I want to start this post by expressing how much I LOVE Italian food! It is probably my favorite cuisine. However, it is Jeremy’s (the hubs) least favorite cuisine. So we take turns on when we eat Italian food. This is a great example of what we call a compromise. Most of the dishes I love are usually on the unhealthier side of the scale and full of carbs. One of my friends told me that she had purchased a mandoline and had started replacing pasta with veggies. Obviously, this wasn’t a new concept, but something I hadn’t tried. Since we were trying to eat better, I decided to purchase a mandoline and try it for myself! We purchased this super handy Mandoline Slicer and it works really well! However, for all of my KitchenAid lovers out there like me, I have this Kitchen Aid Vegetable Sheet cutter on my Christmas list this year! The mandoline does work really well, but I would love to save the hassle and just let my beautiful KitchenAid do the work!
Okay, back to the recipe. I decided to make my own version of lasagna using zucchini and my favorite spaghetti sauce! It was so easy and so delicious and we didn’t even miss the pasta! I made it for friends one night and everyone loved it! It was a definite hit! Ready to make this delicious recipe? Here is what you will need:
Zucchini Lasagna Recipe Ingredients:
4 Large Zucchini – Thinly Sliced
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 Jar of Pasta Sauce (I really like Classico)
15 oz. Low Fat Ricotta Cheese
16 oz. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
8 oz. Grated Parmesan Cheese
Let’s Get Cooking! Recipe Directions:
Heat the oven to 350°F. Slice the Zucchini as thinly as possible and add to a greased baking sheet. Salt the sliced zucchini and bake for 12 minutes.
Cook the ground beef and drain the grease. Add the pasta sauce to the ground beef and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer.
Mix the grated parmesan, ricotta cheese, and 8 oz of the mozzarella together in a bowl.
In a casserole dish, take a small amount of the meat sauce and cover the bottom of the dish. Layer the half of the zucchini on top of the meat sauce. Cover the zucchini with the cheese mixture and cover with the meat sauce. Repeat this step. Cover the meat sauce with the rest of the mozzarella cheese.
Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown. Serve with salad and garlic bread.
I hope you enjoy this delicious dish as much as we do! Happy healthy-ier eating!
- 4 Large Zucchini
- 1 lb. Ground Beef
- 1 Jar of Pasta Sauce (I really like Classico)
- 15 oz. Low Fat Ricotta Cheese
- 16 oz. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 8 oz. Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Slice the Zucchini as thinly as possible and add to a greased baking sheet.
- Salt the sliced zucchini and bake for 12 minutes.
- Cook the ground beef and drain the grease.
- Add the pasta sauce to the ground beef and bring to a boil.
- Lower the heat and let the sauce simmer.
- Mix the grated parmesean, ricotta cheese, and 8 oz of the mozerella together in a bowl.
- In a casserole dish, take a small amount of the meat sauce and cover the bottom of the dish.
- Layer the half of the zuchinni ontop of the meat sauce.
- Cover the zucchini with the cheese mixture and cover with the meat sauce.
- Repeat this step. Cover the the meat sauce with the rest of the mozerella cheese.
- Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown.
- Serve with salad and garlic bread. Enjoy!