One of my favorite veggie packed meals on Ambitious Kitchen happens to include this gorgeous zucchini lasagna that includes layers upon layers of turkey meat sauce, fresh herbs, parmesan, ricotta and of course, mozzarella.
Not only is it a great way to use up your garden fresh zucchini, tomatoes and herbs, but it also happens to be low in carbs and gluten free, which means you can slam one of my favorite almond butter blondies after and call it a day.
Joking aside, sometimes it’s just nice to get a good dose of extra veggies over carbs into our bodies, and this zucchini noodle lasagna is the perfect way to do it. This recipe was first published back in 2014, but needed a drastic photography update, so here we are!
Healthy zucchini lasagna ingredients
This low carb zucchini lasagna is packed with veggies and protein. You know I don’t skimp on flavor, so get ready to fall in love with the amazing turkey meat sauce. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Zucchini: the star of the show in this no-noodle zucchini lasagna recipe!
- Olive oil: to cook those veggies for the turkey meat sauce.
- Garlic: a must for the amazing flavor.
- Yellow onion & green pepper: the veggie boost we’re adding to the meat sauce.
- Sauce base: we’re using tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes and tomato paste for that saucy goodness.
- Herbs: a bit of dried oregano, fresh basil and fresh parsley.
- Spices: I love adding a pinch of cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes for a hint of spice, plus some salt and pepper.
- For the cheese mixture: we’re using ricotta (part skim or whole), an egg white (or a full egg), grated parmesan, mozzarella, salt & pepper.
How to cut zucchini into lasagna noodles
Cutting raw zucchini into lasagna noodles is easy to do with a mandolin or a standard vegetable peeler. You’ll just want to carefully slide the zucchini the long way across the mandolin, or carefully slide your vegetable peeler the long way down the zucchini to create even strips.
How to make zucchini lasagna
This healthy zucchini lasagna is easier to make then you think! It basically involves layering meat sauce, thin zucchini slices, and a cheese mixture until you can’t anymore. It’s made just like your favorite, traditional lasagna, but with extra veggies and plenty of protein. The delicious layers include veggies, turkey meat sauce and ooey-gooey cheese!
Step 1: You’ll need to dry out your zucchini by roasting the slices with a bit of salt to get rid of the excess moisture that the vegetable tends to hold.
Step 2: make your yummy, spicy, flavorful turkey meat sauce involving canned and crushed tomatoes, fresh herbs, lean ground turkey, onion and plenty of spices.
Step 3: stir together the cheese and egg mixture in a bowl and add some of the slightly cooled meat sauce.
Step 4: assemble lasagna by spreading half of the turkey meat sauce on the bottom of large greased baking pan, then follow with zucchini slices, followed by half of the ricotta mixture and finally the mozzarella. Repeat layers again starting with the meat sauce, zucchini slices and ricotta mixture and finishing with remaining mozzarella.
Step 5: Bake up and enjoy! It’s cheesy, protein-packed, low carb and you get your veggies in. What more is there to say?! You must try this lovely dinner!
How to keep zucchini lasagna from being watery
Given that zucchini is made up almost entirely of water, cooking and baking it tends to create extra moisture. That’s why zucchini is great for baking – because it adds moisture to baked goods without adding oil! But for our noodle-free zucchini lasagna we don’t want tons of water pooling, so here’s what to do:
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Place the sliced zucchini on large baking sheet coated with non stick cooking spray.
- Sprinkle it with salt and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes to help dry out it all out.
How to store and reheat zucchini lasagna:
This zucchini lasagna will last covered in the refrigerator for about 5 days. To reheat it, simply add a portion to a microwave safe plate and heat through in the microwave.
Freezer-friendly zucchini lasagna: 2 different ways
One thing I really love about this zucchini lasagna recipe is that it’s freezer friendly and since it makes a big pan, you may easily have enough to freeze for healthy dinners another time.
- To freeze unbaked zucchini lasagna: prepare lasagna as directed then cover with plastic wrap and foil and place in freezer for 3 months. Once ready to bake, thaw out the lasagna overnight in the fridge, then bake as directed.
- To freeze baked zucchini lasagna: I like to cut the lasagna into individual servings, then place in airtight freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Once ready to reheat, simply thaw out the lasagna, then microwave until warm.
