Grilled Zucchini Lasagna

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Grilled Zucchini Lasagna uses thick slices of barely-grilled zucchini to replace the noodles for a low-carb and gluten-free version of lasagna that is also vegetarian if you don’t add sausage! I love these flavors, and this is a favorite zucchini dish I look forward to every fall. 

PIN Grilled Zucchini Low-Carb Lasagna to make it later!

This recipe for Grilled Zucchini Lasagna is for vegetable gardeners in the northern hemisphere who might be wondering how to use those huge zucchinis that suddenly seem to appear overnight when the garden is winding down. For years I’ve been making “lasagna” using zucchini in place of the lasagna noodles, and this is one of my favorite uses for those monster zucchinis that are inevitable if you have a garden. Now that I no longer have room in my garden for zucchini plants, I buy giant zucchini at the farmers market to make this!

Grilling the zucchini removes some of the liquid that might otherwise make the lasagna too watery, and if you don’t have an outdoor grill you could certainly do this step on a stove-top grill pan (affiliate link). Of course, using zucchini instead of pasta makes a delicious version of lasagna that’s lower in carbs, gluten-free, and South Beach Diet friendly, and it’s also vegetarian if you don’t add sausage to the sauce! 

How to Make Grilled Zucchini Lasagna:

(Scroll down for complete printable recipe plus nutritional information.)

1. I use lengthwise slices of zucchini about 5/8 inch thick.
2. Brush the zucchini slices on both sides with olive oil, adding a sprinkle of Italian Herb Blend if you’d like.
3. Grill on the first side until you have nice grill marks, about 3-4 minutes. Then turn and cook a few minutes on the second side, until the zucchini is partially cooked but not completely soft.
4. I used to make this with my Sausage and Basil Marinara Sauce, but now I’d use Rao’s Pasta Sauce (affiliate link) which has only 20 carbs in the whole jar. Use a sauce with meat or a meatless sauce, whichever you prefer. Simmer the sauce a few minutes to evaporate some of the water so you have a thick sauce.)
5. Spread the cooked zucchini out on a large cutting board and use a paper towel to press down and remove as much liquid as you can.
6. Beat the eggs and then mix in the cottage cheese. (Don’t skip the eggs; they help hold this together.)
7. Spray the baking dish with olive oil or non-stick spray and then make a layer of the grilled zucchini.
8. Cover that with half the sauce, about 1 cups of the thick sauce, or a little more if you didn’t simmer it.
9. Then make a layer with half the cottage cheese mixture, followed by a layer with half the cheese. 
10. Repeat to make another layer each of grilled zucchini, sauce, cottage cheese-egg mixture, and cheese.
11. Bake at 400F/200C for 30-40 minutes, or until the lasagna is bubbling and the top is starting to brown. I baked mine uncovered so water would evaporate, but you can cover with foil towards the end of the cooking time if it starts to look too brown.
12. This will be juicier than regular lasagna, so let it sit at least 10-15 minutes before cutting.

More Recipes to Use Up the Zucchini:

The BEST Slow Cooker Zucchini Recipes ~ Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker
Zucchini-Crust Vegetarian Pizza Margherita ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Zucchini and Turkey Lasagna ~ A Good Appetite
 Zucchini and Basil Strata ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe has been added to a new category called Weekend Food Prep  to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Print

Grilled Zucchini Lasagna

Yield 8 servings

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes

Thick slices of barely-grilled zucchini replace the noodles in this Grilled Zucchini Low-Carb Lasagna.

Ingredients

Ingredients:

• 4 large zucchini, cut into lengthwise slices about 5/8 inch thick (see notes)
• olive oil, for brushing lasagna slices
• Italian Herb Blend, for sprinkling zucchini before grilling (optional)
• 24 oz. Rao's pasta sauce, simmered to thicken the sauce (see notes)
• Italian Sausage and basil to add to the sauce (optional)
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup coarsely grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Simmer sauce for a few minutes until the sauce is thickened and reduced a bit, adding some cooked Italian sausage if you prefer, then stir in the chopped fresh basil if using.
2. Preheat oven to 400F. Brush grill with olive oil or spray with grill spray and preheat to high heat. (You can only hold your hand there for a few seconds at that heat.) You can also make this with a stove-top grill pan (affiliate link) that doesn't need to be pre-heated.
3. While grill heats, cut zucchini into slices about 5/8 inch thick.
4. Brush both sides of zucchini lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with Italian Herb Blend if using.
5. Grill zucchini slices until they’re lightly browned on both sides, but not fully cooked, about 3-4 minutes per side.
6. Remove the zucchini slices to a cutting board and press lightly with a paper towel to absorb some of the moisture. (Put zucchini between two pieces of paper towel if it seems especially juicy.)
7. Beat eggs in small bowl, then stir in cottage cheese.
8.  Spray heavy ceramic or glass deep lasagna dish with non-stick spray or olive oil.
9. Then make a layer of lasagna slices, a layer with half the sauce, a layer with half the cottage cheese-egg mixture, and a layer with half the cheese.
10. Top with second layer of grilled lasagna slices, sauce, cottage cheese-egg mixture, and remaining cheese.
11. Bake 30-40 minutes, or until cheese is melted and browned on top and mixture is slightly bubbling. (I leave it uncovered so some liquid can evaporate, but you can cover it for the last part of the cooking time if you don’t want the top quite so brown.)
12. Let sit at least 10-15 minutes before cutting, then cut into pieces and serve hot. (This will be a little juicier than regular lasagna, letting it sit for a few minutes will help with that.)
13. This keeps very well in the fridge for several days and it might even be better re-heated, because some of the juice absorbs into the zucchini when it’s refrigerated!
14. I would not recommend freezing.

Notes

I've used my Sausage and Basil Marinara Sauce many times to make the sauce for this lasagna but now I'd probably use Rao's Pasta Sauce (affiliate link) for even less carbs. You can add cooked Italian Sausage and chopped fresh basil to the sauce when you simmer it if you prefer. (Nutritional information does not include optional sausage and is calculated using the low-carb sauce I recommend.)

You need enough zucchini slices to make two layers, be careful not to cut the zucchini too thin.

It’s important to use a dish that’s fairly deep for this recipe. I used my new lasagna pan that was 12.5″ x 10″ and 3″ deep, which worked perfectly.

This recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 289Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 7.7gUnsaturated Fat: 7.4gCholesterol: 137mgSodium: 999mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 2.5gSugar: 7.9gProtein: 21g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Grilled Zucchini Lasagna will be much lower in carbs than traditional lasagna when it’s made with low-sugar pasta sauce like Rao’s Pasta Sauce (affiliate link). However even low-sugar sauce has some carbs and there are carbs in the cottage cheese, so this recipe is probably not Keto. For anyone who’s following the original South Beach Diet, this should be made with reduced fat dairy products for South Beach. This does have a fairly generous amount of cheese, so even though this would be okay for any phase of South Beach, it’s probably a personal choice treat for Phase One.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Check out Zucchini Recipes for more ideas to use that zucchini or use Oven Dinners to find more recipes like this one!Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

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