Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
Swap out the lasagna noodles for zucchini. It’s LOW CARB & so much healthier! You won’t miss the noodles at all!
Featured Comment
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
So when I made this for dinner one night, Ben said, “Oh, wow. This doesn’t suck.” I didn’t know what to make of that reaction. Then, about 3 minutes and 22 seconds later, he said, “Babe, I don’t know where this ranks in the things you’ve made but this definitely makes top 5.”
So that should basically summarize what this meal is all about.
We swap out the lasagna noodles for zucchini and roll them up in everything that is good in life – crumbled sausage, ricotta, Parmesan and mozzarella cheese, which is then baked in a pool of marinara sauce.
With everything that’s happening here, you won’t even miss the lasagna noodles. I promise. Plus, it’s low-carb, it makes enough to feed an army, and it is DUDE-friendly.
tips and tricks for success
- Salt the zucchini. Because zucchini has a high water content (94% water), salting the zucchini beforehand will help draw out the excess water, making it firmer and avoiding mushy, limp zucchini.
- Use your favorite meat. Italian sausage, ground beef, chicken or turkey will all work well here.
- Make ahead of time. Lasagna is a great dish to make ahead of time. Prep and assemble overnight, covered with aluminum foil and stored in the fridge.
- Freeze before baking. This will preserve the texture and prevent sogginess. Always use a freezer-safe baking dish, label, date and freeze up to 2 months.
what to serve with zucchini lasagna roll ups
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups: Frequently Asked Questions
Zucchini can vary so much in size but 3 large zucchini should be about 2 pounds.
Zucchini is very high in water and the salt will help draw out excess water.
Ground beef, chicken or turkey can be used instead of Italian sausage.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
You can use your favorite kind of marinara sauce but we personally love Rao’s.
You can assemble ahead of time and store in the refrigerator, up to 24 hours in advance, baking right before serving.
Yes! Let cool completely; cover the roll ups tightly with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Freeze up to 2 months. For the best results, we recommend assembling, freezing then baking to help prevent any sogginess. But if you’ve already baked your roll ups, no worries at all – it can still be frozen!
Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups
Ingredients
- 3 large zucchini, trimmed and sliced lengthwise into 24 ⅛-inch-thick strips
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¾ pound Italian sausage, casing removed
- 1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
- ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ cups marinara sauce, divided
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Lay zucchini slices flat in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Season with salt, to taste; let stand 15 minutes.
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add Italian sausage and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- In a medium bowl, combine sausage, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, basil and garlic; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Spread 1 cup marinara sauce sauce onto the bottom of a large cast iron skillet over; set aside.
- Spread 1 tablespoon ricotta mixture evenly along each zucchini slice; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon mozzarella cheese. Roll up and place in the prepared skillet; repeat with remaining zucchini slices and filling. Top with remaining 1/2 cup marinara sauce and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella.
- Place into oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until lasagna rolls are heated through and the cheese is beginning to brown.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Can you please give instructions for using only one zucchini? Thank you?!
Wonderful Idea!
Excellent dish! I’m celiac (gluten free) and my husband avoids carbs so this was perfect. Made it twice and definitely went smoother with a mandoline slicer.
We prefer lean ground beef so sautéed with the garlic and Italian seasonings. Also added prepared pesto to cheese mixture instead of basil. Will make again and again.
I have been making zucchini rollups for years. Presalting the zucchini is essential. Zucchini can be very watery. I also use this method for lasagna made with zucchini noodles. Also have a recipe for Mexican zucchini but cutting the zucchini a little thicker and pre cook in the oven for a few minutes to release some of the water before layering it with sauce and cheese and baking until the cheese melts.
Love this! I had no meat & made it as the recipe states except I did pre cook the zucchini as suggested. It was fabulous & fun to make. A great make ahead & quick bake!
Made this for dinner tonite, so good! Although, it took me a few tries to figure the way to cut the zucchini properly I will be making this again, definitely a keeper!
