Zucchini Lasagna Roll-Ups Recipe

Vegetables in general are versatile — most can be eaten raw or cooked, they can be sauteed or baked, and they can be worked into any meal of the day. If we were hard pressed to pick the most versatile of the bunch, zucchini would certainly be a front runner. Maybe it earned this status because it's a popular summer garden vegetable that can leave you knee deep in this green veggie and looking for new ways to use it.

In this recipe, the zucchini becomes our lasagna noodle (zoodle, if you will), and who would have thought it could be so delicious this way? Wellness coach and recipe developer Miriam Hahn brings us this recipe for zucchini lasagna roll-ups and says, "Zucchini has many health benefits, and this is one of my favorite ways to use it. The combination of the zucchini noodles, cream cheese, sauce, and mozzarella make this a very satisfying meal and it comes together quickly." She also notes that you can easily make it vegan by using dairy-free cream cheese and dairy-free mozzarella, so vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores alike can all enjoy this veggie-filled take on lasagna.

This will be a quick grocery run because we have a short list of ingredients. You'll want to grab three large zucchinis, to start. Hahn says, "You may have to do some digging in the zucchini stack to find the biggest ones there. We're going to be peeling them thin and the wider the 'noodle' the better." Then we'll need some cream cheese, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and cooking spray. If you like to top your Italian entrees with fresh Parmesan, then throw some of that into your cart too!

Rolling up the zucchini won't take long, so go ahead and get the oven preheating to 350 F. To start, cut off the ends of the zucchini. Then take a potato peeler and start peeling long strips. "If you have a Y-peeler this type works best for this task," Hahn shares. As you start peeling, the first four or five strips will be on the thin side, so you can save those to add to a salad. Once you get to the wider strips, place them in a single layer on a paper towel. As you go, stack another paper towel on top in order to have room for another layer of zucchini noodle strips. Pat down on the paper to help draw out the moisture.

To make our fun little roll-ups, lay 3 strips down vertically in front of you with some overlap. Spread a layer of cream cheese over the length of the strips. Roll up the strips into rolls and place them into a 9x9-inch baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. You should be able to fit 12 zucchini rolls.

Pour about 2 cups of sauce over the rolls. Layer on the mozzarella cheese, then finish with the rest of the sauce. Pop the baking dish into the oven for 20 minutes. Let it cool for about 10 minutes, then top with basil and serve. Of course, if you are a Parmesan cheese fan, this will be a nice topper as well. The zucchini roll-ups pair nicely with soup or salad and will leave you feeling light on your feet instead of the heavier feeling you can sometimes get with a hearty pasta meal. You may love this recipe so much; you'll be picking up some zucchini seeds to get them growing in your backyard vegetable garden!