Today’s zucchini lasagna recipe brings a delicious and comforting dish to please your taste buds. Whip this up for tasty layers of luscious ground beef, fresh green zucchini, and a creamy white sauce in each and every spoonful.
Is Zucchini Lasagna Healthy?
Yes, our zucchini lasagna is a healthy option to add to your nutritious eating profile.
First, zucchini is a wonderful source of nutrition – rich in fiber, and packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Eating this summer squash will provide you with many awesome health benefits, such as strengthening vision, improving digestion, and promoting heart health.
Secondly, our dish is high in protein, thanks to the beef. One serving of this zucchini lasagna contains a significant amount of 24 grams.
Plus, our dish offers a considerable amount of vitamins A and C, with each serving accounting for 10% and 39% of your recommended daily intake, respectively.
Now that we have learned how healthy it is, let’s take a look at the ingredient list.
Ingredients for This Recipe
Our zucchini lasagna is made up of three main layers: the beef sauce, the zucchini, and the white sauce.
For the beef sauce, we use 85% percent lean ground beef to stir fry with seasonings, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste.
Next up, we have the zucchini. This summer squash is mildly sweet in taste, tender in texture, and absolutely refreshing. For this recipe, zucchini works as a light-tasting alternative to replace the hearty noodles in a traditional lasagna.
Last on the list, we have the creamy white sauce, made from butter, flour, milk, and chicken broth.
Wait for it, how can we miss out on a cheese topping when it comes to lasagna? A generous sprinkling of mozzarella cheese on top simply works magic for any lasagna recipe.
How Do You Keep Zucchini Lasagna From Being Watery?
Lasagna, when done right, is simply irresistible. However, nothing is more heartbreaking than cutting into a watery piece of lasagna.
Worry not, here are 3 super simple tips to success:
- Bake or grill the zucchini beforehand. Zucchini has a high water content, so baking or grilling them first is essential. (That is why we instruct you to bake zucchini separately in the first step of our instructions in the recipe card)
- Make sure that the beef sauce and the white sauce reach the right level of thickness. For this recipe, adding tomato paste to the beef sauce and flour to the white sauce helps thicken them. Remember to simmer these sauces until they reach the desired consistency.
- Don’t add too much sauce for each layer. When layering, only spread a fair amount of sauce at a time, enough to cover the entire surface, but not too thick of a layer.
What to Serve with Zucchini Lasagna
Check out these refreshing salad recipes to pair with our delicious zucchini lasagna:
- Burrata Salad Recipe
- Broccoli Cauliflower Salad Recipe
- Spinach Salad Recipe
- Kale Salad Recipe
- Lyonnaise Salad Recipe
How to Make Zucchini Lasagna
Try out this zucchini lasagna recipe for a wonderfully comforting dish with fresh zucchini and savory ground beef. Serve it hot for a warm cozy feel!
- cook TIME 50 mins
- prep TIME 12 mins
- total TIME 1 hr 2 mins
- COURSE Main Course
- CUISINE American
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 460 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tbspgarlic (minced)
- 2 ozonion (diced)
- 1.5 tbspolive oil
- 0.5 tsppaprika
- 0.8 tspsalt
- 2 tbspparsley (chopped)
- 0.5 tspground black pepper
- 5 tbspall-purpose flour
- 2 tbspbasil (cut into thin strips)
- 0.5 tbspunsalted butter
- 6 oztomato (diced)
- 20 ozgreen zucchini (sliced into thin strips)
- 1 cuphomemade tomato sauce
- 1 tbspHunt's tomato paste
- 1 cupunsalted chicken broth (divided)
- 1 cupmilk
- 1 ozmozzarella cheese (shredded)
- 12 oz85% lean ground beef
INSTRUCTIONS
Prep:
Slice the zucchini into thin strips: Wash it clean, trim off both ends, then use a peeler to make long thin strips.
Dice the tomato: Cut a tomato into halves, then into quarters. Remove the seeds, then thinly slice each quarter lengthwise, then cut across them to dice.
Mince the garlic: Separate the cloves from the bulb and peel the skin off. Use a knife to slice each entire clove lengthwise, then hold the clove and turn 90 degrees to slice it crosswise. Keep mincing each clove into tiny pieces.
Dice the onion: Halve the onion lengthwise, peel off the skin, then score the top but leave the root behind for an easier grip. Place each half flat-side down, then vertically slice into the onion, but not all the way through. Make horizontal cuts from bottom to top before cutting across the onion to dice.
Finely chop the parsley: Remove the stems of the parsley, bunch together into a small pile and chop finely.
Chop the basil into thin strips: Stack basil leaves, roll them up lenghtwise, and finely chop along the short side to julienne the basil.
Cook:
Bake the zucchini: Place 20 oz zucchini strips on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 375°F for 7 minutes.
Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil: In a skillet over medium heat, add 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil, 2 oz onion, and 1 tbsp garlic. Saute for 1 minute.
Add the beef: Add in 12 oz 85% lean ground beef and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
Add the tomato and tomato paste: Add in 6 oz diced tomato and 1 tbsp tomato paste. Stir well for 2 minutes.
Add the seasonings: Add in 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, and 1 tbsp flour. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
Add the tomato sauce and chicken broth: Add in 1 cup homemade tomato sauce and 1/2 cup chicken broth. Stir well, then turn the heat to low, cook for 5 minutes. Add 2 tbsp basil and turn off the heat.
Make the white sauce: In a separate pan, add 1/2 tbsp butter and 4 tbsp flour. Stir well to thicken. Then, add 1 cup milk and 1/2 cup chicken broth. Turn the heat to low and stir for about 5 minutes or until the sauce reaches a creamy consistency. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.
Assemble the zucchini lasagna: Spread the beef sauce to make the bottom layer in the casserole dish, then add a layer of zucchini, followed by a layer of white sauce. Repeat these three layers until topping off with the white sauce.
Bake the zucchini lasagna: Bake in a preheated oven at 375°F for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle with cheese then keep on baking: Take out the lasagna and sprinkle with 1 oz shredded mozzarella cheese on top. Place it back in the oven to cook at 425°F for 5 more minutes.
Garnish and serve: Sprinkle 2 tbsp chopped parsley on top before serving.
NUTRITION
Luna Regina
Founder
SaVanna Shoemaker, MS, RDN, LD
Nutrition Reviewer