If you’ve never experienced zucchini lasagna, you’re in for a delicious surprise! Everyone I make it for falls in love and it’s truly the best way to get rid of that excess zucchini. Feel free to make it your own by adding mushrooms, black olives, pepperoni slices, or perhaps more roasted veggies like sweet potatoes or butternut squash.
Either way, it’s love at first bite!
See how to make the zucchini lasagna:
More zucchini recipes you might like:
Avocado Basil Pesto Zucchini Noodles
One Pan Enchilada Zucchini Turkey Meatballs and Rice
If you make this low carb zucchini lasagna recipe, be sure to leave a comment below and rate the recipe! You can also snap and picture and post it on Instagram using the hashtag #ambitiouskitchen. Enjoy, xo!
Low Carb Zucchini Lasagna with Spicy Turkey Meat Sauce
A healthy, low carb zucchini lasagna with layers of cheese, fresh herbs and a flavorful turkey meat sauce. This easy, no-noodle zucchini lasagna recipe is packed with veggies & protein and isn't watery like some zucchini recipes. It's guaranteed to be your new favorite freezer-friendly, lightened up comfort food!
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 4 large zucchini, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 - 14 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 - 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- handful of basil, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- handful of parsley, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- 1/2 teaspoon red cayenne pepper, if desired
- red pepper flakes, if desired
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Lots of freshly ground black pepper
- For the ricotta cheese mixture:
- 15 oz part skim ricotta (or use whole milk)
- 1 egg white (or use whole egg)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
- 12 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (or about 1 1/2 cups)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place sliced zucchini on large baking sheet coated with non stick cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes to help dry out the zucchini a bit. This is a critical step.
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While the zucchini noodles are roasting, you can make the turkey meat sauce. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add garlic, onions, and peppers and cook a few minutes until onions become translucent and garlic is fragrant; stir occasionally so that you don't burn it.
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Add in ground turkey and cook until no longer pink. Add in tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil, parsley, and a few dashes of red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer UNCOVERED 25 to 30 minutes or until sauce REALLY thickens up! (If it needs to be thicker, I suggest adding in another tablespoon or two of tomato paste.) Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat to cool.
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In a medium bowl, combine egg white, ricotta, and Parmesan. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Add in 1/2 cup of the slightly cooled meat sauce and stir to combine and set aside.
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To assemble lasagna, spread 1/2 of the turkey meat sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Place zucchini slices evenly over meat sauce, spread on 1/2 of the ricotta mixture, then sprinkle 1/2 of the mozzarella on.
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Repeat layers again starting with the meat sauce, zucchini slices and ricotta mixture and finishing with remaining mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake for 30 min.
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Remove foil and bake for 15 minute longer uncovered. Makes 8 very generous servings. Garnish with fresh basil ribbons or chopped parsley and extra parmesan cheese.
Recipe Notes
Recipe adapted from All Recipes.
To freeze unbaked zucchini lasagna: prepare lasagna as directed then cover with plastic wrap and foil and place in freezer for 3 months. Once ready to bake, thaw out the lasagna overnight in the fridge, then bake as directed.
To freeze baked zucchini lasagna: I like to cut the lasagna into individual servings, then place in airtight freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Once ready to reheat, simply thaw out the lasagna, then microwave until warm.
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
103 comments
This looks totally de-lish!
This is amazing! To simplify, I just used a jar of my favorite no sugar added marinara instead if the paste, tomatoes and sauce. Added fresh basil or other spices as desired. Cuts out many steps. Roasting the zucchini ahead is key.
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
I absolutely love this recipe! And my whole family did too! Served it for daughter’s birthday dinner 🙂 Making it again today 🙂
So happy to hear that, Krista! Love this one.
Monique- this was amazing! It was my first one of your savory recipes that I followed, and my husband and I both enjoyed it very much. I followed the recipe exactly, and even the zucchini still has some bite to it after reheating in the microwave. Pumpkin enchiladas are next on the list 😉
Hi Monique! This looks totally and completely amazing, Zucchini is my favourite veg in the world, and I’m not really into pasta that much so I’m stoked! I DO have a question though, I am really, really, really anti-ricotta (just one of those things I can’t get myself to eat), so do you think it would be ok without it? or any other substitution? THANKS
You could try low fat or full fat cottage cheese? I think it would work!
