Baked Zucchini Lasagna

August 29, 2023 18 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.

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 9×13 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

3.9 from
11 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.