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Delicious lasagna rolls made using zucchini instead of pasta. A healthy, gluten free alternative with all the flavor of the traditional version!
Every once in a while I like to spend a little more time and effort making dinner. During the week I’m all about easy, fast recipes, because let’s be honest who wants to come home after a long day at work and have to spend a lot of time trying to get dinner on the table. Not me and I work from home!
The weekend however, especially Sunday, is a great time to try out a new recipe or cooking technique that you wouldn’t normally. This doesn’t mean spending hours in the kitchen, trust me I’d rather spend my afternoon out on a hike or bike ride, but it does mean spending more than 30 minutes.
These Zucchini Lasagna Rolls were not only a new recipe, but a new technique that I tried last weekend and I absolutely loved how they turned out!
I decided to use zucchini instead of pasta to make these lasagna rolls for a couple reasons. The biggest being that my garden is producing an insane amount of zucchini right now and I need to find ways to use it.
You might be thinking that using zucchini as a pasta replacement sounds like a lot of effort or maybe isn’t going to taste very good, but I actually found it to be a great healthy substitute.
It actually took less time for me to cut the zucchini into planks and grill it (you could roast it as well) until it was soft and pliable, than it would have taken to cook the pasta. As far as flavor, no it is not pasta so don’t go into it thinking that it is.
However, zucchini has a very mild neutral flavor and when it’s rolled up with ricotta and Italian sausage, topped with marinara sauce and melted mozzarella, you hardly even notice you’re eating a vegetable!
I kept the filling for these lasagna rolls on the lighter side by using part skim ricotta and low fat cottage cheese instead of whole milk ricotta. I stuck the ricotta and cottage cheese along with my seasonings, some parmesan cheese, and fresh herbs in the blender and blended it until smooth.
Along with filling the zucchini lasagna rolls with the ricotta mixture I also added a some pieces of crumbled Italian turkey sausage. If you want to keep it vegetarian, just omit it.
Once the zucchini planks were filled and rolled I topped them with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese then baked them just until the cheese was melted and they were warmed through. It was the perfect lightened up, vegetable packed lasagna, and a great way to use my garden fresh zucchini.
Zucchini Lasagna Rolls
Ingredients
Ricotta Filling
- 8 ounces part skim ricotta cheese
- 4 ounces low fat cottage cheese
- 3 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- Black pepper to taste
Other Ingredients:
- 2 large zucchini cut lengthwise into 8 (1/4 inch thick) slices
- 1 link mild Italian turkey sausage cooked and crumbled (optional)
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Ricotta Filling
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
Grilled Zucchini
- Heat a grill or grill pan to medium high heat. While the grill is heating, slice the zucchini lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick planks.
- Spray with cooking spray or brush with oil both sides of the zucchini planks, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the zucchini on the hot grill and cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until the zucchini is soft and pliable. Remove from the grill and cool until they can be handled.
Assembling the Zucchini Lasagna Rolls
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Spray a 10.5 x 7 inch casserole dish or similar size with cooking spray. Spread a 1/4 cup of the marinara sauce evenly over the bottom of the dish.
- Blot any excess liquid off of the cooled planks of zucchini with paper towels. Spoon about a tablespoon of the ricotta filling onto one side of the zucchini and spread it into an even layer. Sprinkle a few of the cooked sausage crumbles on top of the filling.
- Roll up the zucchini and place them seam side down in the casserole dish. Top the zucchini rolls with the remaining marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Notes
- If your cottage cheese and ricotta are on the watery side, I suggest draining the excess liquid from them prior to blending the filling.
- Refrigerating the ricotta filling for 30-60 minutes helps it firm up.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Italian Recipes:
Vegetarian Lasagna Soup
Turkey and Spinach Spaghetti Squash Lasagna
Hey! I would love to thank you for this wonderful recipe. Thank you so much , I will try it with my daughter. My daughter loves you and we always follow you , thanks
Hi! I have a question about how you cut the zucchini. I know you said to cut them length-wise into planks and roll them up once the filling is inside them, but in the pictures, it looks like you have rolls that are about 2-3 inches long. So did you further cut each plank in half? Trying to figure this out before making it! :)
thanks very good
Just wondering if this would freeze well at all. I am guessing not. Can it be made a day ahead?
Hi Sylvia,
Unfortunately this is not a freezer friendly meal. Zucchini has a lot of water in it and doesn’t reheat well after being frozen. If you make it the day ahead there will probably be liquid in the bottom of the dish. You can drain the excess out and it should be ok after that.
I love this recipe! I am wondering if you have ever made it and froze the leftovers? I am not sure how it would hold up after being frozen but hate to throw food away. Any thoughts or ideas!
Hi Tami,
I’m glad you liked the zucchini lasagna! I don’t think it would freeze very well as zucchini tends to get more watery and often mushy once it’s been frozen and defrosted.
I keep on seeing this on Pinterest and combined with the fact that I am up to my ears in zucchini right now, I think sweet baby Jeebus is sending me a sign that I need to be cooking this delicious looking dish.
Ha! It’s a sign! Better get yourself some zucchini. ;-)
Is the parm used sprinkle park or shredded parm?
Hi Jordan,
I always use a piece of fresh parmesan cheese and shred it myself. I’m not a big fan of the crumbly stuff in the green container. ;-)
In this recipe you add 1 turkey sausage? is this one pound, one patty? not sure how much to use.
Thanks!
Hi Ashley,
I used one link of turkey sausage and removed the casing before crumbling and cooking it. Hope this helps!
Hi! I feel when I buy zucchini they are so skinny. When I cut mine for this recipe they were more like tiny bites and I had so much filling left. I was curious if you have any ideas where I might find bigger zucchini or other squash type veggies I could use.
Hi Brooke,
I think the size of zucchini is more dependent on the season than anything. Since it’s “season” is summer you might have better luck finding larger ones then. In the meantime you might try just skipping the rolling and layering the zucchini planks like you would in a traditional lasagna. Hope this helps. :-)
I’ve just made these! Sooo delicious, much lighter than a classic lasagna and even my boyfriend liked it a lot. ( and he’s a fan of the original) Thanks so much!
Thanks for trying out the lasagna Julie and I’m happy to hear you and your boyfriend enjoyed it! I love that it doesn’t leave you feeling like you need a nap after eating it! ;-)