I make a mixture that’s Vegan and tastes amazing. Place a package of Silken Tofu and a package of firm tofu in a food processor with a tablespoon of each of the following items:
original Almond milk (do not use vanilla) lemon juice
Raw honey
Chopped green onions
Nutritional Yeast (or use Parmesan cheese if it doesn’t need to be vegan)
Add some salt and black pepper to taste
I take 2 thawed chopped spinach and squeeze out all the liquid and add to the tofu in the processor.
Process everything together until it’s the texture of ricotta cheese for a lasagne
What is sodium content in this dish? It’s not listed.
just found this recipe in Pinterest as I was eating my zoodles and turkey meatballs. I am totally trying. This next week! My mom makes an awesome veggie lasagna and chops veggies in her food processor then sautés them. Thanks for the great idea!
Ok. I made this awesome lasagna last week. So good! The only changes that I made….didn’t use as much salt. Salting the zucchini slices & adding a pinch to the cheese mix was all that I used. I used a can of fire roasted tomatoes to replace the puree and I broiled the top for a few minutes after baking was complete. I’ll definately make this again!!
Just made this recipe tonight and it was soooo good!! I also uses fat free ricotta, low fat Parmesan and fat free mozzarella and it was still delicious! Can’t wait for my left overs tomorrow !
The recipe nutrition stats were high. Is this lower as I would probably eat the whole thing!!!
Sounds good!
Carbs are still a bit high for me, but sound delicious. I am diabetic and the USDA recommendations for the proper amount of carbs for diabetics sends my blood sugar into the stratosphere! I keep mine down to as close to 25 to 50 grams a day (25 for weight loss) as much as possible. I order a low carb sauce through Netceuticals and use zucchini noodles. So, I am excited to try this recipe for a new variation.
Wvgirl, don’t be afraid to replace everything with high fat versions (instead of turkey, full-fat pork and/or beef; all high fat cheeses, egg white with whole egg, etc.). I also have a hard time with carbs, and eating fat helps. This should also lower the carb content, although it’s likely the tomatoes that are providing most of the carbs. Hard to replace that. What’s in the low carb sauce? Zucchini isn’t that high in carbs.
For me, I’ll easily eat 2-3 servings of this at one sitting.
This sounda like a good low carb recipe. I love Zucchini. However, I don’t like out to be mushy. How do I cook out so it will still have a little bite to it?
Very good recipe! I used turkey italian sausage, which I thought added a lot to the recipe. Will definitely make again!
Delicious! Glad you enjoyed!
What would you recommend cooking this dish at if it was made ahead of time and frozen?
Such a wonderful alternative to my *formally* favorite meal: lasagna! Just one thing, when I entered your recipe into MyFitnessPal the recipe came up as 508 calories for 1/8. I cut way back on the cheese and the tomato sauce to keep the calories in check.
This recipe is so delicious!!!! I made it for Christmas Eve and making another batch 2 days later! I like how you “dry” out the zucchini first so it keeps the water content down! I also added some fresh slices of tomato and black olives(since I love them). And Nicole just don’t fully cook the zucchini ahead of time (in the oven when drying out the zucchini) and the zucchini doesn’t get mushy. Also don’t go super thin on the slices. The slices that I did a little too thin were mushy so they didn’t make it into the end products. The actually cook time of the whole recipe only heats everything through. Great recipe-thank you!
This is a very good recipe. I am not a fan of zucchini, but it makes a tasty and healthy substitute for pasta in this recipe. I did not miss the pasta one bit!
This is ridiculously good. No bloating after either as you would get with grain based lasagna. Thanks a lot for the recipe
This is good but not really low carb. Secondly anyone eating low carb knows that fat is the key to getting full and not snacking so why is this filled with “low-fat options”
I have never commented about a recipe I’ve found online and subsequently cooked, but this was the absolute best lasagna I have ever made (or had). Thanks for the guilt-free recipe!
Awesome recipe!
