Perfect Zucchini Lasagna Not Watery

After years of testing, we’ve done it: we cracked the code to the Perfect Zucchini Lasagna! You might not share our elation if you haven’t attempted a no noodle lasagna before. It’s easy to spend lots of effort and end up with a watery mess. But not with this recipe! This zucchini lasagna alternates beautiful layers of roasted zucchini noodles, hearty garlicky tomato sauce and three gooey cheeses. It tastes as good–or better–than a classic lasagna! In fact, we might pick it over the classic. Here’s what to know about making a kick-ass lasagna that happens to be gluten free, too. Other favorites? Spaghetti squash lasagna, vegan lasagna and vegetarian lasagna.

Ingredients for zucchini lasagna

This zucchini lasagna is not a traditional lasagna made with zucchini (though that would be good, too). It’s a no noodle lasagna that uses zucchini strips instead of noodles! The zucchini makes a lovely noodle-like texture to the cheesy mess. This also makes this a gluten free, paleo and keto lasagna, if that’s your diet preference. To us: it’s just delicious! Here are the main ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:

Large zucchini: Size matters, here! It’s nice to have larger zucchini for layering, and they fit in the pan easier than lots of small ones. But you can get away with small or medium if that’s all you have. Ricotta, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheese: The Italian flavors in this recipe sing with three types of cheese! Homemade tarragon tomato sauce: See the section below. You can substitute oregano if you don’t have dried tarragon. Lemon zest and fresh thyme: These bring a zing and freshness that’s absolutely essential to the flavors.

Have leftover ricotta? Try these Genius Ricotta Cheese Recipes.

How do you get the water out of zucchini lasagna?

Zucchini is over 90% water. The biggest issue with a zucchini lasagna it’s a watery mess when you pull it out of the oven. We’ve had this happen several times, so we’ve engineered this recipe to come out with the perfect texture ever time. Here’s how to get the water out of zucchini lasagna:

Roast the zucchini noodles. This cooks out a large amount of the water. You’ll roast them at 450 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes. (This is much more effective than salting and draining the zucchini, like some recipes do.)Don’t use too much tomato sauce. Tomato sauce also has lots of moisture! This recipe calls for just the right amount of tomato sauce for the pan. Thicken the tomato sauce with cornstarch. This is another preventative measure! Adding a little cornstarch makes an even thicker tomato sauce with less water.Let the lasagna cool for 15 to 20 minutes to set. Right out of the oven, there may be a little moisture. Let the lasagna sit and cool, which lets it absorb any remaining moisture.

With these steps, you’ll find this zucchini lasagna is not watery and has the perfect classic lasagna texture.

Use a 9 x 9 pan, or equivalent volume

One note for the size of this recipe! You can only roast 2 pounds of zucchini at one time, and this makes just enough noodles for a 9 x 9 pan. If you’re cooking for more people, you can do 1.5 times the recipe for a 9 x 13 pan, or do two 9 x 9 pans. Just note that you’ll have to cook two batches of zucchini noodles! A good make ahead tip could be to roast the zucchini noodles in advance (see below). In these photos, you’ll see we used a small rectangular baking dish that is the same volume as a 9 x 9″ pan (10 cups volume or 2.5 quarts).

Make the homemade tomato sauce

For this zucchini lasagna, we recommend to make this homemade tomato sauce instead of using a purchased marinara sauce. Why?

The sauce has incredible flavor. The tomato sauce is one of the biggest influences on flavor in a lasagna We promise it’s worth the time to make it! It’s thickened to avoid watery lasagna. As we noted above, this sauce is thickened so it avoids the problem of too much water. Many store-bought sauces can be too water. The dried tarragon makes it a home run! Using dried tarragon in this recipe makes the flavors sing! If you can’t find it, you can use oregano. But it’s worth finding: especially if you’ve never tried it.

Make ahead tips for zucchini lasagna

This zucchini lasagna takes about 45 minutes to prepare, 40 minutes to bake, and 15 minutes to sit. So, make it when you have ample time! Here are a few things you can do to shortcut that 45 minute preparation time.

Roast the zucchini noodles in advance. One of the biggest time savers is roasting the noodles in advance. Roast them and then refrigerate until baking. They will accumulate moisture in the fridge, so pat them dry before assembling. Make the tomato sauce in advance. It’s easy to let the tomato sauce simmer while you preheat the oven. But you can make it in advance too! Just refrigerate until serving: the flavor gets better over time.

More zucchini recipes

Summer is all about zucchini recipes! Here are some we recommend giving a try:

Make a fun dinner with Easy Zucchini Boats, or try a side of Baked ZucchiniMix up Creamy Zucchini PastaBake up a pan of Perfect Zucchini LasagnaTry Zucchini Bread, Chocolate Zucchini Bread, Lemon Zucchini Bread or Chocolate Zucchini MuffinsGo for Zucchini Fritters and dip them in a tasty sauce (try Tzatziki!)