Summer Zucchini Lasagna (low-carb style)
Sinkology is proud to present Emily Schuermann, our food-loving guest blogger who runs Food for a Year. Emily is here to share some recipes she has created exclusively for the Sinkology blog that reflect her view of a copper sink: simple, timeless, affordable, and beautifully rustic.
It’s officially summer-time, right? Here in Oklahoma, we’ve had our share of summer thunderstorms, a few really hot days and the vegetable garden is growing by leaps and bounds. Thanks to an unusually cool May, most of the veggies are just starting to appear but that summer squash is going crazy.
One of my favorite ways to use summer squash and zucchini is to turn it into noodles using a vegetable spiralizer and make a quick and simple zucchini lasagna. If you don’t have a spiralizer, just thinly slice the zucchini & squash length-wise. A bonus of this recipe is that it’s low-carb!
One tip in making the assembly of this recipe so speedy is to do a lot of the preparation ahead of time. Spiralizing and refrigerating the zucchini/squash, browning the Italian sausage and even making the ricotta filling can be done one to three days ahead and makes a big difference in dinnertime prep. I assembled these mini lasagnas in less than 15 minutes, thanks to working ahead!
Keep on mind the zucchini inherently has a lot of moisture stored within it and will release that moisture during the baking process. With that in mind, I found it important to use a thick marinara sauce for this lasagna.
Making individual lasagnas is another inside tip. This recipe is not only easy to assemble, it’s also easily adaptable — swapping and omitting ingredients to fit a vegetarian or even vegan lifestyle. Individual lasagnas allows you to easily cater to your guest’s dietary preferences. (I’ve also made one large lasagna using this recipe and it’s turned out great — BTW cooking time remains 35 minutes).
As these lasagnas cook, the juices from the zucchini blends with the marinara & Italian sausage. The cheeses get all gooey and golden and my favorite part :: the edges get all chewy and crisp.
And let me tell you, with that first bite you’ll totally forget that the pasta is missing. This lasagna is so flavorful thanks to the richness of the cheeses and Italian sausage. And a real bonus for you low-carbers?! Guilt-free eating!
- 1 medium zucchini*
- 1 medium yellow squash*
- 1 approx 20 oz jar marinara sauce
- 1 lb cooked Italian sausage ground and browned
- 8 oz Monterey Jack cheese, grated
- 16 oz ricotta cheese (I prefer whole milk)
- 3 T fresh herbs, finely chopped**
- 1 egg
- 1 t sea salt
- 1 t finely ground black pepper
- Preheat oven to 375°. Prepare ricotta filling by combining the filling ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Using 4 individual bakers (as pictured) or an 11" x 7" glass baking dish, layer ingredients, starting by spraying the dish (or dishes) with a non-stick cooking spray.
- Begin assembling the lasagna by placing a thin layer of marinara in the bottom of the pan, followed by a layer of zucchini/squash slices, ricotta mixture, marinara, sausage and cheese. Repeat the layers until the dish is full being sure to have enough cheese remaining to sprinkle over the top. Top with remaining shredded cheese and place into the preheated oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Once baking time is complete, adjust the oven setting to broil and broil for 1-2 minutes until the cheese is light golden brown.
- Once cooking is complete, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.
- Serves 4-6
- *Thinly sliced length-wise or using a spiral vegetable slicer.
- ** I used a combination of Italian parsley, thyme, chives, oregano and rosemary.
