Zucchini Lasagna

I’ve seen tons of recipes all over Pinterest that substitute veggies for pasta – one of the most popular ones seems to be zucchini lasagna. I thought it would be worth a try! I have my own preferences for what I like to include in my lasagna, but as far as how to prepare the zucchini itself I found a recipe at skinnytaste.com to be very helpful.

I compared several recipes, and the biggest thing I learned from this site was the importance of drawing the excess water out of the zucchini: those who skipped this step had an extra soupy outcome! I was very happy with the consistency we got with our attempt… very similar to our pasta version {not to mention that the gluten free lasagna noodles aren’t exactly cheap, so it’s an extra awesome alternative for us!}

You’ll notice the “prep time” below is an entire hour {in addition to the hour it takes to bake!} It’s definitely a little more time consuming than regular lasagna, but it’s a lot healthier too. Of course I also had a cranky toddler I was dealing with, so maybe that time could be cut down under more ideal circumstances 🙂

Zucchini Lasagna
PREP TIME 1 hour BAKE TIME 1 hour YIELDS 16-20 pieces

Ingredients:

  • 5-6 medium zucchini
  • 1 lb ground beef {or turkey}
  • 36oz spaghetti sauce {We like Preggo: 36oz is about half of their largest size container or a jar & 1/2 of the regular size}
  • 2 16oz bags mozerella cheese {we used reduced fat}
  • 1 bag parmesean cheese
  • 15 oz ricotta cheese {or cottage cheese}

Directions:
Begin by washing zucchini cutting into 1/8″ slices. We used our Pampered Chef mandolin {which unfortunately had a very small opening so I had to cut the zucchinis in half!} and it went really fast. Layer the slices between paper towels, lightly salt each layer, and let set for 10-15 minutes. This will help absorb a lot of the excess water and prevent the lasagna from getting soupy. While waiting on the zucchini, brown hamburger.
 
Next the zucchini needs to be slightly grilled {on traditional grill or in a skillet} to reduce the moisture level even more… cook over medium heat about 1-2 minutes each side. It should look ever so slightly browned, but not completely. Soak excess water with paper towels again.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Set aside 2/3 cup  of the sauce and mix the rest with cooked hamburger in medium bowl. Next all you have to do is layer your ingredients! You don’t have to do it exactly like I did, but I have found having a “middle layer” of just cheese really helps the lasagna to set up nicely after it comes out of the oven. Here’s what I did:

–> 1/3 cup “plain” sauce, zucchini, 1/3 ricotta, 1/4 mozzarella, 1/2 beef sauce, 1/4 Parmesan
–> zucchini, 1/3 ricotta, 1/4 mozzarella, 1/4 Parmesan,
–> zucchini, 1/3 ricotta, 1/4 mozzarella, 1/2 beef sauce, 1/4 Parmesan,
–> zucchini, 1/3 cup “plain” sauce, 1/4 mozzarella, 1/4 Parmesan 

Top with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes covered, then 15 minutes uncovered. Let sit at least 10-15 minutes before cutting.

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