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Recipe: Nourishing Zucchini Lasagna
Lasagna is such a comfort food, but many of us avoid processed carbohydrates for various reasons, so how do we enjoy our favorite traditional pasta dishes without crashing our wellness goals?
With more veggies of course! Thankfully there's been a rise in popularity of using vegetables in place of pasta in the past few years, making our favorite comfort foods once again available, and guilt free!
This particular recipe is quite simple, but allows many options to make it your own.
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Nourishing Zucchini Lasagna
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
1 medium zucchini, washed and dried
1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce (approximately 24 oz) (or make your own with this recipe)
1 container of whole milk ricotta cheese (approximately 15 oz)
16 oz of shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese
1 large egg
salt
pepper
*italian seasoning blend
*oregano
*garlic powder
Tools
Directions
1. Slice a clean, dry medium sized zucchini lengthwise into long strips, similar to lasagna noodles.
2. Place the zucchini noodles in a large glass bowl and cover with cold water.
3. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and soak the noodles for 15 min, up to 1 hr. This removes any bitterness from the zucchini.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F.
5. Move zucchini strips to a mesh strainer and allow to drain completely. Optionally, place on paper or cloth towels to dry further.
6. Mix together in a small glass bowl: 15 oz ricotta cheese, 1 large egg, and optionally Italian seasoning, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Even though I like to use seasoned tomato sauce, I still like to add extra seasonings to my dish. I don't tend to measure my seasonings anymore, but for sake of the recipe, I add approximately
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning blend
1 tablespoon oregano
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
I don't usually add salt when I use commercial sauce as they typically contain enough for my taste preference.
7. In a glass baking dish layer sauce, zucchini strips, ricotta mix, and shredded mozzarella. Repeat until all the zucchini is used up. Reserve a bit of sauce and mozzarella for the last two layers.
8. Bake for 45 minutes or until top cheese is bubbly, melted, and golden brown.
9. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving. It will look very watery right out of the oven, but will firm up as it cools.
Enjoy!
Alternative Recipe Suggestions
Mix in 1 lb of cooked and drained ground beef or sausage to the ricotta mix.
Add chopped roasted red peppers to the tomato sauce.
Instead of extra Italian seasoning, mix in chili powder, paprika, cumin, and onion powder for a Mexican/Southwestern spin.
What's your favorite way to make lasagna?
