Vegan Lasagna with Zucchini and Summer Squash

Swap the lasagna sheets for zucchini noodles in this Vegan Lasagna with Zucchini and Summer Squash dish. It’s the perfect, vegan and gluten free dinner option when your garden is bursting with overgrown zucchini or you’re craving a lighter vegan lasagna. Just 5 easy ingredients!

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I love eating pasta and vegan lasagna year round, but when the weather warms up I often crave dishes that are lighter and packed with veggies.

This vegan lasagna is the best of both worlds – it’s made cheesy and delicious with homemade tofu ricotta and marinara yet packed with 10 cups of zucchini and summer squash!

Why This Recipe Works

• Lots of flavor. Sprinkling the zoodles with salt helps draw out excess moisture and prevents the lasagna flavors from being watered down.
• Dairy free. Tofu ricotta gives this healthier lasagna the flavors of classic lasagna without the need for dairy cheese.
• 20 minutes prep time. Using jarred marinara sauce and even pre-made zoodles cuts the prep time needed for this vegan lasagna down to 20 minutes.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• zoodles – I like to use a combination of zucchini and summer squash and spiralize the noodles myself at home. To make this recipe even easier, use store-bought zoodles!
• vegan ricotta – I make my own homemade tofu ricotta cheese with just 7 ingredients I almost always have on hand. If you don’t want to make your own, the brands Kite Hill and Tofutti each sell a store-bought vegan ricotta.
• marinara sauce – I use Rao’s in this lasagna. It’s one of the most flavorful marinara sauces I have ever used. Try finding it at your local Costco for the best deal.
• vegan mozzarella cheese shreds – I opted for store-bought shredded mozzarella to cut the prep time, but if you prefer a homemade version, try my Melty Vegan Cheese or my Tofu Mozzarella (no nuts, no oil).

Step by Step Instructions

1. Spiralize your zucchini and or summer squash.
   
   I have used this Paderno World Cuisine Spiralizer for years and love it! For purposes of making this recipe as universal in baking time as possible, I used the most common width I generally see for zoodles in stores and other recipes (3×3 mm).
   
   You can spiralize the noodles to your preferred thickness, but understand thicker zucchini lasagna noodles will require a longer bake.
   
   If you are in a rush, you can often find pre-spiralized noodles at your local grocer in the same section as other pre-cut produce.

2. Draw the excess moisture out of the squash. Zucchini and summer squash are water rich vegetables and when baked, all that excess water comes out.
   
   To prevent this vegan lasagna from getting too watery, spread the squash out on a clean tea towel or two and sprinkle with kosher salt. Set it aside for 10-15 minutes and allow the salt to draw all that excess moisture out.
   
   Wrap the noodles up in the towel(s) and gently squeeze the moisture out over the sink.
   
   You will notice the squash shrinks considerably in size. This is good!

3. While the salt draws the moisture out of the squash, prepare the tofu ricotta. You can also do this ahead of time and have it ready to go in the refrigerator.

How to Layer the Lasagna

4. Layer the lasagna and bake! Once the excess moisture has been drawn out of the squash, build the lasagna.
   
   I like to layer the ingredients into my baking dish like you would with a classic lasagna, but if preferred, you can also toss together the zoodles, tofu ricotta and marinara in a large bowl and then simply transfer to a baking dish.

• Step 1: Layer half of the zoodles in the bottom of your baking dish. I used a 10″ round oven safe skillet, but you can also use a 9×13 baking dish.
• Step 2: Layer half of the tofu ricotta on top of the lasagna zoodles.
• Step 3: Layer half of the marinara on top of the vegan ricotta.
• Step 4: Layer remaining zoodles on top of marinara sauce.
• Step 5: Layer remaining tofu ricotta cheese on top of lasagna zoodles.
• Step 6: Layer remaining marinara on top of ricotta.
• Step 7: Layer of vegan mozzarella (optional). I like to melt the mozzarella prior to baking because I find it melts very poorly in the oven (as do most vegan cheeses).
• Step 8: Bake the vegan lasagna uncovered for 35-45 minutes, or until mozzarella is browned and zoodles are your desired doneness.
  
  Serve vegan lasagna with zucchini with fresh basil, more vegan mozzarella and Vegan Garlic Bread or Vegan Cheese Bread (Pull Apart Bread).

FAQs

Expert Tips

• Use your overgrown garden zucchini to make this recipe! I made this recipe specifically because I had huge zucchini and summer squash and needed to use up a lot at once. It’s the perfect way to use it up!
• Taste the lasagna at the 35 minute cook mark and see how you like the doneness of the zoodles. I like mine to have a slight crunch, but some prefer a lot softer texture.
• Use a high quality marinara sauce. Since this recipe is just 5 ingredients, you want to use quality ingredients. The marinara you pick can make or break the flavor here!

More Vegan Pasta Recipes to Try

• Vegan Creamy Mushroom Pasta Bake
• Vegan Tofu Bolognese Sauce
• Vegan Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats
• Creamy Vegan Pesto Pasta Bake

This recipe was originally published August 2, 2020 and was updated on June 30, 2021 to include an improved recipe, new recipe photos including step by step process photos, FAQs, and expert tips.