. I really like the marinara sauce. Very tasty and easy. Thank you
Any issues with grilling them on a BBQ? Thank you!
should be ok!
YAY!!! Thank you!!!!!!! 🙂
Just made these tonight and they were delicious! My family loved them and I have a very picky eater….. They were so easy to put together. My husband agreed it would be a nice side dish for when we entertain. I can see being able to make ahead and add the sauce at the end.
No grill pan. Any suggestions for alternative pre-cooking? Would the broiler work with the zucchine on a rack?
should work
I microwaved the zucchini slices on high for 1 minute per side. Retained more flavour than grilling.
I’m going to try this next time. Thank you.
I’ve seen a lot of recipes that makes use of zucchini as a replacement for pasta and the like. I love the idea but I’ve never tried it before! This looks amazing and I’m sure it tastes amazing as well.
This looks awesome. My CSA is giving out zucchini today, so I might give this a whirl!
Do you really need the egg, or would it still work ok without it?
should be ok without
How about using an egg white instead?
Sure.
Would you be able to add ground beef?
I would add it to the sauce
I made this last night and it was delicious!!
I did add some sweet Italian turkey sausage (cooked and drained ) to the marinara sauce. It was delicious and filling. I also sprayed a fry pan and “grilled” the zucchini strips before hand and it worked great.
Good to know, I was thinking of adding Italian sausage to mine as well.
I do this on a regular basis, either with zucchini or eggplant. But i like the eggplant version better. Nonetheless, this look s delicious.
Love the timing of this! I just pulled 2 big zucchinis out the raised beds yesterday – didn’t even know they were there – whoops! Lol! Any thoughts as to how this would freeze? Has anyone tried freezing the eggplant version? I would love to put some of these rolls up to preserve my harvest if they wouldn’t get too mushy to enjoy.
Have not tried!
I’m on Weight Watchers and it doesn’t show the amount of Saturated Fat grams, can you please tell me what it is? Looks so yummy!
Yes, just added it thank you. It’s 10.5 grams
Looks delicious! I may try it with yellow summer squash too.
This looks amazing! I love when recipes seem indulgent but are actually healthy. Thank you for that! I’ll have to make it tonight. 🙂 Do you have a recommendation for zucchini prep if I don’t have a grill?
A skillet would work!
Would it be ok to use the eggplant method of covering with foil and pre-baking the zucchini or would they retain too much water that way?