Thinly sliced zucchini swaps in for the pasta in this low-carb Zucchini Lasagna recipe, with delicious results! With layers of meaty sauce, creamy cottage cheese, and plenty of melty mozzarella, it’s every bit as rich as the original, minus the carbs.
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Lasagna, lightened up.
I love classic lasagna (I do have a pulse), but it feels heavy during the summer months. When it comes to keeping dinner on the lighter side while making sure it is plenty satisfying, this low carb zucchini lasagna is the move!
- This zucchini lasagna has a hearty tomato meat sauce, plenty of cheese, and those tender zucchini “noodles,” which are a surprisingly good pasta stand-in. While some lightened up recipes taste like disappointment, there are zero regrets with zucchini lasagna!
- The biggest struggle with making zucchini lasagna is to keep it from becoming watery. Fortunately, I have accumulated a lot of knowledge in this area, courtesy of other zucchini carb-swap recipes I’ve developed, like Zucchini Ravioli and Zucchini Enchiladas.
5 Star Review
“That was DELICIOUS!!! Definitely making again and again.”
— Gina —
My Tips for Perfect Zucchini Lasagna
- Precook the Zucchini. In order to keep the zucchini lasagna from becoming watery, you must draw out the water by broiling or grilling the zucchini first. You can also experiment with drawing water out of the zucchini by salting the slices, letting them sit for 10 minutes, then patting them dry, instead of broiling or grilling it, though I found the results were mixed.
- Get a Head Start. Up to 1 day in advance, trim and slice the zucchini as directed. Prepare the meat sauce layer and the cottage cheese layer. Refrigerate separately until you’re ready to layer the lasagna.
- Don’t Add More Layers. You may notice that this recipe has fewer layers compared to traditional lasagnas. This is because as you pile on the zucchini, you increase the likelihood of the zucchini lasagna being watery. Two layers will give you cheesy, saucy lasagna that isn’t soggy or watery.
- Skip the Freezing. Unfortunately, I do not recommend freezing this recipe, as the zucchini will become very watery and mushy once thawed.
How to Make Zucchini Lasagna
Broil. Trim and slice the zucchini. Cook with oil, salt, and pepper on the grill or under the broiler. Pat dry.
Brown the Beef. Cook the beef with salt and oregano. Stir in the garlic.
Make It Saucy. Stir in the sauce.
Combine. Add the cottage cheese, Parmesan, egg, salt, pepper, and spinach to a bowl.
Mix. Stir until combined.
Start Assembling. In a casserole dish coated with nonstick spray, spread half of the sauce on the bottom. Top the sauce with half of the zucchini.
Keep Layering. Add all of the cheese mixture.
More Layers. Add another layer of zucchini and sauce on top.
Bake It. Finish with the mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake zucchini lasagna at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Top the lasagna with fresh basil. Let rest, then ENJOY!
Recipe Variations
- Make It Meatless. If you prefer your zucchini lasagna vegetarian, use zucchini noodles in place of the eggplant in this Eggplant Lasagna or Vegetable Lasagna. Prepare the zucchini according to the salting/blotting method outlined in the recipe below.
- Keto Zucchini Lasagna. Use full-fat cottage cheese or ricotta and make sure the pasta sauce doesn’t have any added sugar.
- Make Zucchini Eggplant Lasagna. Replace half of the zucchini with thinly sliced eggplant.
- Try Another Meat. Ground beef makes the lasagna heartier and adds a delicious meaty flavor, but ground bison, turkey, or chicken would also work well.
- Use Ricotta Instead of Cottage Cheese. I made this as a zucchini lasagna without ricotta, but you can swap the cottage cheese for part skim ricotta cheese if you prefer.
- Swap in Fresh Spinach. If you have fresh spinach on hand that you’d like to use instead, you can swap it here. Sauté it on the stove first to draw out the extra moisture, then add to the recipe as directed.
What to Serve with Zucchini Lasagna
- Salad. Arugula Salad is the perfect simple side dish for any lasagna recipe.
- Bread. Sop up the last bits from your plate with Rosemary Olive Oil Bread or No Knead Focaccia.
- Vegetables. Up the veggie factor in your meal by pairing your zucchini lasagna with Roasted Broccolini or Air Fryer Cauliflower.
Zucchini Lasagna
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 1 hour
Servings: 6 servings
No noodles needed! This zucchini lasagna has a hearty meat sauce, creamy spinach filling, and plenty of cheese—and it's not watery at all.
