Zucchini Lasagna

This is the classic lasagna recipe that my mom used to make. I think it originally came off the back of the noodle box. Over the years she adjusted it to make it her own by adding her homemade marinara sauce and mixing meats. This is my low-carb version, which, for the record, was very well received by my husband.

 

Ingredients

1 lb grass-fed ground beef
3 cloves garlic
½ onion
4 oz. mushrooms
½ jar tomato basil marinara (I used DeGrosso’s)
15oz. ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan (I prefer this texture to grated)
1 egg
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley
3 large zucchini
Shredded mozzarella, about 1 ½ cups

 

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425’F.

Chop off the ends of the zucchini and slice them length-wise, about 1/8 inch thick. It doesn’t have to be exact, but you want them to all be roughly the same so they cook evenly. Set aside.

Brown the ground beef in a large pan. Chop or mince the garlic and add it to the beef. I also seasoned the beef with oregano, salt, and pepper. Once the beef is cooked, drain off any excess fat and add the tomato basil marinara to create a meat sauce.

While the meat is cooking, mix together the ricotta, Parmesan, and egg until combined. Chop up some fresh parsley and add for color and flavor.

Assemble the lasagna:  Pour ½ cup of the meat sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Lay down a layer of zucchini slices. Top with ½ of the remaining meat sauce, ½ of the cheese mixture, and sprinkle with ½ cup grated mozzarella. Repeat the layers until you’re out of ingredients.

Tip:  alternate the direction you lay the zucchini slices for each layer. I find this helps the lasagna hold its structure when you cut it into pieces later. I also had some extra zucchini which I cubed and scattered over the top like you can see in the picture. :o)

Top the whole thing with grated mozzarella, and bake uncovered for 30 minutes. The cheese should be golden brown on top and most of the liquid evaporated so you don’t end up with mush! Let stand for 15 minutes, and enjoy!

 

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