These Zucchini Lasagna Rolls contain three types of cheese, tomato sauce, and zucchini noodles. They’re so easy to make and packed with all the flavors of traditional lasagna.
We’re big fans of Italian food in my house, and lasagna is one of our favorite meals. I mean, what’s not to love? It’s cheesy, saucy, and always comforting.
But as much as we love lasagna, I’m always looking for ways to make lighter versions of our favorite comfort foods. That’s what inspired me to create this recipe zucchini lasagna roll ups.
This dish may seem complicated, but it’s actually very easy to make! It’s a great recipe for families because kids can help make the rolls and they’re fun to eat.
Plus, you can easily customize the ingredients to fit your family’s preferences. I’ve made this recipe with meat sauce, extra veggies, and different seasonings, and it’s always a success.
If you don’t have time to make Zucchini Lasagna Rolls, try my Zucchini Lasagna or Eggplant Lasagna recipes instead! It has all the same flavors, but it’s assembled in layers rather than rolls. Both recipes are loaded with cheese and Italian flavors, so you can’t go wrong either way!
Ingredients you’ll need
Zucchini: I prefer using small to medium zucchini because they’re easier to slice thinly and release less moisture when baked. I’ve tested large ones before, and they tend to be too watery for neat lasagna rolls.
Cheeses: A mix of ricotta, mozzarella, and freshly grated Parmesan gives the perfect creamy, stretchy texture. I’ve tried part-skim ricotta before, but whole milk ricotta makes the filling richer and smoother.
Egg: Just one egg helps bind the cheese mixture so it stays together when rolling and baking. It also adds structure without making the filling dense.
Tomato Sauce: I love using my homemade tomato sauce made with San Marzano tomatoes. It’s rich and slightly sweet. But I’ve also tested it with store-bought crushed tomatoes, and it still turns out great.
Seasonings: Salt and black pepper are essential, but I like adding dried oregano, minced garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes to the ricotta for extra depth. It gives the rolls that cozy, Italian-inspired flavor.
Fresh Herbs: Fresh parsley adds brightness to the cheesy filling, while fresh basil on top brings a fragrant finish once baked.
Instructions To Make Zucchini Lasagna Rolls
Prep the zucchini and filling:
- But before we get started, preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Slice your zucchini into even strips and lay them on a clean towel to absorb excess moisture. We’ll also pat the tops dry before assembling the rolls.
- In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, parsley, egg, parmesan, salt, and pepper.
- Then, spread half of the marinara sauce on the bottom of your baking dish.
Assemble the lasagna rolls:
- On each zucchini strip, spread about 3 tablespoons of the filling before topping it with mozzarella cheese.
- Then, carefully roll up each strip and arrange the zucchini roll ups in your casserole dish.
Add sauce and cheese:
- Spread the rest of the tomato sauce over and top with the remaining Mozzarella cheese.
Bake and serve:
- Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until it’s golden and bubbly.
- Garnish with fresh basil before serving, and enjoy it with a delicious arugula salad on the side!
Olivia’s Recipe Tips
- I highly recommend using a mandolin slicer to make the zucchini noodles. This will help you cut thin, even strips, which prevents the lasagna from getting too watery.
- Be careful not to overfill the zucchini strips, or they’ll be tricky to roll.
- I like to let the lasagna rest for about 10 minutes before serving. This will help everything set, so the zucchini rolls don’t fall apart when you pick them up.
To Store: Cover your baking dish tightly or transfer the leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days.
Note that the zucchini will release moisture the longer you store it. I usually just pat the excess water away with a paper towel before reheating.
To Freeze: Once cooled, place the leftovers in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Keep in mind that the texture may change once thawed because of the water content in the zucchini.
To Reheat: I usually pop the leftovers in the microwave. You can also reheat this recipe in the oven until they’re completely warmed through.
Add protein: This is a vegetarian recipe, but it works great if you want to add protein to it. My homemade meat sauce is a very easy swap! You could also add shredded chicken, ground beef, ground turkey, or Italian sausage.
More veggies: Feel free to load this recipe up with fresh vegetables! Chopped kale, mushrooms, or sun-dried tomatoes would all be great additions.
Lasagna noodles: Try my lasagna roll-ups recipe made with regular lasagna noodles if you prefer. It’s just as easy and SO tasty!
Zucchini Lasagna Rolls Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 medium zucchini sliced 1/8" thick
- 15 oz ricotta
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and black pepper
- 16 oz mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 cup homemade tomato sauce
- Fresh basil leaves as garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Lay your zucchini strips in a single layer on a clean kitchen towel or several sheets of paper towels. Allow them to sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients, so they can release any excess moisture. Before assembling your roll-ups, pat the tops of the strips dry.
- In a medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese, parsley, egg, parmesan cheese, salt, and black pepper. Stir well.
- Spread half of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish.
- Spread about 3 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture over each individual zucchini slice. Then, sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top before rolling up each zucchini slice.
- Carefully roll up the zucchini slices and place them in the baking dish.
