So I made a lasagna for the first time in years and it was delicious! My daughter tried it and said, “Mom, I love it, but what are these things on the bottom.” Knowing zuchinni isn’t her favorite vegetable, when she then said, “are they noodles?”, well, I didn’t totally deny it. I used the zucchini as noodles in this recipe so it wasn’t completely untrue. And thanks to a friend’s advice (in recipe below) they certainly were more noodle-like.
But for those who absolutely have to have noodles, there is a gluten/wheat free lasagna noodle called Tinkyada that I found at Publix. It’s made with brown rice, rice bran, water, and that’s it. It got really great reviews on Amazon so it must be decent.
By the way, this picture would look better if I had “layered” the lasagna a couple of times. Instead, I did just 1 layer. I told you had been awhile since I made lasagna!!
Zucchini Lasagna
- 1 lb grass fed chuck/sirloin
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage (or just use another lb of chuck)
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2-3 cloves of garlic minced
- 14 oz can of tomato sauce
- 14 oz can of diced or crushed tomatoes (drained)
- 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt
- and spices (oregano, parsley, basil, thyme, and/or some pepper)
- 3 medium zucchini squash
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup of grated parmesan (romano or parmigiana reggiano)
- 16 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
- 16 ounces low moisture mozzarella grated
Brown Italian sausage and ground meat on medium to medium high heat. Drain if needed. To the meat mixture add diced onions and allow to soften for 5 minutes. Add in garlic, stir for 30 seconds. Incorporate tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, salt, and seasonings with meat. Reduce heat and allow to simmer stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes.
Slice zucchini into thin horizontal sheets similar to lasagna pasta. The recipe called for 1/4 thick slices but I used a hand peeler to make them extra skinny. Then lay them out and pat dry on paper towels. Add a good bit of salt and set aside to dry to make them taste more like noodles (thanks for the advise Shannon!).
Combine ricotta cheese, grated Parmesan and eggs in a bowl until mixed well. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Check meat sauce for flavoring, adjust if necessary. Once the meat sauce liquid has reduced remove from heat and line up all ingredients to assemble the lasagna.
In a 13×9 glass baking dish combine a third of each ingredient in layers as follows:
- Zucchini slices
- Ricotta mixture
- Meat sauce
- Mozzarella
Then repeat 1 or 2 more times!
Bake for 45 minutes or until bubbly throughout and cheese is dark golden brown. Rest for 10 minutes before slicing and enjoy!