Zucchini Noodle Lasagna
I love lasagna, but since going vegetarian, it is impossible to find one that is decent.
Vegetable lasagna is ok but being vegetarian doesn’t mean I don’t like depth of flavor and a variety of textures. I STILL WANT DELICIOUS FOOD, DAMN IT. So I took this matter into my own hands.
As much as I love pasta, sometimes I just want something a little lighter. Here’s where the zucchini comes in. I do not love zucchini. I don’t hate it, I just don’t love it. I have always found it watery and sort of flavorless. But in this recipe, I love it. It works so well as a noodle substitute IF AND ONLY IF you follow my directions.. Listen very closely.
The first important step is that you slice it with a mandolin. Maybe, if you’re really good with a knife, you could do it by hand, but I’ve just never found hand slicing to produce slices thin enough for what we need here. So just use a mandolin if you have it.
Prep, prep, prep
Place those slices into a bowl in layers, very heavily salting each layer. Set aside until most of the water has been pulled from the zucchini. Place the zucchini slices in a single layer between kitchen towels to wipe off any remaining water and let sit for another 5 minutes.
Place zucchini on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake off to release the rest of the water.
Now. This seems like a lot of steps, I know. But it is what makes this recipe work. So, don’t skip it. Please. (Or do, but don’t get mad at me when the lasagna is watery!) While these are cooking, make your filling! Lots of veggies, ground veggie sausage and spices go into the filling and a ricotta, egg, parmesan and spice mixture is used as the ricotta layer.
Then, we make a regular lasagna! Layer zucchini, sauce (I used pre-made), ricotta mixture and the
Once all layers are complete, we top with more cheese and pop it in the oven… the rest… well, I think you can take it from there. YUM!
So delicious!
Zucchini Noodle Lasagna
Ingredients:
- 1/2 container part-skim ricotta
- 2 cups part skim mozzarella
- 1/2 cup parmesan
- 1 container store bought vegetarian sausage (I used Lightlife Gimme Lean)
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 egg
- 1 container store bought marinara (I used Trader Joes)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Slice zucchini long way on mandolin slicer. Place zucchini slices in a bowl in layers, salting each layer. Set aside for 20 mins or until most of the water is pulled from the zucchini.
- Place zucchini on layered paper towels to wipe off remaining water and let dry 5 minutes.
- Place zucchini slices in single layers on parchment paper and bake for 15 mins to release the rest of the water.
- While zucchini is in the oven, cook diced onion, garlic, bell pepper and ground veggie sausage, adding basil, oregano, salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, egg, basil, oregano, garlic powder, salt and Parmesan.
- Take zucchini out of the oven and layer lasagna with zucchini, sauce, ricotta mixture, veggie and sausage mixture.
- Once you have all the layers complete, top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and bake for 35-40 mins or until cheese on top browns. Slice and enjoy!
