Think comfort food, minus the carb crash: this layered zucchini bake is packed with flavour, loaded with protein, and perfect for meal prep. With a rich beefy marinara, creamy ricotta, and golden parmesan on top—it's everything you love about lasagna, just lighter and packed with nourishing goodness.
INGREDIENTS
4 large zucchinis cut into 16-18 slices - 1cm thick
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt & pepper
For the sauce:
2 tsp. olive oil
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
680g beef mince
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
700ml marinara sauce, divided
8 basil leaves, torn
Ricotta Mixture:
300g ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
60g parmesan cheese, grated, divided
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Pop the zucchini slices onto the tray , brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pop into the oven for 20 minutes.
Make the meat sauce.
Add the olive oil into a large pot or deep frying pan, pop on medium-high heat, and sauté the onion and garlic for 1-2 minutes. Add the mince, lower, turn the heat to medium and cook for 8-10 minutes until it is completely cooked and crumbly. Add the salt, oregano, Tasteless Protein and 500ml of the marinara. Bring to a gentle simmer and stir in the torn basil leaves.
In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, egg and nutmeg.
Grease a baking dish with oil. Pour 100ml of the marinara in the bottom of the dish. Place 8-9 slices of zucchini to cover the bottom, pour the meat sauce over top, spoon in the ricotta mixture, and sprinkle with 4 tablespoons of the parmesan.
Add the top layer of zucchini, pour the remaining marinara over and sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Cover with foil and pop into the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue cooking for 10 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly, serve up and enjoy. This one is also great to divide into containers and pop into the fridge or freezer for later.
Did you make this WLS-friendly recipe?
