zucchini roll ups

A simple recipe for Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups  (aka, Zucchini Rollatini) with Spinach and Basil, a flavorful vegetarian entree that highlights the best of summer ingredients. Low-carb and Vegan Adaptable!  | www.feastingathome.com

Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups  with Spinach and Basil 

zucchini (7- 8 inches long, 2-3 inches wide, straight

olive oil

garlic cloves, rough chopped

shallot, diced

spinach (a big, giant handful)

ricotta cheese

mozzarella cheese

salt

pepper

basil, chopped,

chili flakes, optional

lemon zest, optional

marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 400 F,  and set grill to high heat (if grilling)

Trim both ends of zucchini and thinly slice into ¼ inch wide, vertical slices.  Aim for twelve.  Very lightly brush with olive oil, and either place on a parchment lined sheet pan and roast, or grill each side (turning the grill down to medium). Grill or roast until tender and pliable. Test one by trying to roll it up. If grilling, it helps to cover the zucchini after grilling with foil, so it steams slightly.

While the zucchini is roasting or grilling, make the filling. Saute the garlic and shallot in olive oil over medium heat, careful not to burn. Once golden, add the spinach, stir, lower heat, cover for a moment, and let it wilt. Add this to a bowl with the ricotta, mozzerella, egg, salt and pepper and the basil. Stir and some chili flakes and lemon zest if you like.

Place one cup marinara in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

Spread each zucchini slice with the ricotta mixture, and gently roll up, placeing them seam side down in the baking dish over the marina. Top with a dollop of marinara and more mozzarella (optional) and cover with foil and bake at 400 F for 15- 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 5-10 more minutes, or until cheese is melty and golden.

Before serving, sprinkle with fresh basil ribbons.

We loved this one! Super quick and delicious! Great for leftovers! Paired with the everyday kale salad as well!

Wow! Just wow! I had some friends over for dinner last night and all their plates were almost licked clean. I made 16 zucchini rolls instead of 12 so that we had 4 each.

In addition I made some small fennel sausage meatballs to go with the dish, as there was plenty of delicious sauce to go around.

Fantastic. Will absolutely make again. Getting overwhelmed with the amount of zucchini and squash we're growing and this is a great addition to our go to Zuke/squash recipes. Used this as more of a guideline (as I tend to do with recipes): salted the zucchini instead of grilling or roasting, and used goat cheese. Made this dish for a particular diner and it was a hit!

Great recipe, the optional lemon zest is so good in this dish. Tasted amazing and beautiful presentation, will be making again soon!

I’ve made this recipe twice now.  Second time making it, I sat and waited, mouth watering to eat it.  It is so delicious!! I added fresh Summer sweet  corn to the ricotta filling as a suggested option. The sweet corn, with the lemon zest and pop of a few chili flakes is Just heaven! I will make this for years to come.  It’s a fav!

This dish was DELICIOUS!
I used four “oven ready” lasagne sheets instead of zucchini - Orti D’Italia marinara sauce, mixed spinach with arugula, added  pine nuts and sauteed crimini mushrooms in the filling. Added a little more lemon zest and salt as well.
SO Good. Thank you 🙏

You have changed my life and made cooking fun! After being married for 37 years, it took Covid and your cooking &amp; eating style (introduction to you through good friends who have ALWAYS loved cooking) to inspire, energize, and excite me to cook!!! Since my husband I eat so differently, I never enjoyed cooking. He loves meat (too much, in my humble opinion) and although I’m not a professed vegetarian, I do not need to eat meat even once a week, just every now and then. After reading your blog, with recommendations of ideas from you to try from my friend, and then finally seeing your beautiful pictures, I began trying some of your recipes. Now, I AM HOOKED! Beside some eating the wholesome goodness, my favorite part of all is the chopping and prep. with each meal. I love the way you put flavors together with all the seasonings and spices. You have made me into the cook I need to be for my husband. Thank you, Sylvia and Feasting at home!

Made this last night. It was really terrific. My husband said "it's a keeper."  The only thing is that my zucchini were quite small (only about 1 inch in diameter and maybe 5 inches long).  I ended up not rolling them but just laid them flat in the pan and put the ricotta mixture on top and then the spinach (and i sauteed mushrooms) mixture on top of that and then smothered with the great roasted tomato sauce recipe and grated mozzarella.  It was really spectacular.  I think next time I may do more zucchini and more of the mixtures and do layers of zucchini, rather than rolling them. (Although your photos of the rolled zucchini look amazing!). Thanks for sharing!

