This amazing roasted zucchini and summer squash lasagna is a winning favorite every time and a very popular dish for potlucks and cookouts.
In my family lasagna was always a favorite meal reserved for special occasions, made with love and served with boisterous conversation and lots of laughter. This roasted zucchini and summer squash lasagna combines that favorite family meal and memory and my love for garden fresh vegetables.
If you’re growing your own vegetables, then come summer, this zucchini and summer squash lasagna is a great way to use up a lot of zucchini in a favorite recipe that even squash haters will love.
Zucchini And Summer Squash Lasagna
In July and August you can find zucchini and summer squash everywhere. And if you’re like me, you’ve even grown them in your own garden.
Zucchini is so versatile. You can use it in treats like brownies, and sweet breads, you can use it in pasta dishes, I’ve even added it to ground beef in hamburgers.
If you have a great summer supply of fresh tomatoes you can peel and dice about about 12-15 of them and use them instead of canned tomatoes. Combine these seasonal veggies and you’ve got yourself a magnificent dish.
Another food that’s best during the summer is Fontina cheese. In Italy cows are brought up to higher elevations and fed tall green grasses, then milked especially for fontina cheese. It may not be a regular on your grocery list, but it’s earthy Italian flavor will make your Parmesan and mozzarella a little bit jealous.
While some people may be skeptical of using oven ready lasagna noodles, I actually like them better. Not because they are easier to use, but for some reason, I like the dryer texture better then those I have boiled.
This is the most colorful, flavorful, and tasty lasagna I have made to date. So when those summer vegetables pop up everywhere, give this recipe a try. It won’t disappoint you.
How to Keep the Summer Squash Lasagna Firm
Our first zucchini and summer squash lasagna came out perfect. Our second one we made several mistakes that didn’t work out as well. The lasagna was still a four star dish in flavor, but a two star in appearance. Whereas with grilled veggies it was also a five star dish in flavor.
These steps of how to keep Lasagna firm are based on our discoveries of what we did wrong as well as on research of what else we could improve. Any one or more of these will help you keep your lasagna from falling apart.
How to Keep Lasagna From Being Runny and Falling Apart
- Use “oven ready lasagna” – available in both regular and gluten free. This is dryer and firmer
- Thicker slices of summer squash provides more stable structure –
- this works best if you grill them first to be sure they’re cooked plus added flavor
- Alternately, if your not grilling the veggies, place sliced squash in a strainer and lightly salt to help extract water while you get other things ready, then press to squeeze out excess moisture
- Add 1-2 eggs to each cheese layer before spreading the cheese – this also adds flavor and protein
- Use thicker bodied marinara sauce
- Reduce the ratio of ricotta to parmesan
- Let the lasagna rest for a few minutes to set after baking and before cutting
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Roasted Zucchini And Summer Squash Lasagna
Ingredients
- 2 large green zucchini trimmed and cut lengthwise, ¼ inch thick
- 2 large yellow summer squash trimmed and cut lengthwise, ¼ inch thick
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 15 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 lb. shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded Fontina cheese
- 1 large large egg beaten
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 9 ounces oven-ready lasagna noodles
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes drained
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
- Arrange the zucchini and yellow squash in an even single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Brush with the olive oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the salt. Roast until tender and browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Spray a deep 9 x 13-inch lasagna pan with cooking spray.
- Combine the ricotta, half of the mozzarella, the Fontina, egg, basil, oregano, pepper, and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Stir well.
- To assemble: Cover the bottom of the pan with one-quarter of the noodles, overlapping them slightly. Spread half of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Follow with half of the roasted squash, and top with a layer of noodles. Spread with half of the tomatoes and half of the remaining mozzarella. Top with another layer of noodles, the remaining ricotta mixture, the remaining squash, and another layer of noodles. Finish with the remaining tomatoes, the rest of the mozzarella, and the Parmesan.
- Lightly spray one side of aluminum foil with cooking spray. Cover the lasagna with the foil, sprayed side down, so that the melted cheese wont stick. Bake 30 minutes, remove the foil, and continue baking until golden brown and bubbly, 10 to 15 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.
Optional Ingredients for Variety and Satiety
If you have a garden and love vegetables, then you may want to use up some more of your fresh produce on hand. Additional veggies that will rock your lasagna include:
- Eggplant
- Red peppers
- Mushrooms
- Sliced black olives
- Cooked ground beef or Better Than Meat burger for vegetarians
Substitutions
- You can substitute ricotta cheese for cottage cheese
- Oven ready lasagna noodles for regular, (but don’t cook them fully ahead of time)
For a Summer Squash or “Lasagna Sandwich”
If you prefer sandwiches, you can make this according to the same recipe, except omit the lasagna pasta. Then you can cut out sandwich sized sections to place between toasted bread of your choice.
Or… you can also try this recipe for a grilled vegetable sandwich, or this spiralized zucchini zoodles pesto recipe.