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This easy Zucchini Lasagna recipe swaps pasta noodles for fresh zucchini slices for a lighter twist of the Italian classic. It’s layered with a rich tomato sauce, creamy ricotta, and melty mozzarella for a delicious summer dinner the whole family will love.
Zucchini recipes are a must during summer, and this one might be my favorite. Using thin zucchini strips instead of traditional lasagna noodles is a great way to take advantage of seasonal produce. It’s the perfect option when you want something filling but still fresh and light. Add layers of ricotta cheese, savory sauce, and mozzarella for a delicious lasagna your entire family will love.
This recipe calls for some extra prepping of the zucchini—but that little bit of extra effort is totally worth it. It’s the key to avoiding soggy lasagna and making sure your layers hold together beautifully. Roasting and draining the zucchini slices keeps your lasagna from turning into a watery mess and helps all those delicious layers stay firm and flavorful.
Why You’ll Love this Zucchini Lasagna Recipe
- Low-carb comfort food: Uses thin slices of zucchini instead of pasta noodles.
- Adaptable: Easily swap out ingredients such as ground beef, ground chicken, or even ground lamb based on your preferences.
- Perfect summer dish: Makes delicious use of abundant fresh zucchini.
- Family-friendly: Even veggie skeptics love the delicious layers of zucchini and lots of cheese.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Fresh Zucchini: Acts as zucchini noodles, providing a lighter texture and fresh taste. Smaller, medium zucchini are less watery, making them ideal.
- Ground Turkey: Offers lean protein and a mild flavor, ideal for the savory meat sauce. Substitute with ground beef, chicken sausage, or ground lamb if desired.
- Cremini Mushrooms: Add deep savory flavor and nutrition to the savory meat sauce.
- Ricotta Cheese: Adds creamy texture and binds the layers together. Cottage cheese works well as an alternative.
- Egg: Helps bind the ricotta cheese mixture so it bakes up firm and holds the layers together.
- Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheeses: Essential for melting beautifully on top, giving the lasagna that golden brown finish.
- Pasta Sauce: Adds rich tomato flavor and pairs perfectly with Italian seasoning and fresh basil.
How To Make Zucchini Lasagna
Ready to get started? Follow these simple steps to prep, layer, and bake your zucchini lasagna like a pro!
Prep Zucchini Noodles
- Preheat the oven to 450°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Trim the ends off the zucchini and slice into ¼-inch thick strips using a mandoline or sharp knife.
- Lay the zucchini slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove zucchini from the oven and transfer the strips to a plate lined with paper towels. Arrange them in a single layer and gently press another paper towel over the top to blot away excess moisture.
- Let the zucchini cool for several minutes while the remaining moisture releases.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F in preparation for baking the lasagna.
Cook the Turkey Sauce
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add ground turkey, chopped onion, and cremini mushrooms. Cook until the meat is fully browned and the vegetables are softened.
- Stir in Italian seasoning, black pepper, and pasta sauce.
- Simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes to allow extra liquid to evaporate.
Make the Cheese Filling
- In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, a beaten egg, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt, and black pepper.
- Stir until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Assemble the Lasagna
- Lightly coat a baking dish with cooking spray.
- Spread a thin layer of the turkey sauce on the bottom of the dish.
- Add a single layer of zucchini noodles.
- Spread half the ricotta mixture over the zucchini layer.
- Spoon another thin layer of sauce over the cheese.
- Repeat with remaining zucchini, ricotta mixture, and more sauce.
- Finish with a final layer of zucchini, the remaining sauce, and a generous topping of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
Bake and Serve
- Bake uncovered at 375°F for 40 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbling.
- Let the lasagna rest for 10–15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Zucchini Tips for the Best Lasagna
- Pick the Right Zucchini: Choose zucchini that are similar in size and on the smaller side. Uniform, medium zucchini make it easier to slice even zucchini noodles that hold up well in layers.
- Skip the Oversized Ones: Avoid oversized zucchini—they tend to have more water, which can lead to a watery lasagna.
- Use the Right Tool: A mandoline slicer is best for consistent ¼-inch zucchini strips. A sharp knife can work, but take your time for clean, even slices.
