This Zucchini Lasagna was sponsored by Jones Dairy Farm and all opinions are my own, as always.
This low carb Paleo Zucchini Lasagna is the perfect answer to your cravings! Thin sliced zucchini is layered with a creamy cashew-based cheese sauce and a savory sausage marinara mixture. It’s packed with flavor and veggies, completely dairy free, grain free, Whole30 compliant and the leftovers save well!
This recipe exceeded my expectations with the first bite!
Being an Italian food lover while avoiding both pasta (grains) and cheese (dairy) isn’t the easiest. However, I know it’s possible to make a great dairy-free cheese sauce using cashews and just had to try it layered in a zucchini lasagna.
Add in deliciously savory all natural turkey sausage, some extra greens, and my favorite marinara sauce, and you get a low carb, dairy free lasagna that’s a total winner.
What You Need to Make Paleo Zucchini Lasagna with Sausage
The “cheese” sauce is simple and cashew based – you’ll need a high speed blender or food processor to get it nice and creamy. Here’s everything you’ll need for the lasagna:
- Cheese Sauce:
- Cashews
- Almond Milk, unsweetened
- Avocado oil, or olive oil
- Garlic
- Lemon juice
- Nutritional Yeast
- Sea salt
- Lasagna:
- 4-5 med-large zucchini
- 2 packages Jones Dairy Farm No Antibiotics Ever Golden Brown Turkey Sausage
- Onion
- Garlic
- Sea salt and black pepper
- Italian seasoning
- Fresh spinach or kale, chopped
- Marinara sauce
- Fresh basil and parsley
About Jones Dairy Farm All Natural Turkey Sausage
I love all of the Jones Dairy Farm products and their all natural, no antibiotics turkey sausage works so well in this recipe. The flavor is delicious, it’s Whole30 compliant and makes a great base for the meat layer in the lasagna.
Jones Dairy Farm also makes amazing no sugar pork sausage (used in my sausage potato and spinach soup) and all natural chicken sausage to throw into quick meals, plus the BEST no sugar bacon!
Get the recipe for my savory sweet potato bacon waffles here. Since Jones Dairy Farm’s line of Antibiotic Free, Paleo Certified products contain NO sugar or preservatives, they’re perfect for paleo and Whole30 recipes.
Definitely check out their website to browse their amazing products and find out find out where you can purchase!
How to Make Zucchini Lasagna
Make the cheese sauce first. Simply place all the ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor and blend until very smooth and creamy.
Next, thinly slice the zucchini lengthwise. Spread out in a single layer on 2 baking sheets topped with wire racks and lightly salt them. Bake for about 10-12 minutes at 375° F to dry them out. If you skip this step, the lasagna will be more watery (see below.)
Meanwhile, make the sausage mixture. Sauté the turkey sausage in the oil until golden brown. Lower the heat and add in the onions and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper, if desired.
Cook until softened, then add the spinach or kale and stir until wilted. Add in 1 cup of marinara and stir to heat through.
Now it’s time to layer the lasagna! I started with a 1/2 cup of the remaining marinara, followed by a layer of zucchini, 1/2 of the sausage mixture, 1/3 of the cheese sauce, and 1/2 of the parley and basil.
Repeat the layers one more time, and then place a final layer of zucchini, cheese sauce, and fresh herbs before baking. I baked my lasagna for 22 minutes so it was hot and bubbly with a lightly browned top.
How to Avoid Watery Zucchini Lasagna
I can’t stand when my zucchini recipes get watery! It’s a real problem since zucchini holds a ton of water, which is released while it cooks.
The key is removing much of the water before layering it in the lasagna. To do this, I salted it first. After 5 minutes or so you’ll see it “sweating” and can pat it dry with paper towel.
Then, I pre-baked it for about 10 minutes. You want it to appear dry before removing it from the oven. While the zucchini will still release some extra water while it bakes in the lasagna, following these steps will give you the best chance at a not-watery zucchini lasagna!
I hope you’re ready for a seriously delicious zucchini lasagna that you’ll want on repeat in your house! I know you’re going to love it – enjoy!
