Zucchini Lasagna with Bolognese Sauce

Are you looking for a lasagna that is low-carb but still meaty? What if I tell you you can make this lasagna with zucchini instead of pasta? I know this might sound crazy but trust me it’s very possible and the result is no less than the classic taste of lasagna.

Zucchini is used as a substitute in place of pasta since it is a healthier choice. The sauce used here is beefy bolognese sauce and you won’t even know the difference or even ask for pasta. The preparation takes 20 minutes and cooking will take less than an hour. Then, you will have a lasagna enough to serve 6 people.

Pointers before we get to the recipe

• When choosing zucchini, go for al dente baked zucchini. It has fewer carbs and more veggies.
• Use a potato peeler to slice the zucchini into super thin slices.
• Don’t make the zucchini thick instead of thin. The lasagna will turn soupy since zucchini contains a lot of moisture.
• Another method you can use to avoid having thick zucchini is placing it in an oven for about 5 minutes.

Now without further adieu, let us get into the recipe of making zucchini lasagna with bolognese sauce.

How to make zucchini lasagna with bolognese sauce

This Italian dish is the main course which needs a preparation time of less than half an hour. You cook it for another 30 minutes making the total time needed for this dish to be less than an hour.

Below are the ingredients you need to make this dish.

Ingredients:

1. • Butter
2. • Garlic
3. • Ground Beef
4. • Salt and Pepper
5. • San Marzano Tomatoes
6. • Tomato Paste
7. • Zucchini
8. • Part Skim Ricotta
9. • Frozen Spinach
10. • Grated Fresh Mozzarella

Zucchini Lasagna with Bolognese Sauce Recipe

First, we start with peeling the zucchini into thin slices. We will use 4 zucchini to prepare this dish. As advised above, use a potato peeler as it will make them super thin slices. Never try with your hand or even a mandoline if you don’t want to regret making zucchini instead of pasta.

After you sliced it perfectly, lay it on a paper towel. Cover the top with another paper towel and blot it to remove the extra moisture. Leave them out to dry while proceeding to make the next important part of the dish; the bolognese sauce.

To prepare the bolognese sauce, melt 1 butter in a medium-sized pot. After the butter is melted, use a garlic press for 2 cloves of garlic and add them. While stirring up the two for about a minute, add 3/4 pound Ground Beef and season it with salt and pepper.

Break the ground beef into pieces while stirring and wait till it turns brown. This is how you know the beef is ready. Then, add 28 ounces can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes and a tablespoon of tomato paste to the beef. Season it with salt and pepper and boil it for 10 minutes. You should boil it slow and steady to have a better result. You finished making the sauce.

Warm up the 10 ounces of frozen spinach. A little advice here is that if you put it in a strainer and run it under hot water to defrost it. After defrosting the spinach, squeeze and remove the excess water and mix it with a 15-ounce tub of part-skim ricotta.

Preparing the lasagna

You finished making the two layers of the lasagna; the sauce and ricotta and spinach mixture. The last step is setting up the lasagna. To do this you need to use a casserole dish as it is perfect to hold them perfectly.

Take your casserole dish and place them in an even place. Then pour some of the bologna sauce into the bottom of the casserole. After you do that, place the zucchini on top of the sauce. Make sure you have a thick layer or even a double thick layer.

Here, after forming the first layer, pour half of the spinach and ricotta mix. Make sure to spread it evenly till you see no sight of the zucchini slices. Then, add another layer of zucchini slices to cover the mix. Again, we are aiming for a thicker layer, so don’t forget that.

After that add the bolognese sauce over the zucchini and cover it again with zucchini slices. Follow that with pouring the rest of the spinach and ricotta mix and finish the last of the zucchini slices for making the last thick layer.

Lastly, pour the remaining bolognese sauce and finish setting up the lasagna. Make sure to sprinkle half a cup of grated fresh mozzarella. It should be baked at a high temperature of 350 degrees for half an hour. There you go, now you can serve this delicious and mouth-watering dish.

If you are a vegan, substitute the beef with a huge amount of mushrooms.