Summary:

This is an easy recipe for low carb lasagna with ground meat, where noodles are replaced by thin zucchini slices. Since most of the flavor resides in the rich meaty sauce, the lack of noodles doesn't detract. This recipe prevents a watery lasagna by simply making the sauce extra thick, avoiding extra steps like pre-salting or grilling the zucchini slices.

Zucchini Lasagna

4.8 from 117 votes

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Prep: 20

Cook: 1 5

Cool: 15

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

▢ 20 ounces zucchini (Note 1)
▢ 1 pound ground beef (Note 2)
▢ 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce (Note 3)
▢ 1 cup finely chopped onion (Note 4)
▢ 1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (Note 5)
▢ 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese (Note 6)
▢ 1 tablespoon dried oregano
▢ 1.5 teaspoons table salt
▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne (Note 7)

INSTRUCTIONS

Brown Beef: Add ground beef to high-sided pan (Note 8) over medium-high heat. Crumbling beef with stiff utensil, cook until browned and released water has evaporated, 7 to 8 minutes. Optionally, drain off grease in pan, especially if using less than 90% lean beef.
Make Tomato Sauce: Add onions to pan with ground beef over medium-high heat. Cook until onions are softened and translucent, stirring occasionally, a few minutes. Reduce to medium heat, and stir in tomato sauce. Simmer until sauce is thick and clings to meat and onions (important for liquid control; Note 9), stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Stir in oregano, salt, and cayenne until well-mixed, about 1 minute. Turn off heat.
Prep Oven & Cut Zucchini: Position oven rack in lower half of oven, and preheat to 375 F. For each zucchini, slice off and discard both ends. Stand zucchini vertically on a stable flat end, and carefully slice into 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick strips along the length (Note 10).
Assemble Lasagna: Arrange one-third of zucchini slices along bottom of 8×8 inch baking dish, slightly overlapping each other. Evenly spread half of meat sauce over zucchini slices. Distribute 1/2 cup of mozzarella over meat sauce. Repeat with another zucchini layer, meat sauce layer, and mozzarella layer. Top with remaining zucchini slices. Add another 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup parmesan over zucchini slices. Give baking dish a quick shake so that cheeses spread out and settle into cracks. (See Note 11 for make-ahead option.)
Bake & Serve: Bake uncovered at 375 F until lasagna is golden brown on top, about 45 minutes (Note 12). Cool for 15 minutes to allow lasagna to set and cease bubbling before slicing. Serve (Note 13) and store any leftovers (Note 14).

NUTRITION

Makes 4 Servings

(Notes 15-16)

Amount Per Serving (1.5 cups):

Calories 470 (48% from fat)
Total Fat 25g	39%
Saturated Fat 12g	62%
Cholesterol 128mg	43%
Sodium 1260mg	52%
Net Carb 8.5g
Total Carb 12.5g	4%
Dietary Fiber 4g	16%
Sugars 7.5g
Protein 46g

Vitamin A 22% · Vitamin C 48% · Calcium 45% · Iron 24%

PHOTOS

stirring tomato meat sauce in black skillet

collage showing how to assemble zucchini lasagna

baked zucchini lasagna in glass baking dish

NOTES & TIPS

(1) Zucchini. About 2 large or 3 medium raw zucchini. Peeling and de-seeding are not necessary. See Note 9 for details on why pre-salting zucchini to draw out moisture is not needed.

(2) Ground Beef. Extra lean ground beef (such as 95%) is ideal for avoiding a greasy casserole. If yours is less than 90% lean, drain off the grease in the pan after browning the meat. Don’t want to use beef? Readers have successfully substituted with ground turkey, Italian sausage, and plant-based protein.

(3) Tomato Sauce. About 1.75 cups. To ensure that the resulting tomato sauce is thick, use tomato sauce or puree, not thinner products like diced or crushed tomatoes. Some pasta or spaghetti sauces will work, but they vary in consistency, so you may need to adjust the sauce’s simmering time.

(4) Onion. About 1 small onion. I use a yellow onion.

(5) Mozzarella Cheese. About 5 ounces weight. I use a pre-shredded bag of low-moisture part-skim cheese, which means the cheese has been dried out for a longer shelf life and better browning ability compared to fresh mozzarella. Readers have successfully substituted with cheddar cheese, monterey cheese, vegan cheese, ricotta cheese, and cottage cheese.

(6) Parmesan Cheese. About 2 ounces weight. This is the kind of parmesan that has a sandy or almost powdery texture. Not shredded.

(7) Cayenne. This amount doesn’t make the lasagna spicy; it just enhances the other flavors in the lasagna. If you want a spicy lasagna, increase the cayenne or add some red pepper flakes.

