I wouldn’t call my family “dysfunctional” per se, but we fight over lasagna, and the battle tactics are limitless. Pushing, shoving, words that cut deep, unnecessarily long silent treatment, you name it. I’ve thrown and received countless elbows scrambling to reach the coveted corner piece before my siblings, and cousins get there. That ooey gooey mozzarella with the golden crisp does crazy things to people. I never even thought of a keto lasagna.
Don't forget to PIN it for later! ?
Keto Lasagna with Zucchini Noodles
The thing is, lasagna noodles are so not keto friendly.
While avoiding lasagna induced hand-to-hand combat could be considered a positive thing, I had really started to miss our go-to family get together dish.
The taste, the smell, the glorious feeling of victory when you score the piece your sister had her eye on.
For me, this was always the hardest food to say no to after cutting carbs out of my diet.
5-Ingredient Lasagna
When I snagged a copy of the Dinner in Five cookbook, I was overjoyed to find a low carb lasagna recipe.
Like, drop everything and run to the grocery store level of joy and excitement.
The recipe was a dream come true for a few reasons:
- Only five net carbs. This lasagna is totally safe for a ketogenic lifestyle! All of the high carb ingredients were replaced with low carb alternatives. The lasagna noodles? Thinly sliced sheets of zucchini. The sugar-laden pasta sauce? A low carb marinara. Keeping the carb count minimal can be challenging when recreating comfort food dishes, but at only five grams of net carbs, this is definitely a winner.
- Only five basic ingredients. In my day to day cooking, I embrace the idea of minimalist cooking. Just keeping it simple makes ketogenic cooking easier to stick with and more enjoyable. Choosing high-quality ingredients that pack a lot of flavors allows you to create great tasting food without doctoring it up too much. I’m not personally a huge fan of complicated recipes that have an excessive list of hard to source ingredients, so I was stoked to have only five things to buy. Less is more!
- So. Damn. Delicious. Everything about this dish was on point: the taste, the texture, the smell. I LOVE THIS DISH! Even though the main ingredients are swapped with healthy alternatives, it didn’t taste like “diet” food or feel restrictive. It completely transformed the simple ingredients into something amazing and beautiful: lasagna where I had dibs on every corner piece. It totally hit the spot. You bet your ass I’ve made this keto lasagna more than once.
The Keto in Five Cookbook Series
The Dinner in Five cookbook is all about minimalism. The concept is brilliant: every single recipe has five ingredients or less and five net carbs or less! If you are struggling to brainstorm low carb dinner ideas and want something easy, this was tailor made for you. If you are on the keto diet or just trying to cut back on carbs, you will get a lot of value out of this cookbook.
Like the keto lasagna, the recipes are simple, satisfying and easily accessible. You won't have to order any specialty ingredients online or scour several different grocery stores to make these recipes. These are ingredients that are on the shelf at your local grocery store.
But the coolest part about this? They are creating a series of cookbooks based off of this concept! That means it's not just dinner, but breakfast and lunch too. With each recipe maxing out at five net carbs per serving, you could pick any combination of breakfast, lunch, and dinner from the cookbooks and be well under your carb limit for the day. That takes a lot of the guesswork out of counting carbs!
Vicky, the mastermind behind the recipes in these books, hinted that there might even be a Dessert in Five on the horizon! Love it! (Update: Dessert in Five is a real thing now!)
Be sure to check out the "In Five" series and use the coupon code "KETOGASM" for 10% off until October 16:
I loved this recipe and the concept of the series so much, I reached out to Vicky to ask permission to share the keto lasagna from her book. Lucky for you, she said yes! Enjoy!
More Keto Casserole Recipes
Ingredients
- 16 oz ground beef
- 1 cup Rao's marinara sauce
- 1 zucchini large
- 10 oz ricotta cheese
- 4 oz mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Peel zucchini into strips and leave out the seedy core. Salt and let sit for 15 minutes and blot with paper towels.
- Brown ground beef in pan and add marinara. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Layer into a small casserole dish: meat, zucchini, ricotta, meat, zucchini, ricotta, mozzarella.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Broil uncovered for 2-3 minutes to brown the top.
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi, I'm Tasha–nutritionist, recipe developer, and multi-published cookbook author.
Sounds like one to try! I am all for easy dinners, and being able to count all ingredients on one hand makes me very happy 🙂
This recipe is perfect, I like it better than normal lasagna for sure. I didn't miss noodles, jut remember it's more watery due to zucchini. I drained water down after I cut out a few slices and made sure it sat to rest for 20 minutes before I served.
If you roast the zucchini slices in the oven before you assemble it doesn’t get watery.
