Absolutely Delicious (Gluten Free and Keto Friendly) Zucchini Lasagna
Whether you are wanting to lower your carbs, get more veggies in, or are gluten-free, I have the perfect lasagna recipe for you today. I have been on the keto diet for the better part of a year now, and there are some things I miss for sure! I really miss great pasta dishes, and lasagna has got to be at the top of my list.
It has actually always been my favorite meal my whole life, since my mom got me hooked with her amazing recipe when I was a child. It was always the birthday meal I requested and still has been the last 15 years I’ve been married. A few years ago my husband starting making regular lasagna for dinner and chocolate lasagna for dessert and my heart just melts into a puddle when he does this. He wins all the brownie points for this!
If you are keto or gluten free, but miss the taste of lasagna, I have just the recipe for you today. My favorite food blogger, Natasha’s Kitchen, has such a great recipe for zucchini lasagna, I promise you won’t even miss the real pasta. I love lasagna recipes that use ricotta cheese and this one has the best cheese sauce with ricotta. You could always swap ricotta for cottage cheese, if that’s what you’ve got on hand.
One thing that I appreciated about this recipe was her suggesting that you can actually just slice your zucchini into rings. I don’t own a mandolin and find it fussy enough to slice a zucchini into thin ribbons lengthwise that I don't do it :) So I appreciated knowing that it can still turn out beautifully with slicing zucchini into rings and layering them. I am so obsessed with my new food processor that I am trying all the recipes that let me pull out this baby and slice all of the things! My Ninja XL Professional food processor has a slicing plate that allows you to customize how thin your slices will be--anything from 0.5mm up to 8mm thick. It is so cool! So I can attest that slicing zucchini slices into rings turns out great for this zucchini lasagna recipe. No risk of any cuts to the fingers using a mandolin slicer!
Speaking of that, this recipe also introduced me to gloves you can purchase from Amazon for about $10 that protect your hands and fingers from getting cut from a knife or something like a mandolin. Natasha was wearing them while slicing her zucchini using the mandolin slicer and I think those are brilliant! I need to get some asap for any of my cutting and grating, etc.
I hope you give this recipe a try. It’s a great way to use up zucchini if you’ve got a garden, especially if you grow them and you’ve got a couple that are too overgrown.
2 lbs zucchini, 4-5 medium/large, cut into 1/4” thick slices or rings*
1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking spray, plus more for meat sauces
3 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 lbs ground beef, 15-20% fat content
1 cup yellow onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
24 ounces pasta sauces, homemade or store-bought
1/4 cup chopped basil or parsley, divided
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
15 ounces reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
Directions:
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It has actually always been my favorite meal my whole life, since my mom got me hooked with her amazing recipe when I was a child. It was always the birthday meal I requested and still has been the last 15 years I’ve been married. A few years ago my husband starting making regular lasagna for dinner and chocolate lasagna for dessert and my heart just melts into a puddle when he does this. He wins all the brownie points for this!
If you are keto or gluten free, but miss the taste of lasagna, I have just the recipe for you today. My favorite food blogger, Natasha’s Kitchen, has such a great recipe for zucchini lasagna, I promise you won’t even miss the real pasta. I love lasagna recipes that use ricotta cheese and this one has the best cheese sauce with ricotta. You could always swap ricotta for cottage cheese, if that’s what you’ve got on hand.
One thing that I appreciated about this recipe was her suggesting that you can actually just slice your zucchini into rings. I don’t own a mandolin and find it fussy enough to slice a zucchini into thin ribbons lengthwise that I don't do it :) So I appreciated knowing that it can still turn out beautifully with slicing zucchini into rings and layering them. I am so obsessed with my new food processor that I am trying all the recipes that let me pull out this baby and slice all of the things! My Ninja XL Professional food processor has a slicing plate that allows you to customize how thin your slices will be--anything from 0.5mm up to 8mm thick. It is so cool! So I can attest that slicing zucchini slices into rings turns out great for this zucchini lasagna recipe. No risk of any cuts to the fingers using a mandolin slicer!
Speaking of that, this recipe also introduced me to gloves you can purchase from Amazon for about $10 that protect your hands and fingers from getting cut from a knife or something like a mandolin. Natasha was wearing them while slicing her zucchini using the mandolin slicer and I think those are brilliant! I need to get some asap for any of my cutting and grating, etc.
I hope you give this recipe a try. It’s a great way to use up zucchini if you’ve got a garden, especially if you grow them and you’ve got a couple that are too overgrown.
