Meals · Pasta & noodle bakes

Zucchini lasagna

Name: Zucchini lasagna
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 5 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise 5 mm; 1 1/3 lb 90% lean ground beef; 1 yellow onions, diced; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tsp dried oregano; 1 tsp dried basil; 2/3 cup ricotta cheese; 1 egg; 1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded; 1/3 cup grated parmesan; 1 1/2 tsp salt

Lasagna with roasted zucchini planks instead of pasta sheets: same meat sauce, same cheese, half the calories a square. The trick is drawing the water out first.

Time: 80 min (30 prep + 50 cook)
Servings: 6
Per serving: 420 kcal
Protein: 34 g

Ingredients

5 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise 5 mm1400 g

Sauce

1 1/3 lb 90% lean ground beef600 g
1 yellow onions, diced120 g
3 cloves garlic, minced12 g
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes700 g
2 tbsp tomato paste33 g
1 tsp dried oregano2 g
1 tsp dried basil2 g

Cheese

2/3 cup ricotta cheese150 g
1 egg50 g
1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded130 g
1/3 cup grated parmesan30 g

1 1/2 tsp salt8 g

Every ingredient links to its food page — same data, same score, same formula.

Steps

Salt the zucchini planks and lay them on towels for 20 minutes, then pat dry — or roast them at 220°C for 10 minutes. Skip this and you get lasagna soup; it is the entire difference between a good and a bad zucchini lasagna.
Brown the beef with the onion and garlic, add the tomatoes, paste and herbs, and simmer 15 minutes until thick. Thicker than for pasta lasagna — the zucchini will still release some water.
Beat the ricotta with the egg. Layer: sauce, zucchini, ricotta, mozzarella; repeat twice.
Parmesan on top, bake at 190°C for 40 minutes, then rest 15. Tip the dish gently and spoon off any pooled liquid before cutting.

Alternative

Classic lasagnathe pasta original43

Why this score

solidly filling

No single route carries this one — a moderate amount of protein, volume and fiber.

Three routes to fullness — one is enough

33% of kcal

79% water

12 g/Mcal

What pulls it down

How scores work

Computed on the finished dish, not an average of the parts: 2518 kcal goes into the pot, 3237 g of ingredients comes out as ~2300 g of food → 109 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water, and energy density is the score's biggest lever — so we show the math. Full formula here.

Per

Calories: 109
Protein: (33%); 9 g
Fat: (45%); 5 g
Carbohydrates: (22%); 6 g
of which sugar: 3 g
Fiber: 1 g
Sodium: 268 mg

Percentages are the share of calories from each macronutrient.

Computed from the ingredients' USDA data — nothing typed by hand. Every number is traceable, every score recomputable.

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Photo: AI-generated. Nutrition and score are computed from the ingredients with the published formula — this recipe hasn't been kitchen-tested by us yet.