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Baked Zucchini Lasagna

September 8, 2024   21 Comments

Lasagna is one of those foods that top favorite foods lists and so I came up with baked zucchini lasagna to help lighten this classic.

Baked Zucchini Lasagna

My son, not unlike Garfield, hasn’t met a lasagna he doesn’t like. Honestly, the kid could eat his own tray of the stuff if we let him (always trying to get him to eat his salad before he can have seconds, thirds, etc.). I decided to update my lasagna because of him.

My first idea was to drop the noodles and use zucchini instead since it is much lower in carbohydrates and calories (and I had seen many recipes for this version in lighter cookbooks).

Guess what I got?

I made a lovely side dish of cheesy zucchini but NOONE (especially my son) was tricked by the lack of pasta noodles. “Mom, where is the lasagna? This is yucky.”

I had to agree that it got too watery because the zucchini “noodles” released all of their liquid while cooking and it got a bit soupy. Also, the dish is so iconic that it is hard to replace the pasta without turning it into something else.

I went back to the drawing board (or in my case the kitchen counter) and designed a lasagna without meat and one layer of zucchini. Miraculously, my son didn’t notice the zucchini and I had a hit on my hands.

This isn’t going to win a “healthiest casserole” award but it is an improvement over the calorie bomb that is normal lasagna. I make two of these at a time and freeze one for a later meal.

I love cooking in my 9x13 casserole dish. Everyone has one and so I feel like this type of recipe is really accessible..

My Mexican Zucchini Boats are another wonderful way to use zucchini to lighten things up. Last week, I shared my zucchini breakfast muffins and they were well received.

Gotta love zucchini – it is so versatile and affordable.

Sneaky Zucchini Lasagna

2.4 from 42 reviews

reprinted from Snack Girl to the Rescue!

Serves 8, 1 ¼ cups per serving

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Ingredients

1 (15-ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
1 (25-ounce) jar tomato sauce, no cheese or sugar added (such as marinara sauce)
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced fire- roasted tomatoes with juice
1 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 7 or 8 slices
6 no-boil lasagna noodles
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F degrees.

Mix the ricotta, Parmesan, and egg in a small bowl. In another bowl, combine the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.

Pour 1 cup of the tomato mixture into a 9 × 13 × 2-inch casserole. Layer all of the zucchini slices over the sauce.

Dollop half the ricotta mixture over the zucchini and top with another cup of the tomato mixture. Cover with 3 pasta sheets and spread with the rest of the ricotta mixture. Add 1 cup sauce and top with the remaining 3 pasta sheets. Top with the rest of the sauce and cover with grated mozzarella.

Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes to finish melting the cheese. After taking the lasagna out of the oven, let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes to firm up.

Nutrition Facts

254 calories, 10.8 g fat, 5.7 g saturated fat, 24.3 g carbohydrates, 6.3 g sugar, 16.6 g protein, 2.5 g fiber, 644 mg sodium, 8 Freestyle SmartPts

Points values are calculated by Snack Girl and are provided for information only. See all Snack Girl Recipes

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21 Comments:

I do this with eggplant. To get rid of the excess water I hold the pan up a little bit by one corner. This drains all the liquid d to the opposite corner, then I just suck it out with a turkey baster

I have made lasagne with only zucchini for years. My husband and I prefer it over the pasta version. I just bake it longer to let some of the excess liquid evaporate. So good!

I thinly slice,season and roast my egg plant and zucchini before I put it into my Lasagna.

That looks absolutely delicious!!

this looks delicious gonna make it this week for sure. and the leftovers will be just as good the next day or so. perfect. thanks

Lisa, are you your own food photographer? I'm not a huge fan of zucchini but these photos have my mouth watering. I'm going to try this dish and if it tastes as good as it looks I'll be happy! I've never even thought of lasagna without those lovely big noodles

but I just might become a convert! Does the casserole get soggy when defrosted, and if

so how can I avoid the problem?

@Frances -I am my own food photographer! My experience is that it doesn't get soggy as the liquid is soaked up by the noodles and cheese. If you give it a try let me know how it goes.

Thanks for your question!

Hmmm this dish looks yummy. I will definitely try this recipe especially for my son he is not a veggie person.

I have so many problems with cutting the zucchini! It's difficult for me, any suggestions?

Invest in a mandolin kitchen tool it will help with any slicing job and much faster too!

This looks amazing-

but it calls for 6 noodles for 2 layer- did that really fill a 9x13 like you wrote about, I would think it would do an 8x8 better? Or need 8-10 noodles sheets for the larger pan??

Suzanne Somers used eggs instead of noodles in her lasagna recipe making it completely carb free. Layer egg - (cooked like a thin omelettes) instead of noodles - you cannot tell the difference. I continue to make lasagna like this to this day.

YUM! Great recipe. As for zucchini and eggplant, it is best to slice what you want and salt the pieces generously for about 30 minutes. Then rinse with fresh water and pat dry. This will remove excess moisture and prepare your veggies for cooking without a lot of excess water and it removes the bitterness from eggplant.

Looks great/ I will try this...also I will try to figure how to do it with omelette-like noodles. thanks for all you do!

I tossed my Mandolin slicer, I cut my hand on it. I will just have to use extra care to cut my zucchini and egg plant thin.

We don’t eat carb loaded foods like pasta etc. so I will try this, thanks

THIS SOUNDS DELICIOUS, I WILL GIVE IT A TRY. THANK YOU SNACK GIRL. BE SAFE, BLESSINGS TO ALL. ANNETTE

Can't rate Snack girl's recipe yet, but Annette from 2018, the egg recipe sounds awesome!!

★★★

I've been making this all summer as well. Mine is vegan and I make all of my own cheeses. I use whole wheat oven ready lasagna noodles but had to order them direct from the manufacturer because no one carries them here. My recipe also includes roasted red peppers that I think make the dish absolutely magic. I roasted my own recently because I didn't want to go to the store. I put half in the freezer so I still have half of it left. It is our favorite dish this summer. We have had it several times.

Debra what company sells the whole wheat lasagna noodles?

I’ve used the bean based lasagna noodles. They are great too?

This looks amazing and I'm going to try it. How long do you bake the frozen one? Thanks.

I foundthis recipe to be a complete waste of good ingredients. The zucchini put out so much water, it made the ricotta mixture runny, watery and,frankly, pretty disgusting.

★

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