Just found that out tonight ... lol ... ours was watery and I said the same thing, next time it would be better if the Zucchini was roasted first ... wish I had read your comment first! ... it was really good though!
Swapping the high carb lasagna noodles for zucchini is a great idea! So happy for you to have lasagna back in your life!
Wow, this looks so cheesy & delicious 🙂
Dinner with your family growing up sounds so much more fun than mine! We sat at table, minding our manners, asking politely for things to be passed or waited patiently for mother to serve us a second helping - a real snooze fest. Luckily, my mother made wonderful lasagna. I miss it. I can't wait to try this 5 ingredient low carb version. Your photos make it look just divine!
This lasagna looks amazing! Lasagna is one of those comfort foods I've missed since switching to low carb.
Wow! That looks amazing! I love the idea behind the cookbooks, too!
Hello! I'm at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the great work!
What size pan did you use?
I also would like to know the size of pan, please?
When I baked it, I used a 9x6-inch pan. I'll add a note in the recipe card! 🙂
What other pasta sauces would you recommend? I know Rao's is supposed to be the best, but I priced it this week. Wow!
Tomato Sauce not Spaghetti Sauce that is canned has very little additives and a lot less sugar and carbs. Tattoos so has 4g carbs & 2g sugar which is just as good as Rao's 3 carbs & 3 sugars.
You can make a keto marinara w/ canned tomatoes that is super easy. 2 cans tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, powdered garlic, powdered onion, then you blend in a blender. No cooking necessary! Believe me, it has amazing flavor!
i make "ibreatheimhungry" marinara and use it for everything, including pizza. No cook, super easy! It's a staple in our house
Safeway Select Mushroom and Onion pasta sauce has 4 net carbs!
Whit these recipe you won't miss lasagna, it is my first try and let me tell you that my family is asking for me to make it again!
Thank you, nice read.
Hello
Just wondering what size pan and how many total carbs in the dish? I am headed to Super Target now to grab my ingredients!!!
I'm sorry. This is probably a really stupid question. What do you mean by "leave out core"? Also, what do you use to peel the zucchini? Just a regular vegetable peeler? Thanks!
When I made this, I interpreted 'leave out core' to mean leave out the seeded center core. I used a normal veggies peeler.
most likely is referring to a large zucchini having seeds in it at the centre. Smaller zucchunis don't have significant ones developed in them. You probably figured this out by now.
Just a thought, if you use thinly sliced eggplant instead of zucchini (salt the slices and let them sit for 15 minutes just like the zucchini) you should have eggplant parmesan.
How many servings does this Mae and what size casserole pan?
I've made this before. It's awesome.
If you want to fry the zucchini in pork rinds and parm first, it gives it more flavor and a little firmer texture.
Most excellent suggestion!
New to this. Would you mind sharing a recipe for frying zucchini in pork rinds? Thank you!
I made this with Italian sausage instead of ground beef and 6 portions came out to be
Fat 29.60 Carb 6.60 Fiber 1.0 Net Carb 5.60 Protein 23.50 Calories 400
Hi,
I'm working on a round-up of keto casserole recipes for The Huffington Post Taste and I'd love to feature your recipe. Please let me know if you're interested. Thanks!
Absolutely!
This is a great recipe, very tasty! It would be most helpful if the baking pan size was specified - "small" is a relative description. Also would help if you provided the serving size and primary nutrition info (calories, fat, net carbs).
I made it, it was Delish. But why was my lasagna so watery? It is because of the zucchini?
You have to soak the zucchini in salt for 20-30 minutes to draw out the water, it won't be that soupy watery if you do this.
I want to try this so do you first get the thin slices of zucchini then soak them in salt, a water salt mixture or just salt
My mom always diced some pepperoni and sauteed it with the beef. Gives that extra little something! BTW, does the zucchini give off a lot of water? I haven't tried this recipe before because I just knew it would be soupy. Your photo gives me hope.
You give the macros "per serving". How much of the lasagne dish is a serving? Thanks.
The recipe is 4 servings total; if you divide the dish into 4 equal parts, one of those is a serving. 1/4 of the whole recipe. Hope that helps!
Thank you Tasha! Now I see where it says 4 servings! Doh!
Do I strain the meat after browning it? Please help?
Personally, I strain after browning.
If I were doing a vegetarian version, I would substitute sautéed mushrooms.
Great suggestion, that sounds delish!
Mmm, mushrooms make everything better IMHO!
Can i just say that the images are so large that i'm unable to enjoy them on a standard desktop? I see the images as they're scrolled, never in their entirety. Kind of ruins the experience.
