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Saturday, June 16, 2012

Zucchini Lasagna


Ooooooh! Looks good, doesn't it?!
I am happy to say that this went way beyond my expectations.
I really felt like I was having lasagna....I didn't miss the noodles at all.
Oh, yeah...did I mention this had NO NOODLES?
Nope. You use zucchini instead of pasta.
WAIT!
Don't run away screaming.
It is really, really tasty. I promise you won't even miss the pasta.
It is a little more soupy than regular lasagna but that just meant serving it with a slotted spoon and eating it in a bowl instead of a plate.
I can live with that.
(If you want a lazier version click here for our Lasagna Stuffed Zucchini.)


Zucchini Lasagna
(Slightly adapted from Dashing Dish)

Ingredients
5 medium zucchini
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 onion, diced
2 cups fresh broccoli, chopped small
2 cups fresh cauliflower, chopped small
2 cups fesh spinach, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
sprinkle of seasoning salt salt & pepper

1 25 oz jar of spaghetti sauce (I used Healthy Choice)
2 cups cottage cheese (I used 1 %)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded


Directions
Preheat oven to 425. Line a cookie tray with parchment paper, set aside.


Slice zucchini into 1/8 inch slices. arrange zucchini on cookie sheet and bake at 425 for 5 minutes on each side. Remove from oven and then turn oven to 375.


For meat sauce - In a large non-stick skillet, cook meat until it’s browned. To the skillet, add the veggies, seasonings, and the entire jar of spaghetti sauce. Simmer for about 10 minutes, (or until veggies begin to soften), stirring occasionally.
For cheese layer - Mix the cottage cheese and parmesan cheese together.
To assemble your lasagna - Spray 2 8 X8 pans with cooking spray. (Can also be made in 1 - 9X13 pan)
Our layers went like this:


Meat Sauce


Zucchini "noodles"


Cottage cheese layer.
Then, repeat that one more time - meat sauce, zucchini, cottage cheese.


And end with - meat sauce, zucchini, sprinkle with Mozza cheese.
That's 3 layers of meat, 3 layers of zucchini, but only 2 layers of the cottage cheese.
Cover with tinfoil and bake at 375 for 50 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes, uncovered.
Remove from oven and let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.


You really do need to let it sit for at least 10 minutes to re-absorb some of the liquid. If you find your lasagna is really soupy then serve it with a slotted spoon.

For some weird reason Sue found hers turned out more liquidy than mine. We made them at the same time (hers is the darker 8X8 pan in the photos)  yet she had to use a slotted spoon to serve hers. I served mine in bowls because I think it would have been too runny for a plate, but I didn't need to use a slotted spoon.
Go figure.....

Anyway, this is delicious.
Using Fitday the nutritional value is:
304 calories
11 fat
24.5 carbs
27 protein
That is for 1/8 of the recipe! *Gasp* So for 1/4 of an 8X8 pan!!
Yes, it is a huge piece!


I tried to find a comparison nutritional value for "regular" lasagna but couldn't really find one. The ones I did look up averaged about 600 - 800 calories for an equal sized piece.
I'll take 300 calories, thank you very much.
I hope you give this recipe a try. Like I said above, it really did exceed my expectations. I will definitely be making this again.


Be sure to pop by Carole's Chatter for some fun foodie links!

83 comments:

  1. Your list of ingredients did not include measurements for the cottage cheese. Please update soon as I am looking forward to trying your recipe. Thank you!

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    1. Thank you so much for catching that!! I updated the recipe. I hope you enjoy it :)

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  2. Just made this for dinner, didn't use cottage cheese though used rocatta, Im so excited for this when it comes out of the oven!

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    1. Ricotta cheese is always better for any Lasagna dish. I agree

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  3. Finally ate this! It was the best lasagna ever!!!!

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    1. Yay! I'm glad you liked it. I thought it was sooooo yummy! :)

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  4. We are so glad that you linked up to our "Strut Your Stuff Saturday". Please come back again really soon! Thanks! -The Sisters

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  5. Did you try salting the zuke slices slightly and then setting them in a colander to drain? You have to rinse them slightly afterwards, but it did help a bit in a diff zuke recipe I tried...

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    1. I haven't tried that yet...thank you for the great tip!

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  6. Hello!

    I am enthusiastically making this for dinner tobight! About how many servings does this make for the calorie count? Thanks!

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  7. Thanks so much!! And...DUH...I just noticed the 1/8 note up top from you all...sorry :( I recently had a baby...so, you know. THANKS AGAIN!!

