By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on June 4, 2026
Serves 8
397 cal · 90 min
Zucchini Meat Lasagna
Recipe GLPR76cf64bf6a93e7
A hearty, vegetable-forward lasagna built with layers of tender zucchini slices, seasoned ground beef, sautéed portobello mushrooms, fresh spinach, and creamy ricotta cheese, finished with a roasted red pepper sauce and melted mozzarella. This comforting baked dish is naturally gluten-free and packed with lean protein and vegetables.
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Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef (96/4 blend)
1/4 cup diced onion
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
8 ounces portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
24 ounces roasted red pepper pasta sauce
5 cups zucchini, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
2 cups fresh spinach
1 3/4 cups fat-free ricotta cheese
3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Cooking spray for baking dish
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
In a large skillet over medium heat, add the ground beef, diced onion, and minced garlic. Cook, breaking the beef into small pieces as it cooks, until the meat is no longer pink, approximately 10 minutes. Drain off any excess fat and transfer the cooked beef to a bowl.
In the same skillet, add the sliced portobello mushrooms and chicken broth. Sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender and the broth has evaporated, about 10 minutes.
Lightly coat a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Spread approximately 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the pasta sauce evenly over the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
Layer the zucchini slices on top of the sauce, cutting pieces in half if needed to fit. Top the zucchini with half of the cooked ground beef mixture, followed by half of the mushroom mixture, then half of the fresh spinach, and finally half of the ricotta cheese.
Add another complete layer of zucchini slices, then the remaining ground beef, remaining mushroom mixture, remaining spinach, and remaining ricotta cheese.
Top with a final layer of zucchini slices. Pour the remaining pasta sauce over the top and spread it evenly to cover all the zucchini.
Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over the entire surface. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes.
Remove the foil and continue baking for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and lightly golden.
Remove from the oven and allow the lasagna to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. This resting time helps the layers set and makes serving easier.
Comments
This is a solid weeknight lasagna that checks most boxes for a Charlotte kitchen. All ingredients are stocked routinely at Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Kroger, and Walmart—portobello mushrooms are common enough that no special trip is needed. At roughly $12–14 for the full dish, that's about $1.50–$1.75 per serving, driven mainly by the ground beef and cheese; reasonable for a crowd meal. The stated 90 minutes is honest if you're not a fast knife worker, though active hands-on time is closer to 20–25 minutes with 60+ spent baking and cooling. It's a true family dish that reheats beautifully in the oven or microwave, so it earns its place in a rotation, but it demands some evening commitment and isn't particularly Southern in character—zucchini substituting for pasta noodles is trendy rather than rooted to the Piedmont.
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