Zucchini Lasagna

zucchini lasagna 5a

Lasagna is usually a guilty pleasure. With pasta, cheese and ground beef, what’s not to love?! However, while visiting my parents recently, my mom had clipped a recipe for a Zucchini version that replaces the pasta for this tasty veggie. Wow! It was so good! It was also really easy to put together because it eliminates the one step of boiling pasta!

To get the zucchini ready and to keep it from adding moisture to the luscious tomato sauce, you lay it on paper towels, sprinkle it with salt and let the water drain from it. Then when you layer the casserole together it doesn’t get as watery. It’s a simple process!

zucchini lasagna collage — Here is the process in pictures. 1. Drain the zucchini with salt. Layer meat, cottage cheese, tomatoes and cheese. Repeat.

If you think you’re going to suffer when eating this you’re wrong! It’s a delicious alternative. I tweaked the recipe my mom had when I made it at my house. I used ground turkey instead of beef, making it even a little more healthy. I also switched out the Ricotta cheese for Low-fat Cottage cheese. We love this dish!

Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients

3 small small zucchini
1/3 onion (chopped)
14.5 oz tomato (diced)
8 oz tomato sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 TBS fresh basil
2 TBS fresh oregano
1 TBS fresh tyme
1/2 cup parmesan
10 oz cottage cheese
1 egg
8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions:

Lay zucchini out on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Cover with additional paper towels.

Put olive oil and chopped onion in a saute pan over medium heat. Saute for about 5 minutes until onions are soft.
Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic salt and garlic powder.
Stir everything together and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add herbs when you are done simmering and remove from heat.\
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a small bowl combine, egg, Cottage cheese and Parmesan.
Spray a 9×9 (or 8×8) baking pan with cooking spray.
Spread about 1/4 cup sauce on the bottom of your pan.
Layer 1 layer of zucchini across the sauce.
Top zucchini with about 1/3 cottage cheese mixture.
Top ricotta with 1/4 of mozzarella.
Top cheese with more sauce and repeat steps
End with zucchini, sauce then mozzarella.
Cover pan with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
Remove foil and bake uncovered for another 15-20 minutes until cheese is golden.
Remove from oven and let rest for about 5 minutes before eating. Cover pan with foil and bake for 35 minutes.