Nevertheless, its a delicious recipe which i just made 🙂
I've made this. Edited and it was exo! Can I double the recipe and freeze? I'm all about easy weeknight dinners!
How many total carbs? Why does everyone only list net? Looks delicious, and I can't wait to try it, tonight!
Because Keto is all about net carbs, and not about total carbs. That is why people post net carbs.
Hello. Can you give approximate dimensions (length width) of the casserole dish you used? Thanks!
Hello
Can you freeze this lasagne?
Many thanks.
I haven't personally tried freezing it but that's a great idea! All of the ingredients appear to be freezer friendly - you could construct the dish in a freezer safe pan and pop it in the oven when you're ready to eat. I'm sure it would adjust the amount of time it would require to bake but other than that, I think it's a solid idea. If you try it please let me know how it works out and I can add a note to the recipe! <3
How did you spread the ricotta on top of the zucchini? I couldnt keep the zucchini from sliding apart
I added an egg,parsley and some parmesan to the ricotta. Layered like the "real" lasagne. Thanks for the recipe!
No answer to the ? about size of pan, but my common sense tells me to use a pan that you can divide into 4 perfect servings, not like the one pictured. The one pictured is showing 6 servings so I would assume that it is 1.5 times the recipe! 🙂 What I'm wondering is, to "peel" the zucchini, do you #1 Use the green part? and #2 Cut it in half lengthwise first to scoop out the core? I'm going shopping for the ingredients right now, so if there's no answer by the time I get back, I'll just carry on! My mouth is already watering!
The green outer part of the zucchini is pretty tough, even when cooked. I typically discard it when it's just the outer dark green portion, but I don't bother taking it off if it's just part of the cut. Re: the core, you can definitely do either way! I've done it and seen it done both ways. Personally, I just start peeling until I hit the core of seeds and discard that part once all of the zucchini flesh has been cut off.
For dish size, I used a 9 x 6 baking dish from ikea. You can use a square dish or something similar in size to what I used without increasing ingredients. I cut it into 6 servings because I thought it looked prettier in the pictures, but you can definitely do 4 large servings as the original recipe calls for! 🙂
This was great. I made it both as is for my bf and without meat and added spinach to a vegetarian version for me. We both loved them! We will be adding this to our go to recipes.
Yay! So glad you liked it! Awesome feedback about the veggie version! We have tons of people asking about low carb vegetarian options, what a great suggestions. 🙂
I havent try this recipe yet, but reading at the comments, I usually mix spinach and ricotta together in one layer, the other layer will use beef with some garlic but without tomato sauce. Just wanted to share another option.
That sounds wonderful, spinach and ricotta would be fantastic. I think I'll try that next time! Thank you for the suggestion.
Cheese is a mind game with me, especially ricotta. Could I sub mozzarella as a layer instead of ricotta?
The ricotta definitely gives it that traditional lasagna texture, but I'm sure subbing in a different cheese would really tasty as well.
When I was a kid, my mom would use cottage cheese if we didn't have ricotta on hand. 🙂
Just wanted to say thank you for this fabulous recipe! So incredibly quick, easy and delicious. I've been experimenting with the keto diet and many of the recipes are unnecessarily complicated it seems. Love the simplicity of this, and of course, it's my fave dish of all time (who doesn't love lasagna!). So thank you again!
Hi, thank you for this delicious recipe. Question-is it 34g protein per serving?
Hi there! Yes, the nutrition label shows per serving. It takes the total of the recipe ingredients and divides it by the number of servings. Hope that helps!
Making this tonight, but I'm using shredded leftover chicken instead of ground beef. I also have a cool new vegetable sheet slicer for my Kitchen Aid mixer that I'm dying to use. Can't wait to try it. Getting in the mood for my trip to Italy in May!
I made this tonight for Valentine's Day dinner! So easy to make and incredibly delicious! (I doubled your recipe to make a full pan of lasagna for leftovers.) It was a huge hit with my keto husband who was thrilled with the 6 grams of carb too! Thanks for a great recipe! I'll be back!
Hi, this recipe looks awesome!!! I have 2 about 7 inch med zucchini, I'm going to use them... One zucchini per layer in the lasagna... I'm going to light grill them before laying... Thank You so much for the recipe...
That sounds perfect! Grilling the zucchini will definitely help reduce excess moisture in the noodles that can leach out while baking. Hope you enjoy!
Awesome dish. Made it, loved it, and now planning on making it a staple in my Keto menu. Really like how uncomplicated it is, especially for us guys. I did throw the zucchini slices into a 180 degree oven for that 15 minutes to dry out whilst browning by the beef.
