Description
This recipe is perfect if you have extra zucchini from the garden and/or you are looking for a great lasagna while on the South Beach or Atkins diets. It replaces lasagna noodles with slices of zucchini, but still tastes like the lasagna you love!
Ingredients
- ½ pound ground beef
- ½ pound bulk Italian sausage
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (12 ounce) can tomato paste
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 large zucchini, trimmed
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Cook and stir ground beef
- Italian sausage
- onion
- and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat until the meat is crumbly and no longer pink
- about 10 minutes. Drain grease and stir basil
- oregano
- brown sugar
- red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- black pepper
- tomatoes
- and tomato paste into the meat. Bring to a boil
- reduce heat to low
- and simmer meat sauce for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Mix eggs
- ricotta cheese
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- parsley
- and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Pare several slices of skin lengthwise from zucchini
- alternating with strips of remaining skin. Cut zucchini into long strips to resemble lasagna noodles. Discard seedy middle strips.
- Place 1/3 of the zucchini strips into bottom of the prepared baking dish
- filling in any gaps with scrap pieces of zucchini. Spread half the ricotta mixture over zucchini; spread 1 cup of mozzarella cheese over ricotta mixture; spread 1/3 of the meat sauce over mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers once more
- layering 1/3 of zucchini strips
- remaining half of the ricotta mixture
- 1 more cup of mozzarella cheese
- and 1/3 of the meat sauce. Make a third layer of remaining zucchini strips
- remaining meat sauce
- and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
- Bake in the preheated oven until lasagna is bubbling and top is browned
- about 1 hour. If top is browning too quickly
- cover dish with aluminum foil during last 15 minutes of baking time. Spread 1 cup mozzarella cheese on top of the casserole and bake until mozzarella cheese topping is melted
- 5 to 10 more minutes. Let casserole stand 10 minutes before serving.
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr 45 mins
Total Time: 2 hrs 25 mins
Servings: 8