Paleo Zucchini Lasagna with Sausage {Whole30, Low Carb}
Paleo Zucchini Lasagna with Sausage {Dairy-Free, Whole30}
Ingredients
Cheese Sauce:
- 2 cups cashews **
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
Lasagna:
- 4-5 med-large zucchini
- 2 7 oz packages Jones Dairy Farm No Antibiotics Ever Golden Brown Turkey Sausage thawed and chopped into small pieces*
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- Sea salt and black pepper
- Crushed red pepper (optional)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1-2 cups fresh spinach or kale chopped (optional)
- 2 cups marinara sauce divided (I used Rao’s)
- 1/4 cup Fresh basil and parsley chopped
Instructions
Cheese Sauce:
-
In a high-speed blender (I used a VItamix), combine all ingredients. Blend until completely smooth. Sauce should be warm by the end of blending, if not, transfer it to a saucepan to heat before serving.
Lasagna:
-
Preheat your oven to 375° F. Cut the ends off the zucchini and slice lengthwise into thin slices. Sprinkle with sea salt and spread out in a single layer on 2 baking sheets topped with wire racks. The salting and baking steps will dry out the zucchini. You can skip it, but the finished lasagna will be more watery.
-
Pat the salted zucchini with paper towel to remove excess moisture, then bake zucchini in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until tops appear dry. Remove from oven and set aside until ready to assemble.
-
Meanwhile, make the sausage mixture. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil, then add sausage and sauté until browned, stirring as needed, about 3-5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and add in the onions and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic, stir, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper, if desired.
-
Cook and stir until softened, then add the spinach or kale and stir until wilted. Add in 1 cup of marinara and stir to heat through, then remove from heat.
-
Spread 1/2 cup of remaining marinara onto the bottom of a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
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Add zucchini slices on top of the pasta sauce side by side. Top the zucchini with 1/2 of the turkey sausage mixture and evenly spread 1/3 of the cheese sauce on top. Sprinkle 1/3 of the chopped fresh herbs on top.
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Repeat these layers, leaving enough zucchini for a final top layer.
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Top the lasagna with the last layer of zucchini, remaining cheese sauce, and remaining parsley and basil. Bake in the preheated oven (middle rack) for 20-25 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Garnish with basil before serving. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Recipe Notes:
*You can sub the turkey sausage with 1 1/2 lbs ground beef, bulk sausage, ground turkey or chicken.
**If you’re using a high speed blender like a Vitamix, you won’t need to soak the cashews beforehand. If you’re using a food processor, I recommend soaking the cashews in hot water for 2 hours prior to making the sauce
Nutrition
Want More Whole30 Recipes Using Jones Dairy Farm No Sugar Added Sausage and Bacon? Try One of These!
Sausage Potato and Spinach Soup
Turkey Sausage Marinara Spaghetti Squash Boats
Bacon Wrapped BBQ Chicken Bites
Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Paleo Running Momma!
please tell me the best mandolin to use for slicing the zucchini
Can this be assembled ahead of time, then fresh baked the next day?
Be careful! I made the sauce ahead of time and put it in the refrigerator and the blotter EXPLODED EVERYWHERE! We heard a huge bang and our entire fridge was covered.
Haha! Your explosion saved me from even attempting making this ahead! Thank you! 💜
My boyfriend and I’s new favorite dish! Comforting without the guilt…definitely recommend baking the zucchini as suggested at the beginning. Not watery at all. And I’m an ultimate cheese girl but OMG…..that cheese sauce was to die for!
This was amazing!! I love all your recipes!!
Absolutely delicious! I’m not a talented cook and had no problem following the recipe. Family loved it!
Could this be made with eggplant instead of zucchini?
Are the measurements of 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 cup nutritional yeast correct? It just seems like a lot more than is usually called for in most recipes. Thanks!
This was amazing!!! I can’t wait to make it again!
I have been trying some of your recipes and every single one has been delicious… This meal as well was amazing. I LOVE all your added information. It really helps build confidence for someone like me who is trying to become comfortable in the kitchen with cooking healthy meals. Thank you for all your extra input. Everyone in my family loved this meal and it was a great leftover too.
Another fabulous dish. I appreciated the extra tips regarding baking the zucchini to help the lasagna becoming soggy. Excellent leftovers as well. Can’t wait to make it again.