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Ingredients
- 3 medium/large zucchini about 2 pounds
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt divided
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper divided
- 1 pound lean ground beef or ground bison
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (24-ounce) can prepared marinara-style pasta sauce (I like DeLallo or Rao's)
- 1 (16-ounce) container low-fat cottage cheese or part skim ricotta cheese
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach thawed with excess water squeezed out
- ½ cup finely grated Parmesan divided
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese or a blend of mozzarella and provolone
- ¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
Instructions
- Cook the zucchini: Trim off the ends of the zucchini (no need to peel). Slice lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick planks (a mandolin is the best way to do this). You should have about 6 to 8 slices per zucchini. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Toss to coat the slices evenly.
- GRILL METHOD: Preheat an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan to medium. Lightly coat the grill with canola oil, then grill the zucchini until cooked and lightly brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. BROIL METHOD: Place the top oven rack about 5 inches from the upper heat element. Set the oven to broil. Divide the zucchini between two baking sheets, laying the slices in a single layer so they are not touching. (Do not line the baking sheet pans with parchment, as the paper will burn.) Broil the first sheet pan for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the zucchini slices are lightly browned. Repeat with the second sheet pan. Once the zucchini is broiled or grilled, let cool slightly, then gently pat dry to remove excess moisture. Turn the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large skillet heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and oregano. Cook, breaking apart the meat, until it is browned and cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and let cook 30 seconds.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Add the pasta sauce and stir to combine.
- In a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese, ¼ cup Parmesan, egg, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, mixing well.
- Stir in the spinach, using a fork to break it up and distribute it as evenly with the cottage cheese mixture as possible.
- Coat a 9×13-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray. Spread half of the sauce onto the bottom of the dish in an even layer. Arrange half of the zucchini slices over the top, overlapping them slightly as needed.
- Top the zucchini slices with all of the cheese mixture.
- Top with the remaining zucchini, then the remaining sauce.
- Sprinkle evenly with the mozzarella and remaining ¼ cup Parmesan. Bake the zucchini lasagna for 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the lasagna is hot and bubbly. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with fresh basil. Let rest 5 to 10 minutes, then serve.
Video
Notes
- TO STORE: Refrigerate lasagna in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days.
- TO REHEAT: Rewarm leftovers in a baking dish in the oven at 350 degrees F or in the microwave.
Nutrition
Serving: 1(of 6)Calories: 401kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 37gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 97mgPotassium: 1111mgFiber: 4gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 6510IUVitamin C: 29mgCalcium: 405mgIron: 5mg
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Yum,Yum,Yum!!!!
Hi Frank! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for this kind review!
A delicious way to prepare lasagne. Kids live it too!
Hi Danielle! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for this kind review!
This is delicious! I used a pound of ground turkey that I seasoned with Italian sausage spices along with fresh oregano and sage. Mine was a bit watery, so next time I need to cook the zucchini a bit longer to release more of the water prior to assembling the layers.
Hi Shelley! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
That was DELICIOUS!!! Definitely making again and again ♥️.
Hi Gina! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
My husband and I absolutely loved this! I used ground beef and 4% cottage cheese. Came out fantastic. We are sure the leftovers will be even better! Highly recommend.
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you Ellen!
Really great tasting ! In French I would say “Délicieux”.
I put this recipe in my file “Absolutely to be done again”.!!!
Great to hear, thank you Doris!
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!!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Roxanne!
Damn! This is so much better than the traditional lasagna that we know. This is so delicious and flavorful! I did not have enough zucchini, so I used eggplant and it worked like a charm.
Thank you Caroline!
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 it again soon.
Love it! Thank you Molly!
Can leftovers be frozen?
Hi Donna, I’m not sure the zucchini would hold up under freezing. If you decide to experiment, I’d love to know how it goes!
We absolutely loved it!
So glad to hear, Christy! Thank you!
Can I make this recipe without meat of any kind? If so do I skip the the step regarding cooking the meat?
Thank you.
Hi Carlos! Sure, I think that could work. If adding no meat, you can skip the step to cooking it. Enjoy!
I loved the and so did my husband. It will be my go to lasagna recipe. It was a tad watery still, not sure if that’s because I used a homemade marinara or not… also my son who doesn’t like zucchini could easily detect it, and pulled all the zucchini out- so if you have a vegetable/zucchini hater, maybe this isn’t the one for them. Next time I’ll make half with regular noodles, half zucchini for hubby and Me.
Thanks for the feedback, Catherine. So glad you enjoyed it!