Recipe: Send Foods! Zucchini Lasagna

We recently found ourselves with an overabundance of zucchini at our house (which may or may not have been because we found a giant squash field and decided to aid in the harvest…who knows…). In my attempts to eat as much of this liberated zucchini as possible, I made a lasagna that used zucchini instead of noodles. It was surprisingly hearty and yummy! 

I chose to use vegan cheese, but that is completely optional. I used this cashew cheese recipe: https://simpleveganblog.com/cashew-cheese/. It’s honestly not my favorite on its own, but it was perfectly delicious in the lasagna. 

Gather your ingredients: 

Cashew Cheese https://simpleveganblog.com/cashew-cheese/ 

Zucchini:  2- 3 depending on size 

1 lb meat of your choice: ground beef, ground turkey

1 jar of spaghetti sauce: **look for little to no added sugar and recognizable ingredients 

1/2 white onion 

3 cloves garlic 

Fresh or dried oregano 

Salt 

Pepper 

Optional: extra veggies, such as mushrooms or leafy greens

Directions: 

1. First, slice the zucchini, lay it out, sprinkle salt on it and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Then dab it with a paper towel to remove some of the water. This helps reduce the mush-factor as it cooks.

2. While the zucchini is salting, make your cheese and brown your meat. I used grass-fed ground beef cooked with onions, garlic, and fresh oregano. Onions and garlic go into the pan first, then the meat, optional veggies, and oregano at the end (you can throw a lot in there when it’s fresh). Salt and pepper to taste. 

Cashew “cheese”. Looks gross, tastes good!

3. Once the meat is cooked, drain the fat. Add your favorite spaghetti sauce.

4. Time to layer! In an oven-safe pan, start with a layer of your saucy meat, then some “noods”(aka zucchini noodles), some cheese, and repeat! You will likely be able to fit 2-3 full layers. Finish with cheese on top. 

5. Cook for 40-45 minutes at 400 degrees. 

6. Mangia, mangia, mangia! Tastes great fresh out of the oven and even better leftover! 

Cheers & enjoy! 

Originally posted July 12, 2021