Zucchini Lasagna
This Zucchini Lasagna is just as tasty as our traditional lasagna recipe but with fewer calories! We substitute zucchini for lasagna noodles to make it low-carb and gluten-free. It's just as melty and cheesy with the same crave-worthy bolognese sauce, ricotta cheese mixture, and melty mozzarella cheese. We promise that you won't miss the pasta! Author: Natasha Kravchuk Recipe Type: Italian Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Prep time:
Cook time:
Serving size: 12
Calories per serving: 575
Ingredients:
Cook time:
Serving size: 12
Calories per serving: 575
2 lbs zucchini, 4-5 medium/large, cut into 1/4” thick slices or rings*
1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking spray, plus more for meat sauces
3 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 lbs ground beef, 15-20% fat content
1 cup yellow onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
24 ounces pasta sauces, homemade or store-bought
1/4 cup chopped basil or parsley, divided
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
15 ounces reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
Directions:
Prepare Zucchini – Preheat outdoor grill, grill pan, or large skillet to medium/high heat. Slice zucchini into 1/4” thick long slices or rings if preferred, discard the ends. Spray or brush both sides lightly with olive oil and season all over with about 2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Grill for 2 minutes per side over medium/high heat until crisp-tender.
Make the Meat Sauce – preheat the oven to 375 ?F. Place a deep saucepan or Dutch oven over medium/high heat and add 1 Tbsp olive oil and ground beef. Sauté, breaking it up with a spatula until browned, about 5 minutes. Drain off all but 2 Tbsp of fat.
Add diced onions and sauté 5 minutes, then add garlic and sauté another minute. Add pasta sauce, half to the basil or parsley. Season with 1 tsp fine sea salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Bring to a low boil, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste then remove from heat and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup mozzarella, ricotta cheese, parmesan, 1 egg, the rest of your basil or parsley, and 1/2 tsp fine sea salt. Stir to combine.
Spread 1/2 cup meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish. Add a layer of zucchini, spread 1/3 of the meat sauce, and sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella. Spoon on and spread the top with 1/2 of your cheese sauce. Repeat until you have 3 layers of zucchini.
Poke 9-12 toothpicks over the surface of your lasagna (to keep the foil from sticking to the cheese). Cover with foil and bake at 375 ?F for 40-45 minutes. Remove the foil and broil for 3-4 minutes to create a golden cheesy top. Rest for 15 minutes before slicing and garnish with basil or parsley, if desired, and serve.
Notes:
*To Slice Zucchini, we find it’s easiest to use a mandolin slicer set to slice at 1/4? thick. We highly recommend wearing safety gloves anytime you are using a mandolin slicer to keep your hands safe. Alternatively, you can use a large vegetable peeler to cut zucchini into slices.
Source: natashaskitchen.com
Make the Meat Sauce – preheat the oven to 375 ?F. Place a deep saucepan or Dutch oven over medium/high heat and add 1 Tbsp olive oil and ground beef. Sauté, breaking it up with a spatula until browned, about 5 minutes. Drain off all but 2 Tbsp of fat.
Add diced onions and sauté 5 minutes, then add garlic and sauté another minute. Add pasta sauce, half to the basil or parsley. Season with 1 tsp fine sea salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Bring to a low boil, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste then remove from heat and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup mozzarella, ricotta cheese, parmesan, 1 egg, the rest of your basil or parsley, and 1/2 tsp fine sea salt. Stir to combine.
Spread 1/2 cup meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish. Add a layer of zucchini, spread 1/3 of the meat sauce, and sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella. Spoon on and spread the top with 1/2 of your cheese sauce. Repeat until you have 3 layers of zucchini.
Poke 9-12 toothpicks over the surface of your lasagna (to keep the foil from sticking to the cheese). Cover with foil and bake at 375 ?F for 40-45 minutes. Remove the foil and broil for 3-4 minutes to create a golden cheesy top. Rest for 15 minutes before slicing and garnish with basil or parsley, if desired, and serve.
Notes:
*To Slice Zucchini, we find it’s easiest to use a mandolin slicer set to slice at 1/4? thick. We highly recommend wearing safety gloves anytime you are using a mandolin slicer to keep your hands safe. Alternatively, you can use a large vegetable peeler to cut zucchini into slices.
Source: natashaskitchen.com
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Mary Richardson
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
Email the author! mary@dvo.com
