If you’re cooking for a crew of picky eaters, you may have tried sneaking in veggies by mixing a simple puree into a familiar dish. This recipe lets you bypass the blender and instead insert thinly sliced zucchini into a meal most everyone loves. This lasagna is extra-easy to make and can be done up with traditional dairy cheeses or your favorite vegan versions. For wide, noodle-like zucchini slices, cut the squash in half, then slice lengthwise. Quick tip: Peel first to keep little detectives from sleuthing out unwanted greens!
Sneaky Zucchini Lasagna
Recipe courtesy of Lisa Cain, Snack-girl.com
Serves 8
Ingredients
1 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 7 or 8 slices
1 (25-oz.) jar marinara sauce
1 (14.5-oz.) can fire-roasted tomatoes
6 no-bake lasagna noodles
1 (15-oz) container ricotta cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 egg
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In medium-sized bowl, mix together ricotta, Parmesan and egg. In another bowl, mix together marinara sauce and fire-roasted tomatoes.
3. In 9×13 casserole dish, spread 1 cup of tomato sauce. Place zucchini slices on sauce.
4. Spoon half of cheese mixture over zucchini, top with another cup of tomato sauce. Cover with three lasagna sheets, then repeat cheese layer. Add another cup of sauce, then remaining lasagna sheets. To with remaining sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella.
5. Cover lasagna with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Let sit 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Lisa Cain, Ph.D., is the creator of Snack-Girl.com, an award-winning healthy eating website filled with humor, common sense and incredibly accessible healthy recipes. Since 2009, Lisa, an evolutionary biologist by training, has been writing about eating healthy, slimming down, and enjoying food. Each month over 200K readers visit Snack Girl and become empowered to make healthier choices. “Snack Girl to The Rescue!” is Lisa’s first book and was published in April 2014. It has 100 recipes like the Sneaky Zucchini lasagna to help you lose weight and get healthy. Lisa lives in Amherst, Massachusetts with her husband, two children, and dog, Milo.