I can’t wait to try the others. Keep posting champ
Made this last night for dinner and it was fabulous! I sliced the Zucs with my cheese plane and they come out nice and thin and even which helps with them cooking evenly and with appearance. Sprinkled salt to bring out some moisture, wiped with a paper towel and proceeded. My husband even complimented me on it and said it was better than the regular pasta kind. I will definitely be making again.
Awesome! I'm so glad you guys enjoyed it. I agree with your husband, it's definitely better than the regular pasta kind. 😝
I just finished putting 2 of these together (4 serving total). I used a jar of spaghetti sauce that was low in carbs and added some chopped garlic and fresh basil. When I cooked the hamburger I threw in a 1/4 cup of sweet onion. I did one end of the dish with zucchini and the other end with eggplant. I also added a layer of chopped spinach on the bottom on top of the ricotta and a layer of sliced mushroom on the top layer of ricotta. On the mozzarella I added a layer of pepperoni and light layer of Parmesan. I did toast the zucchini and eggplant for 15 minutes at 350 before I put it together.
It was still a little watery. My wife and I enjoyed the eggplant side more than zucchini but I think that was because I should have cut the zucchini thicker. Next time I will also double the spinach. I made it more complex but the things I added were things I normally added to my lasagna back when I could have pasta.
Would this recipe be possible or to make without ricotta? I down have any in my house- I have cream cheese.. and j have pizza mozerella would the pizza mozerella work in this
I also have marble cheese
You can definitely omit the ricotta altogether or sub in the cheese you have on hand. It will change the texture of the dish for sure, but it will still be really flavorful.
When I was growing up, my mom used cottage cheese in her lasagna quite a bit instead of ricotta because it was so much cheaper. It's a little higher in carbs, but it could work as a decent substitution as well. Hope that helps!
This looks amazing. In the instructions you leave out where to add the marinara sauce in the layering.
The marinara is mixed in with the meat. 🙂
Can't wait to make this!
I made this tonight! I did like someone suggested and fried down the zucchini with some pork rinds and Parmesan cheese and it was perfect!!! So, so good!!! Better than regular lasagna but so much healthier!! So glad I found this recipe! Thank you!!!
Ore detail on frying the zucchini first please?? Like did you salt it first and then fry or just coat with egg, pork rinds and parm? I’ve got a bag of pork rinds leftover from keto meatloaf that I’d love to use up!
Hey -- this wasn't bad -- it was a bit damp -- will have to play with some of the suggestions on this -- but overall, very good -- do-over worthy.
Pssst... This makes an incredible lasagna but, if you're feeling REALLY lazy, it's equally delicious to just throw some coined up zucchini and/or broccoli slaw in with your meat and sauce. After its all cooked down, transfer the mixture to a baking dish with a slotted spoon (taking care not to transfer any liquid) then top with cheese and broil 'til melted. It's definitely not the texture of lasagna but the flavor is the same. And, yes, I'm REALLY lazy. Thanks so much for another awesome recipe, Tasha!
excellent keto lasagna, very easy instructions, packed with such great taste.
It was served about 4 generous servings. I let it cool down for 20 minutes like others had mentioned and it came together perfectly. It was a hit with my keto husband and i. Thank you for such a great simple delicious receipe.
Loved this recipe thank you,
I used ground turkey and it turned out delicious. I even had my sister who is Keto hesitant say she loved it! Anyway this can be added to My Plate app?
Doesn't matter too much but I'm curious what fat ratio of beef you used for this recipe? Obviously with keto it's going to be higher in fat, just curious looking at the nutrition facts. Excited to try!
Information is very helpful and helps me in making it. Now I also made just like the real thing” low carb keto lasagna. Thank you
Simple ingredients and very delicious!
I don't typically leave feedback but I had to this time.
OMG, this was DELICIOUS! I did make a mistake and cut my zucchini too thick but a little more time in the oven fixed my simple mistake.
This was very good, even my carb loving husband enjoyed this lasagna.
I also made a double batch so I have leftovers for lunch this week.
Very good, thanks so much!
Yay! I love this recipe so much, glad you enjoyed it as well. Now that the weather is starting to cool off, it will be in my regular rotation again for sure. 😋
Looks deeeelicous.
This is an excellent recipe!! I would like to suggest that for the ricotta, you blend in one raw egg and some chopped fresh parsley. This is a traditional way to go. The egg does a magic job of binding the contents of the 'zagna together. ...My own little twist is to add slices of black olive to the top. I like the deep flavor it adds. Ann-Marie
Made this tonight, fabulous!! I did add a clove of garlic and Italian seasoning to the meat. And added parsley, parmesan cheese to the ricotta. I didn't have enough mozzarella so I used provolone, pretty good and less carbs😊. I need to pick up some low carb sauce though, only had a can of Hunt's, so a little more carbs. Great recipe!!! Thanks!!!