(8) Pan. The pan should be large enough to hold the beef, tomato sauce, and onions. I use a 10-inch nonstick pan with 3-inch-tall sides. No lid needed. It’s not necessary to pre-heat the pan, and oil is not required since the beef will release grease as it cooks.

(9) Liquid Control/Thick Sauce. Zucchini is a wet vegetable that releases a lot of liquid as it cooks, so a common technique is to salt zucchini slices prior to cooking or grill them. In this recipe, such methods are skipped in favor of simply simmering until the sauce is extra thick (see photo of thickened sauce). Then the zucchini’s released liquid is absorbed by the thick sauce during baking, avoiding an overly watery lasagna.

(10) Cutting Zucchini. Don’t worry if your slices aren’t perfect — it won’t affect the deliciousness of the lasagna. Use a mandolin if you want perfect zucchini slices. Another option is to use a vegetable peeler or cheese slicer. Once cut, the zucchini slices can be used immediately to assemble the lasagna, and do not need to sit around (see Note 9 on liquid control).

(11) Make Ahead Options. Assemble the lasagna, cover tightly with foil, and refrigerate or freeze (without baking). Before serving, preheat the oven and bake uncovered until the lasagna is golden brown on top, about 50 minutes (from refrigerated) — this is 5 minutes more than what’s listed in the recipe, since it’s chilled. Another option is to assemble and fully bake the lasagna, then cover and refrigerate. When you’re ready to serve, reheat in the oven until warmed through.

(12) Baking Lasagna. Watch the lasagna carefully after 30 minutes of baking. It can turn quickly from a white surface to a golden brown surface, and the cheese can easily burn. If the surface is golden brown before the lasagna is fully cooked, cover with foil.

(13) Serving. Serve this zucchini lasagna with low carb appetizers and sides like artichokes with balsamic dip, garlic roasted mushrooms, and creamed spinach.

(14) Leftovers. Cover and store leftover servings in the refrigerator or freezer, and reheat using the microwave or oven.

(15) Nutrition. The estimate assumes all of the ground beef if consumed, which is not the case if you drained off some of the beef’s grease.

(16) Adjusting Yield. You can double the ingredients proportionally. Use a larger 9×13-inch casserole dish and increase the baking time as needed until the casserole is cooked through and golden brown on top.

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Did you make this? Rate this recipe:

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Abby

10/10!!! I’m not a great cook, like…at all!! I always seem to overcook or burn my food, I was worried I would do the same with this recipe, but since we are trying to do the low carb thing before our Hawaii trip, wanted to try this. I was so surprised how this came out, couldn’t even tell I was eating zucchini! This was amazing!!! Husband went back 3 times tonight to refill his plate 🤣🤣 can’t wait to have my leftovers tomorrow, this will definitely be on our repeat menu, thanks so much!! (Oh, I also added ricotta to the recipe, nice touch!)

Annie

Julia, this is AWESOME! I’m not a big fan of regular lasagna bcz it’s heavy. This is light and flavorful. I adapted a few things I’d like to share. COSTCO sells a fantastic Paleo smoked chicken sausage by Sabatino’s. It has 1gm carb per link, so it’s super Keto friendly and great for people who prefer to skip beef. It’s garlicky and salty and full of basil, so I eliminated the salt and oregano at the end of your recipe. Just grind it in your food processor, and sauté as you would the ground beef. The flavor is out of this world! Thank you for your outstanding recipes. Every one I’ve tried so far has been delicious and easy to produce. Especially the baked goods! The pecan sandies are a staple around here now.

Brenda

I have made this several times … delicious! I change it up with some fresh herbs now and then (basil, thyme, rosemary) along with the oregano. I’ve also added spinach and/or kale (finely chopped). All were good! I froze individual portions and the re-heated portions were just as tasty! Thanks for this great recipe!

Patti C.

Loved it! This was so good. I made it with ground chicken as I was out of beef. I also admit to using more mozzarella (just couldn’t help it) 😁. I added heaping Tbsp of tomato paste, for exta taste and as a thickener.
The zucchini slices had a perfect consistency. The meat sauce was amazing. Before we started our keto life we made homemade lasagna including pasta from scratch, this was too good to be true. The recipe was so easy I didn’t have high hopes but…I was totally blown away. Thank you for bringing lasagna back into our life. 💖💖

Kristie L.

Absolute perfection! Instant family favorite. Introduced my daughter (hater of all things green) to this lasagna and she couldn’t even tell it was structured with zucchini! Now she calls me each time to let me know they are making it again 🙂 Like others, I use half Italian sausage and ground beef. I think the key is to make sure all the water has evaporated from the sauce and the sauce sticks to the meat before arranging the lasagna otherwise you will have a wet mess. The sauce recipe itself is 5 stars and don’t even get me started on the Parmesan mozzarella crust….delicious! Thanks for the tips, it really is the best zucchini lasagna recipe I’ve ran across!