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    1. No worries! Let us know if you enjoy it :)

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    2. Aaaahhhh it was amazing!! Absolutely delicious and tavely reviewed by fellow eaters. Thank you so much for sharing. fantastic!

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    3. Aaaahhhh it was amazing!! Absolutely delicious and tavely reviewed by fellow eaters. Thank you so much for sharing. fantastic!

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  8. Would I be able to keep it in the fridge or freezer unbaked? There are only two of us, so I was thinking I only want one pan at a time.

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    1. I'm not really sure :/ It might be okay overnight in the fridge, unbaked. I would just worry about it getting to watery or the zucchini getting mushy. You could try halving the recipe and see how that works for you. :) Please let me know if you try freezing or storing in the fridge. I am really curious to know if it can be done!

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    2. I have made other lasagnas with zucchini noodles and frozen them without any issue. Just freeze after it is cooked and reheat when you want to eat. The consistency doesn't change. I will be making this tonight to freeze (making a months worth of meals tonight) with ricotta cheese because that is what I have, but I am excited to try cottage cheese next time.

      Sorry I don't have an account, so I had to post anonymously here - Chrissie

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    3. Great! Thanks for letting us know, Chrissie :)

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  9. Omit broccoli and cauliflower. Add 2 more cups of Spinach.
    Do not bake zucchini. Put them raw.

    Mama Mia , it is delicious...

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    1. Interesting changes... Glad it worked out for you that way!

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  10. You might try mixing in one egg with the cottage cheese. That's what I do for my lasagna. That should thicken it up some.

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  11. Will it still turn out without cottage cheese or ricotta? I can't take the texture of those cheeses.

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    1. I don't think it would work without the cheese.... you could try it but I don't think it would be as "lasagna-y".

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    2. Try blending the cottage cheese smooth.

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  12. Do you think this recipe would work without the meat?

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    1. You could definitely try it but it would really change the whole texture and taste of the dish.

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    2. I'm going to try this recipe out tonight using a bag of Morningstar soy crumble instead of meat. I'll let you know how it goes!

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  13. Excellent! Someone gave me a cucuzza squash, which is like a zucchini, and it was great. Made my own sauce, and it wasn't at all runny.

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  14. I wonder if you dehydrated your own zucchini slices and partially rehydrated and used in the recipie if it would be less saucie?

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  15. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I mentioned it in my blog here.

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    1. Thank you for linking back to us! Glad you enjoyed the lasagna :)

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  16. Excellent recipe!!! I used ground chicken instead of turkey, ricotta (part skim) instead of cottage cheese, swiss chard instead of spinach, and no cauliflower...I let the sauce get really thick so it wasn't watery at all!! This was by far one of the BEST zucchini recipes ever!!!

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  17. Really good!!! My husband thought that it would not be good at all as he does not like vegetables, but he ate it all and enjoyed it

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  18. Do you know the fiber content? Just wondering, I wanted to know the Weight watchers points value points for it. I am excited to try.

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    1. Sorry, I don't know the fiber content :(

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    2. Any change you guys found out the fiber content?

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  19. My husband and I made this together, it is currently in the oven. It smells SOOOO good!! I can't wait to dig in. My picky two year old is even excited. She loves zucchini. I made it spot on to your recipe except that I left out the onions. Thank you for this recipe!

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  20. Awesome recipe! I've made something similar, but layered my veggies raw. My servings were solid & I could eat it on a plate. I'll never make lasagna with noodles again. Also try a layer of fresh sliced tomatoes & mushrooms...

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  21. Delicious! My family loved it, even my 2 picky kids! I added dried basil and oregano and 2 mild Italian sausages to the sauce. Definitely making this again! :)

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  22. I tried this and it was delish!!! Will def be making again:)

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  23. This was unbelievably wonderful! Thanks for sharing!

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  24. Just made this for dinner. It was fantastic!!! Will be making this again. Thanks for sharing.

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  25. Could I prepare everything ahead of time , let sit in fridge and cook the next night ? Would it be soggy ?

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  26. This looks and sounds so yummy! Can you suggest a not tomato sauce to use? My daughter can't eat nightshades and we are on a keto diet :(

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    1. You can make it with red pepper sauce feta cheese and spinach

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  27. Is it still good if I prepare it the night before and then bake it the next day?

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  28. Could you bake the zucchini without parchment paper?

    Autumn

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    1. You probably could, my fear would be that it might end up sticking.... I have never tried it without parchment paper so I'm not sure. Please let us know if you try it, how it turns out. :)

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    2. I just did it on aluminum foil and it didn't stick. Only a spot here and there but it picked right up with no issue.

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  29. This is my favorite lasagna recipe!

