Outstanding on the chocolate-walnut cookies!
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Additional Time: | 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 35 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 1 (9×13-inch) lasagna |
Ingredients
- 2 large zucchini
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 small green bell pepper, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup tomato paste
- ¼ cup red wine
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
- 3 tablespoons hot water, or as needed
- 1 (15 ounce) container low-fat ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 (16 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
- 8 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a deep 9×13-inch baking pan.
- Slice zucchini lengthwise into very thin slices. Sprinkle slices lightly with salt; set aside to drain in a colander.
- To prepare the meat sauce, cook ground beef and black pepper in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add green pepper and onion; cook and stir until meat is no longer pink.
- Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, wine, basil, and oregano; add a small amount of hot water if sauce is too thick. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer sauce for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Meanwhile, stir ricotta, egg, and parsley together in a bowl until well combined.
- To assemble lasagna, spread 1/2 of the meat sauce over the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer with 1/2 of the zucchini slices, 1/2 of the ricotta mixture, all of the spinach, followed by all of the mushrooms, then 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat by layering in the remaining meat sauce, zucchini slices, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella. Spread Parmesan evenly over the top; cover with foil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil; raise oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and bake an additional 15 minutes.
- Let lasagna stand 5 minutes before serving.
- The lasagna can be assembled a day ahead and refrigerated until ready to bake. You may need to lengthen the baking time.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 494 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 23 g |
| Cholesterol | 118 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Protein | 41 g |
| Saturated Fat | 14 g |
| Sodium | 2200 mg |
| Sugars | 11 g |
| Fat | 27 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Family loved it, I made sure I peeled and cut zucchini early and salted and wrung dry with paper towels and made sauce extra thick because veggies do add a lot of water We liked it better than with noodles, will make again
I thought this recipe was delish and my husband and Ernie & Mary Beth thought so too. What I did was shred the zucchini and squeeze out the water with my hands. Then I used canned spinach and squeezed out water with my hands. There was just the right amount of liquid in the lasagna. We all thought it was a keeper and I’ll be making it again. Ernie wanted the recipe. I would highly recommend this dish.
2 steps are missing from the recipe above: One: wrap spinach in paper towels and squeeze out excess water and Two: sautee the mushrooms in a couple of tablespoons of butter until browned (seriously, the mushrooms in the video are OBVIOUSLY sauteed)…I made this vegetarian with “Impossible” meatless and it was fantastic…though it took 2 hours prep…not 30 minutes
This was delicious! I used both zucchini and summer squash, and substituted fresh kale from the garden for the spinach. I added some fresh garlic to the meat while it cooked. That splash of red wine really added depth to the flavor. It was not watery at all. The only issue I had was my zucchini and squash was a bit too dry, I need to make thicker slices next time, and there will be many more next times!
Made this for dinner last night and it was tastier than i could have imagined. YUM. I used ground turkey because that’s what I had on hand. I also used less tomato paste (because i forgot to buy more). I’ll definitely be making it again. I’m excited to eat the leftovers for lunch today!
This is one of my all-time favorite recipes that I’ve been making for quite some time. I love pasta and really don’t miss it in this recipe. It has amazing flavor and although it takes some time to put together (don’t skip sweating the zucchini!), I don’t mind at all. The recipe makes a large pan, it gets better over the next few days and since there are only 2 in my home, I section it and freeze portions I don’t eat within the first few days for quick meals. I use fresh spinach instead of frozen and I like to substitute Italian turkey sausage for the beef. Just a really solid recipe that even my picky daughter loves!
Delicious! Used mushrooms but not spinach. Used a jar of sauce. It was pretty juicy at 45 min of baking, baked addl 30 mins uncovered & it set up after sitting for about 15 mins after out of oven. Even the skeptics in my extended family liked it! It was even better the next day for lunch! Thanks for sharing, I’ve been wanting to try this. Will make again!
Wonderfully tasty! My whole family loved this.
This is an awesome recipe. I served it to my friends and they loved it too. It’s a keeper.
I liked the idea of using zucchinis instead of noodles plus the spinach and mushrooms. Next time I will leave out the tomato paste (didn’t like the taste it gave and had to add sugar). I added fennel and anise to the meat to give it more of an Italian sausage flavor.
Soo good, even better as left overs next day. Squeeze out every drop of water you can from the zucchini and spinach for less watery result. It does hold together nicely once cooled in the fridge..that’s why I say left overs! This is my second time making this..me and my boyfriend love it.
This is a total winner of a recipe. Super low in carbs, filling, delicious and a great use of our big zucchinis from the garden. The sauce is incredible and works great with dried oregano and basil. Just reduce by 2/3. Made it twice this summer already.
I thought it was very bland. The spinach overpowered the rest of the ingredients in my opinion.
My husband said to put this in the rotation! I dried the zucchini in the oven at 350 for ten minutes on a parchment lined cookie sheet then transferred to paper towels while I prepared the casserole. I used a 24 ounce jar of mushroom Prego sauce instead of making sauce. I skipped the bell peppers, herb’s,red wine, mushrooms. No water added. Used 2 pound’s of beef. Two eggs to the ricotta and added a cup of parmesan to the ricotta. Used 3 cups of mozzarella in the lasagna and a cup of Parmesan to the mozzarella to the top. I baked the entire time at 350. Let sit for ten minutes. No water in the bottom.
Super happy with this recipe. I didn’t have any issues with zucchini being under cooked or too much water in the pan. The only changes I made included using one large zucchini instead of 1 and a half, adding spinach and mushrooms, switching over to broil the last 15 minutes, and placing the dish on a cookie sheet while cooking. I might not add the nutmeg next time. Overall, pretty good meal!
This was okay. Agree with other reviews, some of the ingredients don’t make sense.. especially the spinach. It was definitely different. It could have used a lot more Ricotta and cheese. If I made this again I would use two 30oz of Ricotta and probably double the cheese. The spinach can be left out. I made this with ground chicken, really didn’t affect the taste. Mine also wasn’t watery? I used all organic ingredients. Also didn’t not add the egg at all that just sounds disgusting.. maybe it’s just my preference, but no way. They taste and smell like something that came out of someone’s rear end. I’m good. Definitely don’t leave out the red wine in the sauce whatever you do, it really completes it.
Excellent! It tastes like lasagna. I used fresh spinach (was out of frozen) mild Italian sausage instead of ground beef and I used a jar of spaghetti sauce in place of the tomato paste, sauce and herbs. Also I doubled the mozzarella cheese. It was a little bit watery but still good.
I liked the recipe but I added bread crumbs to cover the zucchini and I added Parmesan cheese as well.
Everything turned out good. The only difference for me is I use twice the cheese and I like to use a mozzarella reggiano blend. I also like to roast the onions, peppers, and tomatoes on the grill for a couple of minutes for extra flavor.
Delicious, added 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and couple of pinches of cayenne pepper to the meat sauce. Yum!
Prep was a little longer then expected but it turned out great and was awesome.