Name: Healthy Zucchini Lasagna Roll-Ups
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2-3 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/8" slices (needs to yield 16 slices); kosher salt; 2 cup marinara sauce; 1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese; 1/2 cup reduced fat cottage cheese (I use Good Culture); 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese; 1/2 tsp garlic powder; 1/4 tsp kosher salt, to taste; 1 egg; 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped; 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped; 1 cup fat free mozzarella cheese (I use Kraft)

jump to recipe print recipe

Healthy Zucchini Lasagna Roll-Ups are the perfect summer comfort food. Thin zucchini slices are rolled up with a ricotta filling, topped with delicious marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese, then baked to perfection. Zucchini replaces the traditional pasta noodles, and the cottage cheese added to the ricotta mixture bumps up the protein to make this a healthier alternative to traditional lasagna.

What you’ll need for this recipe

zucchini
marinara sauce
- Click here for my homemade version
- You can buy jarred marinara sauce, but when you make your own, you are in control of the ingredients. It takes only minutes to make, and tastes great too. If you used jarred, just remember to adjust the macros and points.
reduced fat cottage cheese
- I use Good Culture
part skim ricotta
parmesan
fresh parsley
fresh basil
kosher salt
garlic powder
egg
fat free mozzarella cheese
- I use Kraft
- You can also use low fat, part skim, or whatever you have on hand; just make sure to adjust the macros and points accordingly.

How to make Healthy Zucchini Lasagna Roll-Ups

First, preheat the oven to 400F. While the oven is preheating, slice your zucchini into 1/8″ thin slices. You are going to need 16 zucchini slices total. Once you have your slices of zucchini, lay them on a paper towel and sprinkle with kosher salt. Let them sit for 10-15 minutes until the moisture is released from the zucchini.

In the meantime, layer 1 cup of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Combine the ricotta, cottage cheese, parmesan, garlic powder, salt, parsley and basil in a small bowl. After those ingredients are combined, before adding the egg, taste the cheese mixture to see if you want to add more salt. The cottage cheese and parmesan are both salty, so you don’t want to over do it. Once you have tasted the mixture and made any adjustments, stir in the egg.

Next, dab off the excess moisture that was released from the zucchini slices. Once those are dried off, place a spoonful of the ricotta filling at the base of each zucchini piece. Roll up to secure. Place seam side down in the baking dish that you lined with marinara sauce.

Top the roll-ups with the remaining cup of marinara sauce, and sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.

When the roll-ups are complete, pop them in the 400F oven and bake for 30 minutes or until tender and the cheese is melted.

My Homemade Marinara Sauce

Marinara sauce: the most simple, traditional, tomato sauce. Marinara sauce doesn’t need much, just let the tomatoes shine.

This sauce is an Italian staple, but a lot of people are intimidated by the idea of making their own and resort to buying pre-made jars of marinara for convenience. I am all about making things easier in the kitchen, but jarred sauces often have hidden sugar and ingredients that marinara sauce does not traditionally have.

To be honest, I find myself asking, “How do you explain something so simple to make?” Marinara is one of those things that doesn’t take a long time to make, and only a handful of ingredients are used. It’s fresh, it’s versatile, and can be made your own with the use of any preferred added spices (Italian seasoning, dried oregano, onion).

I can promise you, marinara sauce also only takes 20 minutes (tops) to make from start to finish and requires under 5 ingredients. You can use canned crushed tomatoes, or you can use fresh tomatoes. I have made marinara sauce with cherry tomatoes that were about to go bad in my fridge and it came out great also!