My goodness I loved this recipe!  I didn't have any ricotta and used cottage cheese instead and used immersion blender to make smooth (threw in the egg and mozzarella at same time).  I'm only mentioning what I did for informational purposes in case someone else doesn't have ricotta on hand.   The flavors of this dish are restaurant quality for sure.
The marinara must be a good one to bring out all the flavors which result in a fabulous dish.  
Next time I will use the slices and layer the casserole.  Rolling up those zucchini slices makes for a cute and impressive presentation, but takes too much work and time for me.
Thank you for the recipe Sylvia and beautiful photos.   So glad I found your blog!

Hi Sylvia,
Just wanted to leave a quick note. I discovered your blog a few months back and have loved every recipe I've made. Thank you for always having great vegan/vegetarian recipes or substitutions. Thank you for sharing your talents with the world!

Best,
Heather

I made this wonderful recipe for the second time last night having put this one in my repeating menu.  Thank you so much.

I made this recipe for the 2nd time last night.  It is a keeper!
Thank you for the wonderful recipe.

This is the most consistently good blog on the net. Amazing talent!

This is delicious!   Love your recipes. They are always so good. Thank you so much for sharing them!!

I’m Italian and love fresh pasta noodles. However, this recipe is a great low carb recipes and the zucchini as an enhanced ingredient. 
I will make the zucchini corn bread recipe this fall!

Great dish to make make for company.   It looks beautiful plated and is definitely a crowd pleaser!  The only change I made, is to use one more zucchini strip crosswise. It helps keep the filling in and it look neater.  Recipe is a winner!

I used two courgettes and layered it all like a lasagne, coked for much longer and served with salads and Mayo. So tasty

I made this recipe for the first time and my family loved it.  My daughter took the recipe back to university with her. It was fun to roll up the zuchinni and it was surprisingly easy.  Will make this again.

Just made this recipe and a vegan version: it was both delicious! The sautéed spinach and shallots made a huge difference and added a nice texture to the lasagna!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/W1royQL6.mp4

Vegetarian Zucchini Lasagna Roll-Ups with Spinach, Ricotta and Basil, baked in flavorful tomato sauce. Low-carb and gluten- free, these can easily be made vegan ( see recipe notes)! Video. 

Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups Video 

This Zucchini Involtini is packed with ricotta and tomato sauce for a low-carb delicious meal!

Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Involtini

zucchinis

salt & pepper

parmesan cheese

basil leaves

garlic clove,

tomato sauce

basil

Prep the zucchini

Slice the zucchini lengthwise to be 1/4 inch thick, then toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake in the oven at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes.

Make the filling

Mix the ricotta, parmesan, basil, garlic, salt, pepper and egg together in a bowl until combined.

Make the rolls

Fill each slice of zucchini with some stuffing then roll-up. Cover the bottom of an oven-safe pan or baking dish with tomato sauce, then place the zucchini rolls in the pan. Top with a touch more sauce, then top with cheese.

Bake

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees F for 8-10 minutes until warmed through and the cheese is melted. Garnish with fresh basil.

Love this recipe so much, incredibly delicious and easy to make! Definitely give it a try 
&lt;3

These protein-packed zucchini roll-ups are filled with plant-based protein and served with marinara sauce - summer on a plate! Vegan, gluten-free.

Protein-Packed Zucchini Roll-Ups with Marinara Sauce

2-3 medium zucchini (sliced thinly lengthwise (a mandoline is the perfect tool

cashews pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

spinach

basil leaves*

garlic**

light miso (white (yellow, or chickpea))

yeast (optional (but recommended))

Protein-Packed Marinara Sauce

Lay out zucchini slices on a cooling rack over a baking sheet, or in a large colander over a bowl (or in the sink). Salt the slices liberally and set aside for 20 minutes. The salt will draw out moisture from the slices and make them much easier to roll up.

In the meantime, make the filling.

In a food processor or blender, pulse the cashews, miso, salt, and nutritional yeast until very finely ground but not completely pureed.

Add in the tofu, spinach, basil, and garlic, and pulse until fully combined and the mixture is homogenized (no large pieces or tofu or spinach visible).

Preheat oven to 350F.

Drain off any excess water from the zucchini and lay the slices out on a clean kitchen towel.

Spread about 1 tablespoon of filling on each slice and roll up.

Pour marinara sauce into a 2-quart casserole dish (8x8 baking pan or similar), and add the roll-ups in a single layer, spiral side facing up.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees until warmed through.

Zucchini Lasagna Roll-Ups are a fun, healthier spin on traditional lasagna. These have lower fat cheese which slims down the calories keeping the big flavors you love!

Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups (slimmed down)

zucchini

baby spinach

garlic (minced)

low fat ricotta cheese

cheese

parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with two layers of paper towels. Place zucchini slices side by side on the paper towels. Sprinkle with salt (1/2 teaspoon per pound of zucchini).

Place two more layers on top and repeat until all the zucchini slices are on the baking dish and finish with a double layer of paper towels.

