Extra cheesy, extra saucy, Summer Veggie Lasagna full of flavor with layers of spicy Italian sausage, fresh zucchini and extra mozzarella cheese. My time saver trick is to use flat no-cook lasagna noodles and really tasty jarred marinara sauce plus whole canned tomatoes which make this recipe doable year-round. From oven to table in less than an hour! Check out my all time favorite marinara sauce brands and taste test results below.
With two drawers full of vegetables from my CSA farm share, I was starting to panic. Does this happen to everyone? I actually start loosing vegetables towards the back and it makes me kind of sad when I find them funky, wilty and weird. I share my weekly CSA with a good friend which gives me 2 WHOLE WEEKS to get things eaten up which seems like TONS of time but really, it never is.
To justify this total disgrace of left over, nearly spoiled vegetables, we did spend 4 days out camping with the kids on the West Shore of Tahoe this week which was awesome. We tried out a new campground for us which is called Sugar Pine Point State Park and I have to say I was really impressed. We usually camp at DL Bliss which I love, mostly, but I am thinking this is my new fav spot. Site #157, back loop, huge sites, semi private, FLAT, clean, a bit dusty and the bees were out in full force but even still, I’m impressed and I am not easily impressed by much when it comes to campgrounds in California.
Best part was the dog friendliness of the General Creek Trail (an old cross country Olympic trail actually) which is directly behind the sites on that end of the campground.
Second best part? The kids could ride around and around the loop on their bikes without any major hills or blind spots. Kids on bikes, happy, not crying, not whining = happy mommas and papas. You know what goes great with kids on bikes? Parents on foot with cocktails.
What was not so awesome was my attempt at BBQ chicken for dinner. I failed and I never fail at food. EVER. But hear me out, it was not my fault. It was the chicken’s fault. It was whatever they are feeding these here California crazy chickens the size of freaking turkeys. I kid you not, our chicken legs were like turkey legs, so big & chewy you could barely eat them. It all started out wrong when Ridge realized one of the packages were legs not thighs. Ugh. Not really a leg gal myself but I was going to take one for the team and suck it up. Ha. Should have been a red flag right there.
Such a shame, Ridge really grilled them up perfectly seasoned, salty and spicy, caramelized to perfection over our amazing camping grill/grate (that we get from this crazy little backdoor operation out of Jackson, Wyoming – email me and I will share the details, you MUST have one if you cook over an open fire, it’s $150 worth of the best camping investment you ever made). I mean look at these beauties…
Alas…barely edible. Enough said. We had more vodka and extra potato salad. What we also kind of failed at on this trip was trying to take the kids out sailing. First no wind, then too much. Tucker chose to enjoy some shore sailing instead after he thought we nearly killed him. No cold Lake Tahoe water, no crazy jibbing and no swearing out of his parents mouths. It all worked out.
Well, today I noticed an abundance of zucchini and a lone, sweet Walla Walla onion that was yet to head south in the fridge drawer and so, I created this awesome summer lasagna to help use up all of those extra zucchini I have on hand this time of year. The beauty of this dish is that it’s a cheater.
Yep. I cheat when it comes to lasagna and I am proud to do so.
I always use no-cook noodles (I prefer Barilla brand because they are so thin and I like the texture once they are cooked) and I use marinara from the jar. My usual favorite is Rao’s straight up marinara but lately I discovered this Gina Rispoli brand at my local Safeway. It is half the price and just as good.
To me, it is important if you are going to cheat to use the best tasting substitute for homemade that you can. This marinara is so good. Perfectly light, tomato-y, easy on the herbs, a tiny bit chunky, just like your Italian grandma would make. If I had an ounce of Italian in me, I am sure I would make marinara from my grandmas famous recipe but…no Italian blood here. A little Swedish, no Italian. Oh well. I have my own actual bf Gina for that. I am slowly collecting her family recipes. I am not sure if she is on to me yet. Thanks G.
I am a marinara snob I will admit. I’ve tasted a lot of marinara sauces. This one takes the winning prize for authentic jarred marinara and is super off the charts 
especially if you live in the NY/NJ area, it’s called Jersey Italian Gravy… mmm. The name even sounds good. I think you can order it. If someone from this company would like to send me a case…I’m completely receptive. I’ve only found it readily available at the local grocery stores outside NYC.