- After that, spread the remaining tomato sauce on top and sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella cheese evenly over the baking dish.
- Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until bubbly brown. Garnish with basil before serving.
Notes
- Use smaller zucchinis as large zucchinis tend to be watery.
- Shredding cheese from a block will yield a smoother melty cheese than pre-shredded cheese.
- Feel free to add more cheese on top if you want cheesier lasagna roll-ups.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?
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Oh my gaaawsh these are perfection! I love how healthful yet comforting this dish is. I’m dying to try these adorable little rolls…I could see this becoming a staple in my heart and home lickety split!
YUM!! This looks so good! What a lovely recipe! Love that it’s G.free (just like me!) Thanks for sharing! Hope that you’re having a great week!
xoxo Cailee!
I’ve used sliced zucchini and sliced eggplant instead of noodles in lasagna, but not for roll ups. Great idea. Now I won’t have to boil those noodles and drain them…what a pain!
Hi Olivia, first of all congratulations on the birth of your beautiful son! I meant to write you sooner, but I was traveling. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. My son is gluten free, so I really struggle with his diet and, I feel so guilty because he loves lasagna and I never make it for him, but not anymore. He loves zucchini, so I will be making this dish for him all the time. Obrigada. Bjs
This is genius. I haven’t made something like this in for ever and now that zucchini is in season I must! Great pictures too!
I am so happy you liked this recipe, my dear friend 😉
I can’t wait to try this! One question – if you freeze the dish, do you cook first, then freeze? Or freeze uncooked? Thanks! Will definitely share!
Hi, Robyn
I always cook first, then freeze and it works fine.
I am trying this now and found it highly difficult to cut the zucchini thin enough to roll without breaking. Also, the pictures and the written instructions don’t match up so I’m not sure whether I’ve made these correctly. There is a pic showing zucchini, ricotta, mozzarella however the instructions say that sause should go between the ricotta and the mozarella, before you roll. This is how I did it; it was extremely messy and my end result (even had I nice pretty thin zucchini) looked nothing like any of the pictures here. Could these instructions be incorrect?
I’m making these tonight. When I searched for a recipe, one site suggested using a grill pan and cooking the zucchini a bit first to soften them up. That’s what I am going to try.
You can certainly grill the slices of zucchini before. No problem 😉
Jennifer, thanks a lot for noticing that. You don’t need to add tomato sauce between the ricotta and the mozzarella. You should add only some homemade tomato sauce on the bottom of the casserole and on the top of the zucchini rolls. I am so sorry about that. I already fixed it on the instructions 😉
How do you cut your zucchini it’d hard for me to cut it so even and then they are soft?
I used a mandolin, Arlene. Click on the link below to see the one I have!
https://amzn.to/29V40jj
Try this…it works really well…….Use the “overgrown” zucchinis for this and make a Layered lasagna…..
Cut the slices 1/4 inch thick..remove the seeds, then “patch the slices”….works really well…the
“overgrown” zucchinis are less watery………..Also, use, instead, 300 grams ricotta and (I used 11/2 cups)
of dry curd cottage cheese…..this helped to soak up the zucchini liquid……..Enjoy.
Is anyone else having this come out way too liquidy? Can’t figure out how to get some of the water out of the fresh zucchini strips before using. Or… any suggestions as to what to add, to soak up some of the liquid while cooking? Taste is amazing but consistency is not appealing.
Lisa, before you make it you can grill or broil the zucchini slices. It helped to draw out some moisture!
cutest little bites of heavenly comfort food!! so easy too 🙂 thanks for this one. we are vegan so I used my homemade cashew ricotta and vegan mozzarella. I broiled the slices before I rolled them up all neat. came out perfect!!
That’s awesome! Thanks for your feedback 😉
Hi to all, the contents present at this site are really awesome for people knowledge, well, keep up the good
work fellows.
This recipe is awesome!! I omitted the ricotta and spread the slices with sauce instead. I also added ground chicken (eating healthier), came out so good. As another review read, there like little bites of heaven. Thanx again and I will be using more of your recipes 😊
Amazing! Your comment made me so happy 😉
Made this tonight for a low carb dish, very tasty. Ours came out a little watery, next time I will simmer the tomatoes without being covered, to thicken up a little more.
That’s a good idea. Happy to know you liked this recipe!
I made this for the first time and invited my extended family for dinner to try it out. Rave reviews. I broiled the Z first, then made the roll ups (added Italian Seasoning to the Ricotta mix), rolled them up and put them in a 9×13 pan overnight. Then about 3 hours before baking, I drained the excess water from the pan (put a cookie sheet over the pan and carefully drained the excess water), then rearranged the Z roll ups that were askew, added the spaghetti sauce ((I used one jar of low sodium spaghetti sauce and 1 can of diced tomatoes and added some Italian seasonings and garlic), added cheeses,and baked 30 minutes covered, 25 minutes uncovered. Served with Caesar salad and red wine. Absolutely delicious! Will definitely make again!
That’s absolutely AMAZING, Cindy. Your review just put a smile on my face. Thanks a lot.