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Zucchini Roll-Ups are a delicious, unique meal that the whole family will enjoy. Thin slices of zucchini are rolled around a tasty sausage ricotta mixture and layered over marinara before being topped with cheese and baked to bubbly perfection!
Do you have a bounty of zucchini to use from your garden? If so, you must try these other wonderful zucchini recipes! Start with easy Grilled Zucchini, then try Zucchini Pizza, and definitely don’t miss out on this light and fluffy Chocolate Zucchini Cake!
Reasons You Will Love This Recipe
- Light and Low Carb: Zucchini rolls are a lighter twist on lasagna roll-ups, yet they’re still really satisfying!
- So Delicious: This dish is fun and incredibly flavorful. It also has so many great textures, with the joining of savory Italian sausage with creamy ricotta, zesty marinara, and mildly flavored thin ribbons of zucchini.
- A Great Use of Zucchini: This recipe uses four whole zucchini, so if your garden is blowing up, this is the recipe for you! Plus, it’s a great way to sneak in extra veggies!
What are Zucchini Roll-Ups?
Zucchini roll-ups have all of the flavors of a classic lasagna, but use zucchini to wrap up all of the deliciousness for an amazing dinner! I love how using zucchini keeps this lasagna inspired recipe light and lower in carbs and calories. Plus, it’s much more rich in nutrients, and the rolls are in perfect servings!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Zucchini roll-ups might look fancy, but they’re actually so easy to make! They also don’t require very many ingredients. Follow the recipe card below for exact amounts.
- Zucchini: Sliced length-wise to create the rolls.
- Olive Oil: For sautéing the meat, onion and garlic.
- Yellow Onion: Sautéed to add depth of flavor to the dish.
- Italian Sausage: I like using Italian sausage instead of ground beef because it adds so much zest and flavor to the meal.
- Garlic: Infuses the sausage with garlic flavor.
- Ricotta Cheese: Makes this taste just like classic lasagna with the creamy filling.
- Egg: The egg helps to bind the ricotta mixture.
- Parmesan Cheese: Elevates the rolls with a nutty, salty taste.
- Seasoning: This recipe uses Italian Seasoning and salt and pepper for major flavor.
- Marinara Sauce: You can use store bought or try my super tasty homemade marinara sauce.
- Mozzarella Cheese: If you have the time, I recommend freshly grated cheese for better melting and flavor.
How to Make Zucchini Lasagna Roll-Ups
There are quite a few important steps to follow when making zucchini roll-ups. Don’t worry, it’s actually so easy! I will walk you through all of the steps. The pictures really help, too!
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Clean the zucchini, cut the ends off, and slice it lengthwise into ⅛ 18-inch-thick ribbons. If you have a mandoline, using it is easiest. Place the ribbons in a bowl of water while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the onion until it’s clear. Add the sausage to the skillet and cook until browned. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Remove from heat.
- Whisk the ricotta cheese, egg, ½ cup of parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Once the sausage mix has cooled, add it to the ricotta mixture and mix well to combine. In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.
- Pour the marinara sauce into the 9×13 baking dish. Dry the zucchini and lay one out in front of you. Spread about a tablespoon of the sausage ricotta filling halfway up the zucchini ribbon.
- Roll the ribbon from the filled side to the empty side and place it in the sauce. Continue with the remaining zucchini and filling.
- Once the pan is filled, top all the zucchini rolls with the mozzarella cheese mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 5 minutes or until the cheese browns on top.
- Remove the zucchini rolls ups from the oven, let cool at room temperature for at least 5 minutes, and serve!
Tips and Variations for Zucchini Roll-Ups
Here are a few tips and some variation ideas to make the perfect dinner!
- Zucchini Slices: Be sure the zucchini is sliced into very thin ribbons that are about ⅛-inch thick. Using a mandoline slicer makes this really easy.
- Marinara Sauce: I like to use my homemade Marinara Sauce when I’m feeling ambitious, but you can use store bought.
- For the Sauce, if you prefer, you could try using a pesto sauce or alfredo in place of the marinara.
- Add Spice: If you like spicy try using hot Italian sausage.
- Cover with Foil: For the first 20 minutes of baking, cover the dish with aluminum foil. This way, the top doesn’t brown too quickly.
- Sprinkle on Fresh Herbs: A sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley or fresh basil adds the perfect finishing pop of color to your zucchini rolls!
How to Store Leftover Zucchini Lasagna Rolls
This dish is best served fresh. If you do have leftovers, here is how you store them so you can enjoy them the next day.
- Refrigerator: Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Do Not Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing this dish, the zucchini will become mushy after freezing and reheating.
More Delicious Zucchini Recipes
I love how versatile zucchini is! Not only is it a great side dish, like this cheesy zucchini gratin, but it’s also great for baking into desserts and bread. You can also use it as a main course, like these zucchini rolls! Try these other favorite recipes next, and be sure to check out all of our zucchini recipes!
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Zucchini Roll-Ups
Ingredients
- 4 large zucchini
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ yellow onion, minced
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups marinara Sauce
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Clean the zucchini, cut the ends off, and slice them lengthwise into ⅛ inch thick ribbons. Using a mandoline is easiest if you have one. Place the ribbons in a bowl of water while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the onion until it’s translucent. Add the sausage to the skillet and cook until browned. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Remove from heat.
- Whisk the ricotta cheese, egg, ½ cup of parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Once the sausage mix has cooled, add it to the ricotta mixture and mix well to combine. In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.
- Pour the marinara sauce into the 9×13-inch baking dish. Dry the zucchini and lay one out in front of you. Spread about a tablespoon of the sausage ricotta filling halfway up the zucchini ribbon.
- Roll the ribbon from the filled side to the empty side and place it in the sauce. Continue with the remaining zucchini and filling.
- Once the pan is filled, top all the zucchini rolls with the mozzarella cheese mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 5 minutes or until the cheese browns on top.
- Remove from the oven, let it cool at room temperature for at least 5 minutes, and serve!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This sounds so good. I’m going to give it a try in a few days, but I think I’ll take the lazy route and cut the zucchini in chunks. My local farmer’s market opens on Thursday and that’s the only place I buy sausage. Thanks for sharing,