Through 8 rounds of testing, I successfully built a lasagna that's easy enough for a weeknight, built with zucchini instead of pasta for blood sugar balance, and loaded with fiber and protein. Plus, as uncomplicated as possible, no special equipment other than a 9 x 13'' pan.
The biggest knock on zucchini lasagna is that it turns into a watery mess. Salting and pressing the zucchini plus simmering the meat sauce before building solve that completely. What you get is clean slices, concentrated flavor, and none of the soggy disappointment.
Quick Look: Zucchini Lasagna Recipe
A pasta-free lasagna engineered for blood sugar balance
✋ Prep Time: 30 minutes
♨️ Cook Time: 40 minutes
⏲️ Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: ~380 per serving
Protein: ~32g per serving
Cook Method: Layered and baked uncovered at 400°F
💧 No Watery Mess: Salt and press zucchini, simmer sauce 15 minutes before building
🔪 Zucchini Prep: Coin-sliced, no mandoline needed
💚 Difficulty: Easy, weeknight friendly
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If you love the flavors here, the Healthy Lasagna Soup is worth bookmarking for a weeknight when you want all the same comfort with even less effort.
A Note on the Zucchini
Most zucchini lasagna recipes call for slicing the zucchini lengthwise into long sheets. You can totally do that, but I found it’s really hard to do without a mandoline and the consistency from one slice to the next is not super consistent.
I cut mine into coins instead which is easier to do with a regular knife, easier to evenly layer in the pan and it’s easier to get a clean slice from coins when it comes time to serve.
Of course, zucchini varies wildly in size. A "large" zucchini at one store can be twice the size of one from somewhere else. If yours are on the smaller side, grab an extra one. If they're enormous, three will be plenty. Good news is the recipe is very forgiving and precise amounts of zucchini are not required.
How to Make Zucchini Lasagna (Step by Step)
Start by slicing your zucchini into coins about a quarter inch thick. Toss with salt and then lay them in a single layer across two paper towel lined baking sheets.
After about 20 minutes, press firmly with another layer of paper towels. Don't be shy here. You want to pull as much moisture out as possible before they go into the pan.
While the zucchini rests, brown your ground beef in a large pot over medium high heat and drain off the excess fat.
Add the tomato paste, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning and stir it into the meat, letting it cook for a minute or two before adding the marinara and diced tomatoes.
Let the whole thing simmer for around 15 minutes to help thicken the sauce.
While the sauce reduces, mix together your ricotta, cottage cheese, egg, parmesan, spinach, garlic powder, salt and pepper until well combined. The spinach needs to be really well squeezed before it goes in. Wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and wring it out thoroughly or press it in a fine mesh strainer or wring it out by hand. It’s always surprising how much water is in frozen spinach.
Now you're ready to build. Spread a cup of meat sauce across the bottom of a 9x13 pan, then layer in half the zucchini coins, half the ricotta mixture, and one-third of the mozzarella, and half the remaining sauce.
Repeat with remaining zucchini, ricotta, additional third of mozzarella, then top with remaining sauce and you're ready for the oven.
Bake uncovered at 400°F for 30 minutes. Pull it out, add remaining mozzarella on top, and pop it back in for another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and just starting to bubble at the edges.
Let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing to get nice clean slices that hold together. Garnish with fresh basil if you like.
Tips, Swaps & Make-It-Your-Own Options
Swap the meat. Ground turkey, chicken or Italian sausage works just as well here if that's what you have or prefer.
Cottage cheese or ricotta or both. Full-fat ricotta is the classic move, but blended cottage cheese works equally well if that’s what you’ve got. I've made it both ways. Just make sure if you're using cottage cheese that you blend it.
The spinach is optional. I love what it adds to the ricotta layer, both for flavor and nutrition, but if you're feeding picky eaters or just don't have it on hand, leave it out.
Choose your favorite sauce. For testing, I used a less expensive store-brand sauce because they often have more water content and I wanted to make sure I could get optimal results with a lower-cost option. A higher quality sauce like Rao's is already thicker and more concentrated, so you can simmer for less time on the stove.
Make it ahead. Assemble it the night before, cover it, and refrigerate. Pull it about 30 minutes before you bake it to take the chill off and add about 10 to 15 minutes to the bake time since it's going into the oven cold.
The leftovers are so good! The layers settle overnight and the flavors continue to deepen. Cook once, eat twice!
Joanie's Balanced Bites for Blood Sugar
Between the ground beef, ricotta, egg, and mozzarella, you're looking at roughly 32 grams of protein per serving. The zucchini and spinach add fiber to every bite, and the fat from the cheese keeps things satisfying. All those factors work together to slow glucose absorption.
When I ate this for dinner with a slice of my artisan sourdough bread, my Stelo CGM logged a peak of 109 mg/dL and a "Stable response" of 0 minutes above target. Everyone's glucose response is individual, but the combination of protein, fat, and fiber in this recipe is designed to give your blood sugar the best possible outcome.
It also goes great with my family’s famous Caesar Salad, Sourdough Discard Garlic Knot Rolls or Sourdough Discard Breadsticks.
Browse ➡️ Blood Sugar-Friendly Recipes
Zucchini Lasagna Recipe with Meat Sauce
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Gluten-Free, High-Protein, Low-Carb
Description
Zucchini replaces pasta in this cheesy, protein-packed lasagna with meat sauce, A blood-sugar-friendly comfort food that delivers 32g of protein per serving and the layered richness of the real thing, without the glucose spike.
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 large zucchini, sliced into ¼-inch coins
- 2 teaspoons salt (for the zucchini)
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce
- 1 can (15.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
- 15 oz whole milk ricotta
- 1 egg
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and very well squeezed (optional)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 ½ cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella, divided
- Fresh basil for serving *optional
Instructions
- Slice zucchini into ¼-inch coins, toss with salt, and lay in a single layer across two paper towel lined baking sheets. Let rest for 20 minutes while you prep the other ingredients.
- Once the zucchini have released a good bit of moisture and look wet, press them firmly with another layer of paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible before building your lasagna. Don't be afraid to really press them to get them dry.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Brown ground beef in a large pot over medium high heat. Drain excess fat. Add tomato paste, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning and stir into the meat, cooking for 1 to 2 minutes. Add marinara and drained diced tomatoes. Stir to combine and simmer for around 15 minutes until the sauce is thickened.
- In a large bowl combine ricotta, egg, parmesan, spinach, salt, and pepper. Mix until well combined. The spinach needs to be defrosted and very well squeezed before it goes in. Wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and wring thoroughly, press through a fine mesh strainer, or squeeze by hand. Frozen spinach holds more water than you would expect.
- Spread 1 cup of meat sauce across the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Layer in half the zucchini coins, half the ricotta mixture, one-third of the mozzarella, and half the remaining meat sauce. Repeat with remaining zucchini, ricotta mixture, and another third of mozzarella, then top with remaining meat sauce.
- Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, scatter remaining mozzarella on top, and bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and just bubbling at the edges.
- Rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Garnish with fresh basil if you like and serve.
Notes
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave or covered in a 350°F oven until warmed through. This lasagna is just as good, maybe better, the next day.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 339
- Sugar: 5.5 g
- Sodium: 1354.1 mg
- Fat: 17.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 13.4 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Protein: 32.1 g
- Cholesterol: 109.3 mg
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!