This lasagna recipe is a breeze to make as are all my lasagnas. {Honesty clause: I totally love making lasagna and have about 30+ versions up my sleeve.} There are a couple of steps you need to take to make this guy come together but you can do it in one pan. Here is goes. You have to chop 1 zucchini and 1 onion. I’m sorry, I know most of you hate that. But seriously it’s 1 of each. Not so bad + a little garlic. Saute the sausage links, put them aside, slice them up. Leave the greasy drippings. Nothing pretty is necessary here, they are going to get buried in sauce and cheese. Add the veggies and saute another 5 mins.
Now…assemble the layers.
DONE.
BAKE. Or save the baking for tomorrow!
This lasagna is off the charts and the best part is that you can sub out what ever veggies you want. Don’t have zucchini, use a yellow squash. Don’t like onion? Leave it out! Don’t like spicy sausage?
Use sweet Italian or breakfast sausage instead. It honestly doesn’t matter it will be AMAZING. In this variation, I also chopped up fresh tomatoes instead of using the canned because at the time, it is summer and I have a bunch sitting around. In winter, don’t hesitate to use the canned tomatoes. Just as delicious. Yet again though, I am a food snob and prefer the higher quality canned San Marzano tomatoes. Sorry folks. You want tasty food? Spend the extra dollar. It’s worth it. I promise. San Marzano tomatoes are considered the best tomatoes in the world for cooking.
Hope you enjoy! Just leave me a comment if you have any questions or drop me an email. Don’t forget to tag your
-Cam
| Prep Time | 20 Mins |
| Cook Time | 45 Mins |
| Servings |
8-10 People
|
- 2 Spicy Italian Sausage Links Sweet Italian is just as good
- 1 Jar Tomato Marinara Sauce Rao's or similar
- 6-9 No-Boil Lasagna Noodles Barilla is best but other brands are fine
- 1 15oz Container Ricotta Cheese Whole milk or part skim
- 1 Block Mozzarella Cheese, sliced into thin rounds Shredded equivalent works fine too
- 4 Cloves Garlic, roughly hopped
- 1 Medium Zucchini Squash, chopped to 1 inch pieces Yellow Squash works just as nicely
- 1 Small - Medium Yellow Onion, roughly chopped
- 1 Large Can Whole San Marzano Tomatoes, drained & roughly chopped 2-4 fresh chopped tomatoes are a perfect substitute, sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt to bring out their flavor
- 1 Handful Basil Leaves, roughly chopped
- Chili Flakes to taste
- 1 Tbsp Garlic Salt
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- Fresh ground pepper to taste
- Kosher salt to taste
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste at serving
Ingredients
|
|
- Preheat oven to 375 Degrees
- Saute the sausages according to the package directions until cooked through. Allow to cool and rest 5-10 minutes and slice into rounds.
- Cut zucchini squash lengthwise and then chop to create 1 inch pieces. Slice onion the same way. Add to the left over sausage drippings, season with a few pinches of kosher salt and cracks of pepper and saute over medium heat 6-8 minutes. In the last couple of minutes, add half of the chopped garlic and toss. Saute an additional minute or 2. Vegetables should still be firm and hold their texture. Remove from heat to cool.
- Combine ricotta with the remaining half of the chopped garlic, garlic salt, a few cracks of pepper and chili flakes to taste. (The more you add, the spicier the lasagna will be, if you prefer a milder version simply leave them out.)
- Open the canned tomatoes, drain and roughly chop. If using fresh tomatoes, after a rough chop I like to sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt to bring out the juices and flavors.
- In a medium sized lasagna pan, open your jarred marinara sauce and spread a thin layer over the bottom of the pan. Add a layer of 3-4 pasta sheets (depending on how big your pan is and the size of the lasagna noodles you are using). Top with ricotta and slices of mozzarella. Add a layer of sausage, squash/onions, tomatoes then torn basil leaves. Cover with half of the remaining marinara. Repeat the layers one more time ending with the final layer of marinara and mozzarella cheese.
- Bake 35 minutes covered with foil. It is very important to cover the lasagna to allow the sauces and steam to cook the noodles. After 35 minutes, remove the foil and continue to bake another 10-15 minutes until very bubbly and the cheese is lightly browned to your liking.
- Allow to cool 10 minutes before slicing. This is a very sauce and cheesy lasagna and slices will be slightly runny. The longer it sits, the more it will set up.
- Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and additional chopped basil leaves for a beautiful presentation!
This simple lasagna is perfect to make ahead of time and will sit in the refrigerator up to 3 days before baking. If you have time, allow the lasagna to come up to room temperature an hour or so on the counter top. If not, not a big deal just be sure to increase your covered cook time by 15 minutes. Enjoy!
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I made this today and it was fabulous! The only thing I did different was to add mushrooms. Thanks!