Whitney

This lasagna was seriously amazing! I’m not going to lie… I am not much of a cook but my husband and I recently joined the keto bandwagon and have been making all of our meals. My kids have only ever tried lasagna from the frozen food section at the grocery store and none are a fan of that but when I made this the other day, they ate the entire thing. I expected there to be left overs for my husband and I for lunch the next day but they ate it all lol. The kids had two helpings (I doubled the recipe for it to be a bigger family meal since there 6 of us). I made extra of the meat mixture and used it for stuffed pepper filling the next evening and threw mozzarella on top for those and they were great too. Thank you for your great recipes… yours have all been my favorites so far!

Donna Davis

I followed the recipe but I added ricotta cheese to the first meat layer. It was fabulous. I also used turkey meat instead of beef and you couldn’t taste the difference. The spices were perfect. Loved this recipe.

Lindsey

Really good and easy recipe! I’d do 1/4 of the salt though – the Parmesan already has so much. Mine came out a bit too salty.

Maxi

I made this a couple of weeks ago. I froze half of it and am thrilled to say it is still so VERY delicious. I added some mushrooms but that’s it. Your suggestions about making the sauce thicker was spot on. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!

casey

This recipe is simple and delicious. I used 2 cups of my favorite spaghetti sauce instead of using the tomato sauce. My hubby enjoyed it so much I’m making it for the second time.

Yolanda Gubish

Very good recipe. I am sorry, I hate when people change things on the recipe. I did because of what I had on hand. Followed everything except used pork sausage and pasta sauce Mama’s Organic because it has all the spices but no sugar. It was the best!
Next time I will need 4 zucchini because two only gave me 1 1/2 layers. It is a keeper

Cassi

EXCELLENT! I have so much zucchini from the garden and was looking to make something new. Well this is going to be a new staple in this house!! I am not Keto or low carb… I just love zucchini and using up garden veggies! I used spaghetti sauce instead of tomato sauce. I love this more than typical lasagna!! So so good!

Michele

Easy to make and was really good.

Sheryl S

This was amazing! I too, am not the best cook, however this was very simple to prepare. Hubby gives it 6 stars out of 5. 🥰. Will make this several times a month. Thank you for sharing your recipe.

Lori

Best zucchini lasagna recipe I have tried. If you follow the tips on cooking the sauce, you will be amazed at how well this holds together. I did add a spoonful of minced garlic when I put in the onions, but that was the only tweak. Made it for dinner with my 79-year-old parents and they were impressed with how good this was! Thank you for the recipe.

Linda Worrell

Absolutely the best lasagna I’ve ever had! Who knew it was so simple to make and so much better than noodles! I’ve never liked much about lasagna until I tried this recipe. I make at least once a week now and hubby loves it too. Keto works great! Hubby and I have lost over 40 lbs collective and feel awesome. Thanks again for this recipe.

Shelli hathcock

My husband and I loved this recipe so much. It was so light but yet filling. I used marinara sauce instead of the tomato sauce and it was so good. I will be making this again!!!!

Becky Mallow

This was amazing with garlic toast and salad with low fat dressing, it’s healthy food at its best. Being a diabetic cutting carbs is a game winner!

Bree

This was delicious! Even my husband who isn’t much for vegetables ate it (plus 3rds!). It did come out a little runny, but I think I didn’t simmer the sauce enough. I doubled the recipe and realized as I was cooking that I was short in beef. So I made one half with beef, one half woth italian sausage just to try it. I think I prefer sausage, but both were great! Thank you!

Brandy

Made it last night and it was phenomenal. I was a bit skeptical at first to make it, but so glad I did. I used ground chicken, and added in a lot of veggies as well as fresh garlic. Chef Kiss!

Kar

So yummy! I used hamburger meat instead. Will definitely make this again but will double the recipe! Had no leftovers on this one!

Karen

I also added some mild Italian sausage and it made a great flavor.

Christine

This is my favorite low carb recipe. It is so amazing I make it at least once a month.

Kit

I was surprised at how NOT watery this was, as I’ve made zucchini casseroles before and they usually are too watery. I did suck up some of the juice after cooking with my turkey baster 🙂 but honestly there wasn’t all that much to suck up. My only comment is that it was a bit too salty–due to the large amount of parmesan on top. I’ll just cut that amount in half next time. Thanks for this recipe –the very thick sauce was what did the trick I guess!

Liz

Absolutely delicious! The lasagne kept it’s shape so well too, managed to cut 4 squares very easily. This is going to be a weekly staple for us now we have started on keto. Very easy & quick to prep & cook too so good mid-week meal choice.

Zucchini Lasagna