Zucchini Lasagna Rolls
Lasagna is a classic comfort food, which means it's packed with carbs! But there's no reason you need to give up your favorite dinner just because you're watching your carb counts. With this recipe for zucchini lasagna rolls, you can enjoy all the flavors of your favorite pasta dish without all the added carbs. It's the perfect keto meal when you're craving some comfort food.
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What Do I Need to Make Zucchini Lasagna Rolls?
Since it's made with a delicious ricotta filling and topped with a homemade sauce, this lasagna roll up recipe is packed with flavor. To make your own zucchini lasagna at home, you'll need:
- Zucchini
- Oil
- Ground beef
- Salt
- Pepper
- Ricotta cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- Garlic
- Spinach
- Egg
- Mozzarella cheese
- Tomatoes
- Tomato Purée
- Olive oil
- Basil
- Italian herbs
- Onion
Equipment:
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How Do I Make Zucchini Lasagna Rolls?
Since there's no layering involved in making this lasagna recipe, it's quick and easy to prepare! Just follow these simple steps for making your own lasagna rolls for dinner tonight.
Step One: Prepare the Zucchini
Before you can start stuffing and rolling your zucchini, you'll need to prepare the squash. Start by cutting each zucchini into ⅛th inch thick strips using a knife or preferably a mandolin slicer or vegetable peeler. After all the zucchini has been sliced, place the strips on a row of paper towels and generously sprinkle salt on top of the slices. Allow the pieces to rest for a few minutes, then flip them over and repeat the process to remove extra moisture from each piece. Allow the zucchini to rest for around 30 minutes, then squeeze the zucchini slices with a paper towel to soak up any remaining water.
Step Two: Cook the Tomatoes
While the zucchini slices are drying, you can prepare the sauce. Start by placing the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil and allow the potatoes to cook until the skin begins to come apart, for around 10 minutes.
Step Three: Prepare the Tomato Sauce
Reserve ½ cup of the water used to boil the tomatoes, then discard the rest from the pan. Peel the tomatoes, dice them, and set them aside. Using a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and garlic and cook for three to four minutes, until the onions are beginning to brown, stirring frequently. Then, add the tomatoes, pepper, tomato puree, herbs, basil, and the reserved water. Allow the sauce ingredients to simmer over low heat for five to seven minutes, until it begins to thicken.
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Step Four: Add the Beef
While the tomato sauce is thickening, heat some oil in a large skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and stir for around one minute until it begins to brown. Then, add the ground beef to the skillet and cook until it's brown and crumbly. After that, remove the sauce pan from the heat and take out the basil sprig. Stir the cooked ground beef into the tomato sauce.
Step Five: Mix the Filling
In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, spinach, mozzarella, and egg. Continue stirring the filling mixture together until well combined.
Step Six: Stuff the Zucchini Slices
Before you start rolling the zucchini slices, spread half the sauce in an even layer over the bottom of the baking dish. Once the filling is mixed, add 1 ½ teaspoons of the ricotta cheese mixture onto each zucchini strip. Roll the zucchini up around the filling and place it in the baking dish. Continue rolling until all the zucchini slices are stuffed and added to the pan.
Step Seven: Bake the Zucchini Rolls
After all the zucchini slices have been added to the pan, spread the remaining sauce mixture over the top of all the zucchini rolls and sprinkle additional mozzarella cheese on top. Bake the zucchini rolls for 30 minutes, until the cheese on top is melted and the zucchini is tender.
Why is My Zucchini Lasagna Watery?
Cooking with zucchini can sometimes be tricky. That's because this delicious low-carb squash is packed with moisture. So, if you're struggling to keep your zucchini lasagna from getting too watery, it's probably because you skipped one important step - drying out the zucchini slices.
Before you can bake zucchini lasagna, you need to give your zucchini slices plenty of time to dry. Start by placing each slice on top of a paper towel. Add a sprinkling of kosher salt over the top of all the slices, then place a paper towel on top. Allow the slices to sit for at least 30 minutes to give the salt time to pull out all that extra water. After that, your zucchini should be safe to cook without worrying about the squash ruining your dinner with too much water.
How Do You Cut Zucchini for Lasagna without a Mandolin?
Using a mandolin is probably the easiest way to cut thin slices for your lasagna rolls. But if you don't have this handy tool in your kitchen, there is another way to create thin slices that are perfect for rolling.
Start by using a large, sharp knife to cut to cut a thin slice off the side of the zucchini. Then, place the flat side on the cutting board to keep your zucchini from rolling around. After that, use the knife to cut thin slices for your lasagna rolls.
Zucchini Lasagna Rolls
Equipment
Ingredients
Zucchini Rolls
- 3 - 4 medium size zucchinis Each zucchini should be cut into 6 - 8 thin slices
- Salt to sprinkle on top of your zucchini slices (You will use for both sides of each slice)
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- Pepper to taste
- 1 ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 cups spinach leaves minced
- 1 egg
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
Homemade Tomato Sauce
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 large or 4 medium tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ¼ cup tomato purée If the tomatoes are very red and juicy use around 1 cup
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 sprig fresh basil
- ½ teaspoon Italian herbs
- ½ onion minced
Instructions
Prepare Zucchinis
- Slice the zucchinis in ⅙th or ⅛ths thin strips (depending on the size) using a knife or with a mandolin. The mandolin makes it much easier. (The amount of slices will depend on the size of your zucchini)
- Place the zucchini strips on paper towels and sprinkle salt on top. After 15 minutes, turn them over and repeat. This will sweat out moisture.
- After 30 minutes have passed, squeeze the zucchinis to remove the rest of the water.
Make the Sauce
- Meanwhile, begin making the sauce. In a medium saucepan boil the tomatoes. Make sure they are covered with water. This will take around 10 minutes or until you notice the skin has torn apart.
- Once the tomatoes are ready, save ½ cup of the water used to boil the tomatoes and discard the rest.
- Peel the tomatoes and dice them.
- Heat a large saucepan. Once warm add in the oil and wait until it is hot.
- Add in the onion and garlic. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes or until they are slightly brown. Stir frequently so they cook evenly.
- Add in the tomatoes, pepper, tomato purée, herbs, basil sprig, and ½ cup of reserved boiled water.
- Let it simmer on low heat for 5 - 7 minutes until it thickens. Remove the basil sprig.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
- Once the beef is ready combine it with the sauce.
- Take some sauce and spread it on the bottom of the baking dish. Spread evenly throughout.
Prepare the Ground Beef
- Place a skillet on medium-high heat. Add the oil and once it is hot, add the garlic, and stir until it is cooked for about a minute.
- Add the ground beef to the skillet.
- Season with pepper to taste and remove when it is no longer pink.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Filling
- In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan, spinach, mozzarella, and egg. Mix until combined.
- Spread 1 ½ teaspoon of the ricotta mixture onto each zucchini and roll up and place in the baking dish.
- Spread the rest of the sauce on top of the rolls and sprinkle with extra mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and is bubbling.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
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