This was excellent, thank you! We added some turkey pepperoni to the layers and it was also good! Following the directions for the zucchini and cutting them into very thin slices meant the lasagna wasn’t watery whatsoever! I used a vitamix and the cheese sauce was super easy. It yielded a ton, we would probably do 3/4 of the cheese recipe in the future. This will definitely become a staple!
Thank you so much, another “hit” from your site! Normally I feel like it’s really easy to tell a substitute, but the zucchini worked so well in place of the noodles. Oh! Also! I subbed for spicy Italian sausage and it worked really nicely.
Really delicious! The cashew sauce is amazing, don’t know how she comes up with this stuff! I was too impatient to salt or bake the zucchini first and it wasn’t soggy but I also cut the zucchini on a thin mandolin so maybe that helped? Will definitely make again.
Would any plant based milk work? I’m not a fan of almond milk and drink flax milk.
guys this recipe was DELICIOUS!! We just made it today and WOWOWOWOW the cheese sauce I could drink it hahaha easy recipe to follow we used ground chicken instead of sausages! Totally adding it to our meal rotation THANKSSSS for this!
This recipe is amazing! I don’t even miss regular lasagna. Seriously so good. I have to convince myself not to make it every weekend! ?
What can I am dairy free but do not do well with nutritional yeast? Any suggestions on a substitute?
Alternative to cashews?
This lasagna is fantastic! I did not think it would be possible to pull off a good lasagna using only paleo ingredients, but I was intrigued so I gave it a try. I was wrong. This recipe is so good! I used some bulk Italian pork sausage from the local market, but next time I might try cutting it with half plain ground turkey or beef because the sausage flavor was almost too intense. Another tip is to use a Julienne cutter to slice the zuchinni. I made a mess trying to do it with a knife until I watched a few youtube videos and realized I was using the wrong tool for the job. Also, I soaked the cashews in hot water for 2 hours, even though I used a blender rather than a food processor. The cheese sauce is amazing! I’ve never had plant-based cheese sauce that tasted this good. This recipe is a winner for sure. Thank you so much for posting this.
Best diary free sauce I’ve ever had! This recipe was so good.
Worth the effort! Froze this dish and cooked later and it was wonderful! Highly recommend
I don’t know how this recipe doesn’t have more comments. It’s INCREDIBLE. the cheese tastes exactly like cheese. I can not believe how good and healthy it is. Everyone I’ve shared it with is also shocked.
Try it and don’t freeze any because you’ll definitely eat it all.
Tonight was my first time making this, and it’s amazing! I think it would be good as a vegan recipe if you made a veggie bolognese type filling. The cheese sauce tastes better than using real cheese!
I was a bit skeptical because I haven’t always been a fan of cashew “cheese” sauces in the past, but this was delicious! I keep a stock of meat sauce in the freezer (Whole30 compliant) and used for the base of this recipe. The zucchini was perfect, not soggy at all. And the cheese sauce – dare I say I couldn’t tell it wasn’t actual cheese?! Absolutely a keeper, can’t wait for leftovers today!
This recipe was delicious! I made it vegetarian by leaving the meat out and adding 1 cup of thawed frozen spinach, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes to the pan with the onions. This is a great recipe. Yum!
I was so skeptical since i’ve never made cheese sauce with no cheese. Let me tell you this did not disappoint, it was uncanny how the cashew sauce tasted like cheese. Definitely recommend!! Cant wait to try it with butternut squash as the noodle
i love this recipe and have made it many times! would you modify it at all to freeze for later?
I’m so excited to take this to my son’s home for dinner tomorrow evening! Is it okay if I assemble it today, then bake it tomorrow evening? Or should I bake it today, then reheat it tomorrow evening? If so, please give reheating instructions. Thanks so much!
We absolutely loved this recipe. My spouse couldn’t believe it didn’t have cheese. Curious though if you’ve tried making it and freezing it to bake later? Would it work the same as a standard lasagna? Thanks so much!
This recipe looks amazing! Has anyone had success making the sauce with blanched almonds instead of cashews? Thanks in advance!
I made this with ground turkey and used almond flour in place of the cashews for the cheese sauce and it was fabulous! I made it a day in advance for a women’s retreat and then heated it up the next day and everyone raved about it! Everyone else was even able to eat the pasta bake that was served as well and that was gluten and dairy full! Huge hit! Thank you so much! 🙂
My husband and I loved this. I made it with ground turkey and it was great!