Place a second baking sheet on top and an object on top to press it down slightly.

Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes for the liquid to be released.

Salting the Zucchini (to release excess water)

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray and add the baby spinach and garlic.

Saute to wilt the spinach and until the garlic is fragrant (3-4 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

In a large bowl combine the low fat ricotta cheese, egg, parmesan cheese, chopped basil, chopped Italian parsley and the spinach garlic mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to fully combine.

Making the filling

Pour 3/4 cup of the marinara sauce into a 9-inch baking dish.

Place two paper towels on your work surface. Remove one of the zucchini slices from the paper towel and add to the fresh paper towels. Dab the top with another fresh paper towel.

Spread 1 tablespoon of the ricotta mixture over the length of the zucchini slice. NOTE: I find it easiest to do this with clean hands.

Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the mozzarella cheese.

Starting at one end roll the zucchini slice up. Place seam side facing the edge of the baking dish. NOTE: after the first row the roll ups will support each other.

Repeat until all the filling has been used.

Assembling the Roll Ups

Spoon the remaining ½ cup of marinara sauce over the top of the roll ups and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the zucchini is cooked through and golden on top.

These delicious zucchini roll-ups are meatless and made with cottage cheese as a replacement for ricotta.  They are mixed with fresh herbs, hearty spinach, and melty mozzarella cheese.  A perfect low-carb appetizer for a crowd or served as the main dish for a weeknight family dinner! Anyway you serve them they are a winner!

Zucchini Roll Ups

½ tsp ground black pepper (to taste)

¼ tsp kosher salt (to taste)

tbsp reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese (divided)

tbsp grated Parmesan cheese (divided)

egg (lightly beaten)

garlic powder

¾ cup low-sodium marinara sauce (divided)

Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 425° and position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven.

Slice zucchini lengthwise to get 24 total strips, about 1/8 inch thick each. Use a mandolin slicer to get them ultra-thin, if possible.

Toss the zucchini in ¼ tsp olive oil, and kosher salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl.  Arrange the zucchini in a singel layer on 2 rimmed baking sheets.

Bake the zucchini, turning once, until tender, about 10 minutes total.

Meanwhile, combine 2 tbsp. mozz and 1 tbsp. parm in a small bowl.  Mix egg, ricotta or cottage cheese, spinach, garlic, and the remaining 6 tbsp. mozz and 2 tbsp. parm and ¼ tsp. ground black pepper and 1/8 kosher salt in a medium bowl.

Spread ¼ cup marinara in an 8-inch square baking dish.  Place 1 tbsp. of the ricotta (or cottage cheese) mix near the bottom of the strip of zucchini.  Roll it up and place, seam-side down, in the baking dish.  Repeat with the remaining zucchini and filling.  Top the rolls with the remaining ½ cup marinara sauce and sprinkle with the reserved cheese mixture.  Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top.

Bake the zucchini until the cheese is bubbly, about 20 minutes.  Sprinkle with more Italian seasoning, if desired, right before serving.

Zucchini ricotta roll ups are a healthy meatless meal that comes together fast. You can slice the zucchini thin lengthwise using a sharp knife or a mandoline slicer if you have one. Roasting the zucchini ahead makes it easier to roll up and more forgiving for thicker slices of zucchini.

Zucchini Ricotta Roll Ups

¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided

½ cup marinara sauce, divided

ricotta cheese ((part skim works))

½ cup shredded mozzarella, divided

parmesan

black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place slices of zucchini on the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until zucchini is softened. Set aside.

Spread one cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of an ovenproof baking dish; set aside.

In a bowl, combine ricotta, one cup mozzarella cheese, parmesan, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper.

Spoon about a tablespoon and half of ricotta mixture evenly on to zucchini slices. Roll up and place into the prepared baking dish, standing upright. Repeat with remaining zucchini.

Spoon remaining ½ cup marinara sauce evenly over zucchini roll ups. Sprinkle on remaining ½ cup of mozzarella cheese.

Place into oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and the rolls are heated through. Remove from oven and let sit for a couple of minutes before serving.

What a beautiful and delicious dish. I made it for a dinner party and everyone was very impressed, including me! The ingredient list is simple and the recipe is well written. It was fun to make it.

These are so delicious. I used a spicy sauce which I think made the dish for me. I will be making these again for sure.

Love this dish for Meatless Mondays! It's so hearty and healthy, and your step-by-step instructions were very helpful.

Love your recipe. Perfect and delicious seasoning and love the cheesy spread too. Very unique and a must try recipe too.

I love this idea! I'm always looking for new ways to use my garden zucchini, and this recipe is perfect! Thank you!

A great way to enjoy summer zucchini and love that it's lower carb!

Made these zucchini rolls up for dinner last night and they were absolutely delicious! Took a bit of time, but they were so worth it.

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