This is my go-to lasagna recipe now…took this lasagna and regular meat lasagna to a family reunion, I had leftover meat lasagna but zucchini lasagna was all eaten…thanks for the GREAT recipe
I made this tonight and it was awesome!! I didn’t miss the pasta one bit. I did find that the lasagna was a little too “saucy”. Perhaps I didn’t let meat sauce simmer long enough to thicken up? I will definitely make this again!
You can do that, or add a little tomato paste (a tablespoon or two to help it thicken).
I made this last night and it was delicious! However, I hacked it and used TJ’s frozen turkey bolognese – makes for a really easy weeknight dinner
This is delicious!!! I usually double the zucchini because I like a lot in my lasagna. I also make a lot of meat sauce so I buy those little foil tins and make a small lasagna to freeze. This is perfect for me and my hubby to have on those week nights. Thank you for the recipe!
This dish was incredible!I had a ton of veggies from my garden and I was browsing for a good way to use them up and tadaa! Instant new fav. My husband was blown away by it too.
How would you count this for 21 day fix??
Monique,
I want to make this recipe vegetarian for my significant other but obviously can’t use ground turkey (I on the other hand would love it hehe). What could I use as a viable substitution?
I know your question was a while ago, but I plan to make this vegetarian by cooking some lentils and roasting some walnuts, then pulsing both in a food processor to get a “ground meat” substitute. It worked great for veggie tacos, hoping it will work here.
i made this recipe and it was truly amazing!!!! delicious ! all the family loved it !!!
Just made this with a few adjustments – I used bottled sauce and added extra vegetables (celery and carrots) and WOW! This is amazing!!!! Absolutely delicious – this recipe is a keeper!!!! THANK YOU! 🙂
Wonderful! This is my husbands new favorite meal. He wants me to make it once a week. He doesn’t get heartburn after like regular lasagna. Thank you for the recipe!
Making this tonight!!!
Do you freeze after cooking the entire thing? How do you reheat?
Looks amazing! Any suggestions for replacement for the egg white?
I made this recipe last night and ate some before I went to bed. Ate a little bit for lunch today. Got home from work and saw that I only had a 1/3 of my Zuccini Lasagna left! I found my father ate a bunch of it and had to hide it since I was planning on eating off this for a week with my eating style having to be more “Strict and healthy” so next time I make this, I will be sure to double or even triple the recipe lol
Thanks for sharing This delicious recipe with us!
Absolutely amazing. A lot of flavor almost sinful. Wow! Thank you!
SO much flavor – glad you loved!
This recipe is absolutely amazing!! After savoring every last bite I had to share with my family. This meal is delicious and fits perfectly with my macros! I did make a few adjustments; I used jar sauce (what I had on hand) and swapped the ricotta for low fat cottage cheese and it turned out delicious. I will definitely be making these again!
WOW! Just made this and it’s amazing, didn’t miss the pasta at all. My husband said this is one of the best meals I’ve made. He is even taking it to work with him for lunch! I didn’t make it spicy and I substituted with a jar of Newmans Own Italian Sausage sauce and did add in a can of crushed tomatoes. Delish!!!!
So great to hear! Love when you can surprise your family with a new recipe 🙂 Italian sausage sounds great!
Made this tonight, substituted organic ground beef for turkey and it is fantastic! I plan to remake it with additional veggies. Also think the tomato sauce can be used over pasta for the rest of my family. Super easy too!
Perfect! Yes – the sauce will be great over pasta as well. Glad you enjoyed!
Do you freeze this after baking or before, if saving for later?
I usually freeze it after baking!
This recipe is amazing! I didn’t have diced tomatoes or Parmesan so I just used 28 oz of tomato sauce (had to add a couple of teaspoons of sugar to get the tang out) and did without the Parmesan. It was delightful! I’ll definitely be making this again!
Perfect! Such a great, go-to dinner 🙂
Can you make this in a crockpot?
Hi Bridgette! I haven’t tried it, but I think you should be able to layer everything up in the crockpot to cook it.
I just ran across this recipe online today. I started using zucchini and spaghetti squash instead of pasta as well as cauliflower rice instead of rice. My motivation was the diagnosis of pre-diabetes a couple of months ago. I am trying to keep it from being full blown diabetes. I am planning on making this for tomorrow night’s dinner. I can’t wait to try it!!!!
Those are great substitutions! I hope you love this one – it’s one of my favorite comfort foods lightened-up with veggies 🙂 Enjoy!