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  30. I made them into rolls! I baked them as directed and let them cool a bit...then put some cottage cheese down, meat/veggie mixture on top (w/o sauce in it) and rolled. Then I put a spoonful of sauce over each roll and a dollop of goat cheese (didn't use mozz or parm). Put them in a glass dish with a light layer of sauce in the bottom so they wouldn't stick. I also only used one zucchini this way...it was plenty for one person! (my family won't eat it so I was on my own) I put the rest of the filling away for tomorrow night!

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  31. Jo and Sue,

    My name is Patty, I hang out over at http://breezes-and-blooms.blogspot.com/. This year, I have made it my mission to work through the recipes in my recipe box and on my Pinterest board "Foods I'd Like to Try." This recipe is on that board, and I just tried it last night. It was a huge hit, and I am blogging about it today! I wanted to drop you this message to let you know that I was about to chat you up, and to express my thanks for giving me another recipe I can add to my collection, and one that uses vegetables in such a way that makes my kids wanna scarf them up!

    So - THANKS!!!!

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  32. why did you choose cottage cheese rather than ricotta? higher protein content.

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    1. It is what I had on hand. You can also use ricotta though. :)

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    2. There is already a lot of protein in it based on the meat and cheese used. Cottage cheese has protein but most people that use it is because it is cheaper than ricotta. I grew up with my mom making it with cottage cheese and I still use it today. Although I mix it with half ricotta, just for my husband since he is Italian. And we can afford ricotta so that isn't why I use cottage cheese. I just like it.

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  33. I just tried this - fantastic!!! Much better than 'traditional' lasagna & much healthier - thank you so much for posting!! Whoever thought this recipe up is brilliant!!

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  34. This was an awesome dish! Thanks so much for posting it!

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  35. Thank you so much! I halved the recipe and used carrots instead of broccoli, it was great!!

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  36. I have to eat by the low-amylose diet and all that is in this recipe I can have! So excited to try this, thank you!

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  37. Looks very yummy!! I will be making this recipe very soon:) Thank you for sharing.

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  38. I am on a maintenance phase in the hcg diet. Still can't have any sugars or additives really. Any suggestions on substitutions for the spaghetti sauce?

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  39. Made this tonight for my family and they loved it! I used a slotted spoon when transferring the meat to the casserole dish and the liquid still spilled over onto the bottom of my oven. Next time, I'll put a cookie sheet on the rack below the lasagna.

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  40. This is really yummy! It did, however, spill out into my oven. I should have checked the previous comment :). Thanks for the yummy recipe!

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  41. I made this recipe for my family, They LOVED it. It was delish!!!

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  42. Oh looks so good. Was planning on making it but I count carbs and that is too many for me. Maybe I will make my own sauce and not add the added veggies, just the zucchini and onions. Good idea to cook the zucchini first!

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  43. I am anxiously awaiting for this yummy smelling deliciousness to get out of the oven:)
    I may never use noodles again.

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  44. Made it, love it. Every time I serve this lasagna, my husband and son (who is 6) both really enjoy it and I really appreciate the veggie punch and total yum factor. I make two smaller lasagnas and usually give one a way to a friend or family member. Today I am going to make two and freeze them... Hopefully it won't change the texture too much!

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  45. It says it has 24 something carbs. I am not seeing that? Looks good. will have to check and see what carbs are in it when i make it!

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  46. Have made this several times and it is delicious.

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  47. I bookmarked this so long ago but just now got to making it and just had to comment. This is amazing. I halfed the recipe but kept the veggie amounts the same. I also used vegetarian sausage. My zucchini must have been really small because even with using 3, I didn't have enough slices to even remotely cover each layer but that was just a minor setback ;) I didn't have foil, so I ended up taking it out after 30 mins because the cheese was beginning to get too brown. 30 minutes did the trick, it was cooked perfectly, and my lasagna was not watery at all! Perfect! Will make again and again.

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  48. I made this tonight without onions and subbed ricotta instead of cottage cheese. It was fabulous! Great recipe...so delicious! Going in the weekly rotation for sure. Thanks for posting!

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  49. hello! could i sub the ground turkey for chicken? if so how would i make? also - how many people does this serve? i'm looking to make for 4 people, who kinda eat a lot. are the portions proper? thanks!

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    1. You could definitely sub in ground chicken instead of ground turkey. You would make it the same way. And, this would make more than enough for 4 people. The servings are quite generous. :) Hope that helps!

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  50. This is the only lasagna recipe my husband will eat! And its fabulous for meal prepping!

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  51. This is the best zucchini lasagna I've ever made! Especially since the protein is higher then the carbs and the servingis hugh!! I share this with all my friends!

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