I made this but I didn't salt & blot the zucchini or leave out the core and it wasn't soupy or watery at all! I baked mine (9x9 pan) uncovered for 15 mins & broiled until golden
I read all the comments on how great it was. Not feeling it. It was too drippy even after letting it set after 20 min. It was good flavor but I used a homemade spaghetti sauce I had made previously. I just don’t like the fact it didn’t set up like a normal lasagana. I even salted the zucchini and dried it with a paper towel and browned it in a dry pan. Not really impressed.
Love this recipe! How long do you think it will keep in the fridge? Thanks!
I honestly don't know, we never have leftovers! I would imagine it would hold up well for at least a few days in the fridge.
Made this tonight and wow, we weren’t expecting it to be this good. This ones a keeper.
Have been making zucchini lasagna for years. The trick is to make sure the meat sauce is not too soupy. I just slice the zucchini in thin rounds. I use a mixture of regular cottage cheese and dry curd cottage cheese (dryer and less carbs). Freezes well I just bake it for a little while first.
You baked it before freezing it? For how long?
Made this tonight and my husband absolutely loved it , my son is a little skeptical of no noodles (he is a pasta freak), but still ate some . I really made sure my sauce was nice and thick and mine wasn’t watery at all . Thanks for a great recipe
Have you done something different with the recipe to make it 6 carbs instead of 5? I was going to buy the book because it says five ingredients and five carbs. Are some of the recipes more than 5 carbs per serving?
5 net carbs, so they subtract fiber from the total carb counts. Hope that helps!
Yummy, I used BudgetBytes.com for her five ingredient pasta sauce that has no added sugars and has added fat. And it's delicious! It's the only sauce I use, even before keto!
p.s. Next time I will salt and blot zucchini more because mine was a bit watery. But no less delicious!
I made this and it was great family loved it..
I made this tonight, absolutely amazing, only thing i added was fresh parm to the ricotta mix, i felt like i was cheating...
If you roast the zuccini first it will be less soupy. My wife and i do this when we make it. If roasted on a rack you can even get some of the crunchy edges like noodles (my favorite part). Enjoy!
It was excellent and I didn't have that heavy, full feeling after. Made Keto bread and toasted it with some of the cheese. The Rao' s was pricy but, when I added up what it would cost me to make the sauce from scratch, it came out about the same. There's only the two of us. So, we got three servings out of it. Added a side salad also. Overall, pretty economical meal.
It was excellent and I didn't have that heavy, full feeling after. Made Keto bread and toasted it with some of the cheese. The Rao' s was pricy but, when I added up what it would cost me to make the sauce from scratch, it came out about the same. There's only the two of us. So, we got three servings out of it. Added a side salad also. Overall, pretty economical meal.
Tried this - quite delicious! My husband isn't a fan of zucchini, so I subbed the zucchini noodles for cabbage leaves in one half, worked like a charm! Makes keto at a pot luck a lot easier when you don't have to jealously stare at a bunch of carb dishes while you pick at the veggies and dip tray.
Great receipe! We just had this for dinner, and it was delicious! Yum! Will make it for dinner again really soon.Thanks for sharing!
I think 2 medium zucchini would have been better than 1 large for this recipe; I really needed a bit more. Also, it should be specified whether the amount of meat is for raw or cooked; I used 1.21 lb. raw, 80% lean ground chuck, & the layers of meat are a little slim, imo. Easy to prepare, yummy meal over all.
Thank you for the constructive feedback. We used the recipe provided from the author without changing ingredients or instruction, but the extra clarification would be helpful. I agree, the recipe card should be updated with more specifics and some of the suggestions in the other comments. We’ll be going through and making recipe updates across the site soon, I’ll be sure to include this in our list.
Is this 6 carbs per serving?
Im new and learning
Yes, the recipe as written is 6 grams total carbs per serving (1 piece of lasagna if cut into 4 pieces). There is also 2 grams of fiber per serving. Since fiber does not directly influence ketosis, it can be subtracted from the carb count, giving "net carbs" of 4 grams per serving.
Total carbs - fiber = net carbs
I hope that helps! And I really hope you enjoy the lasagna recipe, it's one of my absolute favorites! ❤️
I subbed Gouda for mozzarella and sprinkled shredded parm on top and this was the BEST LASAGNA EVER...... I could have eaten the entire dish. My hubby agreed!
That sounds delish! I will have to try gouda!