I made this last night for me and my boyfriend and it was super tasty! I added mushrooms to the sauce because we live mushrooms! Thanks so much for the recipe! We can’t wait to eat it again tonight!
This looks so good! Quick question, do you think you could prep this a day before and then bake it the next night? Or would it be too soggy to have it sit overnight, unbaked in the fridge? Thanks!
Hi Samantha! I think it should be just fine prepped the day before 🙂 Enjoy!
Thanks Monique, it turned out great! Just a bit longer in the oven to fully warm up. Delicious!
Great! So happy to hear that.
Just assembled everything, placed in the oven and realized I added the entire egg to the cheese mixture rather than just the egg white :/
Hope it still turns out yummy
Hi MaryAnn! I hope everything still turned out – such a great, easy dinner!
This is a favorite in our house. We make our meat sauce with hamburger and I add fresh spinach to the layers. Such a good healthy version of lasagna.
I’m so glad! It’s my go-to healthy version 🙂 Happy to hear that you all enjoy it!
This was fantastic!! Thank you for sharing!
You bet! Glad you enjoyed!
Made it with Italian turkey sausage because that’s what I had in the freezer, whole lb. (16oz) whole milk ricotta, 0.66lb whole milk mozzarella, and an extra 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan over the top. Soooooo good! Came to 433 Cal/serving according to MyFitnessPal. Thank you!!
415 cal, sorry!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
Made this today, roasted zucchini slices and made sauce yesterday, stored zucchini in a plastic container overnight, dumped out all the water that accumulated before assembling to help prevent it being too watery
Perfect!
This was wonderful! Thank you so much! Will definitely be making again.
So happy to hear that!
So good! I recently got married, and my husband brags that I’m a great cook-my secret is that I just cook all of your recipes. I haven’t tried one that we didn’t love! This lasagna is one of our new favorites!
Love that! Hope you two keep finding recipes you love. This one is one of my all-time favs!
Due to health reasons, hubby and I are adopting a healthier lifestyle – after years of… not eating healthy. Making these changes isn’t easy, but this comfort food makeover is heaven on earth 🙂 Although I didn’t use the homemade marinara (subbed in jarred marinara), and instead of turkey, I chopped and cooked some cauliflower to give the sauce texture – and more veggies. We love this recipe, and next time I make it I’ll be doubling it to put some in the freezer. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
So happy you found this recipe! One of my favorite comfort food makeovers. Great idea to freeze some for later, too 🙂
Would it be possible to adapt this to an 8×8 baking dish?
Yes, feel free to just halve the ingredients!
Very tasty! I really liked that this recipe is faster to make than traditional lasagna. We didn’t miss the pasta at all
Absolutely! So easy 🙂
Loved this! We had all of the ingredients except mozzarella so we sprinkled feta over the top instead and it actually tasted amazing.
Perfect! So happy you loved it!
I love this recipe. It’s amazing.
Is step 4 right though? In a medium bowl, combine egg white, ricotta, and Parmesan. Season with a bit of salt and pepper. Add in 1/2 cup of the slightly cooled meat sauce and stir to combine and set aside.
I don’t think you add in the meat sauce to the cheese mixture? Right?
So happy to hear that! And yes that’s correct – check out the video for clarity on this part 🙂
I never comment on recipes but this deserves 5 stars. So many recipes say “you will never notice____” is gone but it’s true for this.
So happy you loved it!
Deeeelish! My husband declared it the best lasagna I’ve ever made-high praise as the others are also great. I found this to be slightly less time consuming. Used small zucchini, cut into planks about 1/4 ” wide. After baking for 20 minutes, they still seemed watery so I flipped them and did the other side for about 10 minutes-they browned a bit which helped keep them from becoming mushy. The only swap I made was red for green pepper, we thought the spice level was perfect.
Perfect! So happy you both loved it 🙂
This is my go to recipe when I am craving some comfort Italian food but am also trying to stay healthy. Delicious one dish meal and also reheats really well!
So good! Glad you love it!
This was so easy to make and delicious! I didn’t have tomatoes or tomato sauce so used a 24 oz jar of spaghetti sauce with garlic and basil.
Perfect! Such a great dinner 🙂