Low carb and keto friendly, this easy zucchini lasagna with ground meat is a healthy alternative to your typical lasagna. This casserole is so good that you won’t miss the noodles.
Zucchini Slices Instead Of Lasagna Noodles
This saucy zucchini lasagna is the perfect low carb solution to your Italian comfort food cravings. Wheat-based lasagna noodles are replaced by thin zucchini slices, and you won’t even notice the pasta’s gone. In fact, I like this version a lot better than traditional pasta-based lasagna. Most of the flavor is in the sauce itself, so taking away the lasagna noodles doesn’t detract much.
You’ll love the sauce; it’s very savory and hearty, richly flavored with beef, onions, tomato sauce, oregano, and a pinch of cayenne. The sauce is roasted between layers of zucchini and mozzarella cheese, imparting delicious flavors to the other ingredients.
Liquid Control
Liquid control is key in any recipe that uses zucchini, which is a very wet vegetable that exudes a lot of liquid during cooking. To combat this so that you don’t end up with a soggy lasagna, a common solution is to salt the zucchini prior to cooking to release some liquid, or grill the sliced zucchini. However, I wanted to keep this recipe as simple as possible. So instead of salting or pre-cooking the zucchini, I just make sure that my meat sauce is overly thick by simmering it long enough to evaporate much of its moisture. Then, as the zucchini bakes, its released liquid gets absorbed by the thick meat sauce, avoiding an overly watery lasagna.
To ensure that your meat sauce is thick, I recommend using tomato sauce. Avoid thinner tomato mixtures such as diced or crushed tomatoes. Some pasta sauces will work, but they vary quite a bit in consistency, so adjust the simmering time accordingly.
Serving & Leftovers
You can serve the zucchini lasagna with appetizers and side dishes like:
- boiled artichokes with balsamic dip
- almond flour biscuits
- garlic roasted mushrooms
- almond flour garlic knots
- creamed spinach
Casserole leftovers usually store and reheat well, and this zucchini lasagna is no exception. Cover and refrigerate leftover servings, and reheat in the microwave. I often find that flavors and textures improve after chilling overnight in the refrigerator.
Zucchini Lasagna
An easy zucchini lasagna casserole with ground meat, onions, and tomato sauce. Keto, low carb, and gluten free.
Ingredients
- 20 ounces zucchini (about 2 large or 3 medium, peeling is unnecessary)
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef (95% lean is ideal, no less than 90% to avoid a greasy wet dish)
- 15 ounces canned unsalted tomato sauce (check the ingredients label to make sure no salt is listed)
- 1 cup finely chopped onion (about 1 small onion)
- 1 1/2 cups (5oz) shredded mozzarella cheese (I use low moisture part skim)
- 1/2 cup (2.2oz) finely grated parmesan cheese (should be powder-like, finer than sand)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
Instructions
Making the meat sauce:
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Heat a high-sided pan over medium heat until hot (I use a 10-inch wide nonstick pan with 3-inch high sides). Add olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Add ground beef to the pan. Cook until it's no longer pink, about 5 minutes, breaking it apart as it cooks.
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Add tomato sauce, stirring it in. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then gradually reduce the heat as needed to maintain a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes to thicken the sauce, stirring frequently. The resulting sauce should be thick, easily clinging to the meat and onions; this helps reduce excess moisture in the resulting lasagna.
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Add oregano, salt, and cayenne. Stir for a minute until well-mixed. Turn off the heat.
Assembling and baking the lasagna:
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Position an oven rack in the lower half of the oven, and preheat to 375 F. Set aside an 8x8 inch baking dish.
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For each zucchini, slice off both ends and discard them. Stand the zucchini vertically on a stable flat end, and carefully slice along its length into 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick strips. Don't worry if the slices aren't perfect because it won't affect the deliciousness of the lasagna.
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Arrange about one-third of the zucchini slices along the bottom of the baking dish so that they are slightly overlapping in a criss-cross pattern. Evenly spread about half of the meat sauce over the zucchini. Distribute about 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese on top of the meat sauce.
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Repeat with another zucchini layer, a meat sauce layer, and a cheese layer.
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Top with remaining zucchini slices. Add another 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese on top of the zucchini. Give the baking dish a quick shake so the cheeses spread out and settle into cracks.
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Bake at 375 F until the lasagna is golden brown on top, about 45 minutes. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes to allow the lasagna to set and cease bubbling before slicing.
Nutrition Info
| Makes 4 Servings |
| Amount Per Serving (quarter of 8x8 casserole): |
| Calories 430 | |
| Total Fat 23g | 36% |
| Saturated Fat 11g | 57% |
| Cholesterol 104mg | 35% |
| Sodium 1550mg | 65% |
| Net Carb 8g | |
| Total Carb 12g | 4% |
| Dietary Fiber 4g | 15% |
| Sugars 7g | |
| Protein 38g |
I have not made this recipe yet, but excited to try. I notice you didn’t add ricotta to it, has anyone tried adding this?
Check out the other comments on this post. I’m pretty sure there are other readers who’ve added ricotta.
I used Prego sugar free sauce. It was awesome.
I used a batch of homemade meat ragu I had stored in the freezer and had to substitute half the cheese with sharp cheddar (which worked very nicely). The recipe is divine. I ate a whoooollllleee lot of it. Half the pan. My kids said, “It’s not disgusting,” which is high praise for anything with zucchini. This is the third amazing recipe of yours I have made; now I look here first if I have something specific in mind.
I made this. But didnt add any salt, I used fresh garlic and added mushrooms in my sauce. Also I grilled the zucchini on my BBQ, came out delicious. I’m going to try yellow crookneck squash next time
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… Read more »
Made this tonight and it was great! I sprinkled the zucchini with a tiny bit of salt and layered between layers of paper towels with a bowl on top to absorb excess liquid. I also subbed ground turkey instead of ground beef. I also couldn’t find oregano but I used an Italian seasoning blend. Turned out delicious and I didn’t miss the noodles at all.
I just finished making this, exactly as posted. The finely grated Parmesan is the perfect topping! SO Delicious and satisfying. I am looking forward to eating my leftovers within the next few days.
Will be making this again, without added salt, so my husband can enjoy with his sodium restricted diet.
Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
Oh my goodness! I had my doubts, but this recipe was AMAZING! Thank you!
I didn’t make the recipe yet but I will. I am mostly concerned about the sodium. I have to watch my sodium intake and this recipe has almost my full days requirement. Well above a serving amount. So it’s scary for me. I also will substitute ground turkey as I do in my regular lasagna.
Looking forward to trying this when the zucchini is plentiful.
If sodium is an issue for you, I recommend decreasing the salt listed in the recipe as well as checking the labels of your ingredients to make sure you are buying ones with no salt added or low salt.
Can I freeze this? If yes, Should I freeze after making it completely or should I freeze in between steps before baking?
I’ve found its best to freeze before baking and just refrigerate after it’s been baked.
I just finished eating this. I made it as per the recipe and ITV was delicious. I didn’t miss the pasta, thought I would. I’ll definitely make it again.
I have made this several times we love it. After I slice my zucchini I sprinkle it with salt (Just a little) and layer it on paper towels putting paper towels between layers of the zucchini on a microwave safe plate and microwave for just 45 seconds to a minute and that draws a bunch of the liquid out of it without a lot of trouble at all.
That is a great idea!
Making this today! Has anyone used ricotta?