- Layer with Care: The zucchini strips are delicate, so handle them gently when layering. Letting the cheese mixture come to room temperature will make it easier to spread and reduce shifting during assembly.
- Avoid Watery Lasagna: Prepping your zucchini strips properly is key to avoiding a soggy lasagna. Roasting the zucchini slices helps release excess moisture, and patting them dry with paper towels ensures they don’t water down your layers. Trust me—this step makes all the difference for achieving the best texture.
Variations & Substitutes
- Meat Variations: You can easily switch up the meat in this recipe. Try ground beef, chicken sausage, ground lamb, bison, or any ground meat you prefer.
- Skip the Meat Entirely: Leave out the meat and stir chopped spinach into the sauce while it simmers. It adds a nice texture and boosts nutrition while keeping the lasagna hearty and satisfying.
- Mushroom Options: This recipe uses cremini mushrooms, but button, shiitake, or portobello mushrooms work just as well.
- Zucchini Substitutes: Not into zucchini? Thinly sliced yellow squash works perfectly and can be roasted the same way. You can also try thin eggplant slices for a different flavor and texture.
- Sauce Twist: Give this Italian classic a fresh spin by using pesto sauce instead of traditional red tomato sauce.
Avoid Watery Lasagna
Prepping your zucchini strips properly is key to avoiding a soggy lasagna. Roasting the zucchini slices helps release excess moisture, and patting them dry with paper towels ensures they don’t water down your layers. Trust me—this step makes all the difference for achieving the best texture.
You can also use slightly less tomato sauce as that also can release excess moisture. For best results, always let it sit in the pan after baking to help redistribute any excess moisture.
Storing and Making Ahead
Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Reheat uncovered at 325°F for 15-20 minutes.
Avoid freezing as zucchini becomes watery when thawed. The texture will change and may turn mushy when the lasagna is reheated.
Other Zucchini Recipes
- Crispy Air Fryer Zucchini Fries
- Roasted Zucchini and Squash
- Zucchini Fritters with Garlic Yogurt Sauce
- Zucchini Bread Oatmeal
Try this Zucchini Lasagna recipe? Don’t forget to leave a review below and let us know how they turned out!
Zucchini Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds zucchini squash, (3-4 small to medium-sized)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 4 ounces cremini mushrooms, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
- 24 ounces pasta sauce
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set a plate or tray nearby lined with paper towels for draining the zucchini after roasting.
- Trim the ends off the zucchini, then use a mandoline to slice into ¼-inch thick “lasagna noodles.” Arrange the strips in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt, and roast for 10 minutes. Once done, transfer the zucchini to the paper towel-lined plate, blot with another towel to remove excess moisture, and set aside to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.
- While the zucchini cools, cook the ground turkey, mushrooms, and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 6–8 minutes, or until fully cooked. Stir in Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and pasta sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, egg, remaining salt and pepper, 1 cup mozzarella, and ¼ cup Parmesan. Mix well.
- Lightly coat a 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread ½ cup of the meat sauce in the bottom of the dish. Layer with zucchini noodles, then spread half the ricotta mixture over the zucchini, followed by ⅓ of the meat sauce. Repeat the layers—zucchini, remaining ricotta, ⅓ more sauce. Finish with a final layer of zucchini, the remaining sauce, and top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
- Bake uncovered for 40 minutes, or until the top is golden and bubbling. Let rest for 10–15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this lasagna and I absolutely loved it 😋😍
This recipe was awesome! I’m now making it again, and bringing it to grandma’s house today for a small family gathering. I’m from the generation of The ZONE DIET , and it feels like the Keto diet is the offspring of such. Thank you for putting this recipe out there. I need to cut the carbs out so please keep these great recipes coming!
I’m so glad you enjoyed. Thanks so much for your feedback!
Is the carb count for the whole dish or per serving? Just trying to see if I can apply this to keto lifestyle.
The nutritional information is calculated per serving. The dish has 6 large servings, but you can easily cut the servings back and serve with something else if you’re looking to cut the carbs. You can also cut back on the amount of sauce if you want to cut carbs. Enjoy!
I was a little nervous about using zucchini at first but I didn’t even miss the noodles, so yummy!
Love this! Such a great way to use zucchini.