Grilled Zucchini Lasagna

Grilled Zucchini Lasagna uses thick slices of barely-grilled zucchini instead of noodles for a low-carb and gluten-free version of lasagna! And Zucchini Lasagna is a recipe I look forward to every year, and it can easily be vegetarian if you don’t add the sausage!

PIN the Grilled Zucchini Lasagna to make it later!

Grilled Zucchini Lasagna is a perfect recipe for vegetable gardeners with those huge zucchinis that suddenly seem to appear overnight when the garden is winding down! And this recipe for making lasagna using zucchini in place of the noodles is one of my favorite uses for extra-large zucchinis, so I’m reminding you about it for Friday Favorites this week! (If you don’t have any giant garden zucchini, use the largest zucchini you can find, see notes below.)

Grilling the zucchini before you assemble the lasagna removes some of the liquid that might otherwise make Zucchini Lasagna too watery, and I think the flavor of grilled zucchini goes so well with the other flavors that make lasagna popular. Of course, using zucchini instead of pasta makes a delicious version of lasagna that’s low in carbs and gluten-free, and it can also be vegetarian if you don’t add sausage!

If you have lots of zucchini in the garden or are getting it from the Farmer’s Market, I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• extra large zucchini, cut into lengthwise slices
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link)
• Rao’s Pasta Sauce (affiliate link)
• Italian Sausage and chopped fresh basil to add to the sauce (optional)
• cottage cheese (or use ricotta if you prefer)
• eggs
• grated Mozzarella cheese
• coarsely grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

How low in carbs is the Zucchini Lasagna recipe?

This recipe that uses grilled zucchini slices in place of lasagna noodles has only 9.5 net carbs per serving and 21 grams of protein.

Can you make the Zucchini Lasagna with smaller zucchini?

I created this low-carb lasagna recipe to use up those extra-large zucchini that pop up in the garden every year. But if you don’t have any giant zucchini, you can still make the grilled zucchini lasagna with thick slices of smaller zucchini. Just be sure to make the slices thick enough and cut enough slices to cover the bottom of the lasagna dish twice. And if you use smaller zucchini you can make this zucchini lasagna any time of year!

Can you make Zucchini Lasagna without an outdoor grill?

You can grill the zucchini for this low-carb version of lasagna on a Stovetop Grill Pan (affiliate link) if you don’t have an outdoor grill.

Want more low-carb lasagna ideas?

Lasagna is always a treat for anyone who’s limiting their carbs, and I’ve got a great collection of Low-Carb Lasagna Recipes with delicious ideas from blogs around the web!

How to Make Grilled Zucchini Lasagna:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Brown the sausage if using, add sauce, and let the sauce simmer to thicken while you cook zucchini. Add fresh chopped basil to the sauce if you have some.
2. Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Preheat the grill to high.
3. Cut lengthwise slices of zucchini about 5/8 inch thick. Brush zucchini slices on both sides with olive oil, adding Italian Herb Blend if you like.
4. Grill zucchini on the first side until you have 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.
5. Spread 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 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 grilled zucchini. Cover zucchini with half the sauce.
8. Then make a layer with half the cottage cheese mixture, followed by a layer with half the cheeses.
9. Repeat to make another layer each of grilled zucchini, sauce, cottage cheese-egg mixture, and cheese.
10. Bake for 30 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.
11. This Zucchini Lasagna will be juicier than regular lasagna, so let it sit at least 10-15 minutes before cutting.

Need more ideas for extra large zucchini?

If you still have lots of overly large zucchini in the garden after you make lasagna, check out my collection of Recipes for Extra Large Zucchini!

Weekend Food Prep:

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

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Yield: 8 servings

Grilled Zucchini Lasagna

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 Lasagna that's low in carbs and gluten-free! And making Zucchini Lasagna is a great way to use up those monster zucchini that show up in the garden!

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 (see notes)
• 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 Seasoning (affiliate link) 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 cheeses.
10. Top with second layer of grilled lasagna slices, sauce, cottage cheese-egg mixture, and remaining cheese.
11. Bake 30 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'd use Rao's Pasta Sauce (affiliate link) for this recipe, which is low in 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.)

Use Ricotta Cheese instead of cottage cheese if you prefer.

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.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Of course this 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). And even though low-sugar sauce has some carbs and there are carbs in the cottage cheese, this recipe has only 9.5 net carbs per serving. 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 Summer Squash Recipes for more ideas to use that zucchini or use Oven Dinners to find more recipes like this one! Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
The Zucchini Lasagna recipe was first posted in 2008, when I had a garden and would get giant zucchini every year and wonder what to do with them. It was last updated with more information in 2025.

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