Loved this recipe! Didn’t miss the carb-packed pasta one bit. Leftovers heated very well, too. Thanks for a winner recipe!
Ok, you’ve won me over. My wife saw this recipe and showed it to me. We instantly wanted to make it. I went to the store, got the ingredients and my wife made it. No fuss, no muss and fun to make. You are 100% correct in saying that “you won’t miss the noodles.” This is now what we’ll make when we have the urge for lasagna. Additionally, for those who have had bariatric surgery, like my wife. . . this is a very great alternative.
I didn’t have all the ingredients…no sausage, no ricotta and added my own spices. I had some mushrooms I needed to use up so I rolled up the zucchini with mushrooms and the cheese mixure… WOW! My boyfriend said he would eat it as a main dish. I reminded him there was no meat in it and he didn’t care. It was so good!
These roll ups taste just like manicotti! So good! The zucchini was a little tricky and we took a loss on the ends (good to know for the future), but cooking it for 7-10 minutes at 350 made it easy to roll. I also pinned the first few with toothpicks to give me a base to work off of. Perfect amount of filling.Great flavor, low carb, and loved by the entire family. I will definitely make these again soon. Thank you!
This dish is heavenly ! Best thing I’ve presented guests in a long time.
Just be prepared for an existential crisis while cutting the zucchini. I regretted all of my life choices and was prepared to order pizzas halfway through the zucchini, but please don’t give up. This dish is the textbook example of “the end justifies the means”.
As stated before, heavenly dish!
Loved. It. I just made this tonight and ended up putting on my blog. Thank you! I followed some of Valerie K.’s tips, and I’m happy. The hubs took a small portion but went back for more. Personally, I took a big portion and finished it. Now I have lunch for tomorrow and Friday! Thank you Chungah!
Question, the directions say to top the stuffed zucchini with marinara, but the pic of your finished product does not have sauce on top. Am I missing something? Going t try these Thursday! I sliced yellow squash with my deli slicer and freeze dried them for just this kind of dish. Thanks!
This is most likely for presentation so her audience (us) can see the zucchini rolled up and not just a bunch of sauce.
My kiddo loves this and calls it “zucchini sushi”
I decided to make this meatless, so instead of sausage, I used Panko in its place
We will make it again! Very very good. A solid cheese slicer works well on the zucchinis
and I dried the slices on paper towels without salt {about one and a half hours}
My wife made homemade marinara . WE try to limit our sodium Ken
I’m a beginner cook, this was super easy and delicious. I used ground turkey instead of sausage since that’s what I had available, can’t wait to try it with sausage next time.
I followed this recipe spot on, cutting the zucchini was a bit tough, some were a little thick. 1/16th of an inch would be better which some of them I made after seeing they looked thick to me.
I rolled half of the pan up with the thinner cuts and lied the other half of the pan out like a traditional lasagna, 3 layers thick. The results were fantastic in both applications.
The wife loved it as did I. This one is on the menu from this point on.
Thank you Chungah
Some of you recipes I tweak a little this one I did not, it’s just wonderful.
Wish I could post a picture of it.
I made this for a group yesterday and everyone LOVED it! So delicious. The only tweak I made was following the comment of pre baking my zucchini slices :). Thanks for the great recipe!
Really great recipe.
Couple tips.
1. I let the zucchini slices sit on paper towels for an hour then transferred them to 3 parchment covered cookie sheets. Popped in the convection oven for 10 minutes at 350 and then let them cool. Didn’t want to chance a watery dish.
2. Doubled the ricotta mixture. I wasn’t gonna work this hard to run out of the mixture. Needed every bit of it.
3. The marinara meat sauce was great on the bottom of the pan, but I also had extra sauce to spoon over the top as my husband likes it saucy.
4. Used almond mozzarella cheese and it worked great!
Family asked I make it again, so that’s the best news!
Loved your tips, thanks!
This was awesome! The only challenge was keeping the rolls rolled. I ended up securing them with toothpicks which worked out well. I used pork/mushroom sausage and it was perfect. Thanks for a great addition to my meal rotation.