Lately I have been trying to incorporate more protein-rich meals into my diet and limit the amount of refined carbohydrates. And being a busy working mom, I need quick and simple recipes that the entire family will enjoy. This brings me to the zucchini noodle recipe for a lasagna bowl. This is essential a healthy, lazy lasagna recipe. It contains all the lasagna flavors I love – beefy Italian tomato sauce, rich and creamy ricotta cheese – without the heavy pasta and time consuming effort to create a layered dish.
As I discussed in my post about investing in my future self, I strive to make healthy choices today to enable the person I want to be decades from now. We only have one chance on this earth, and I want to make the most out of it. For me, that means providing my body with healthy sources of fuel.
Every individual has different dietary needs, and will react differently to macro nutrient ratios. I’ve noticed that my body reacts well to less refined carbohydrates in my daily diet. However, I love a savory Italian tomato beef sauce! So I needed a different vessel to impart such a sauce – enter zucchini noodles!
Zucchini has a mild flavor and can pair well with almost any sauce. There are endless ideas for zucchini noodle recipes and it’s an excellent choice to pair with a simple lasagna meat sauce.
Most grocery stores sell zucchini already pre-spiralized in noodle form. Or if you prefer, you can do it yourself with a tool like this handheld julienne/peeler combo tool I like this tool because it’s simple, multi-functional, and doesn’t take up much space.
Once the zucchini is prepared in noodle form, brown the ground beef. Feel free to substitute other ground protein options, such as pork sausage or turkey. Then I add the marinara or pizza sauce to the pan with the ground beef. I prefer Primal Kitchen brand Pizza Sauce because there is zero added sugar or artificial sweetener.
Now it’s time to assemble the lazy lasagna bowl 🙂 I add the zucchini noodles first, the ground beef mixture second, and top with a dollop of ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese.
Hope you enjoy this recipe! What other zucchini noodle recipes to do like? Leave a comment below!
Zucchini Noodle Recipe: Lasagna Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 Medium size zucchini
- 2 lbs Ground beef
- 2 cups Pizza sauce or marinara sauce
- 2 cups Mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup Ricotta
Instructions
- Spiralize zucchini or buy prepackaged zucchini noodles. Heat in microwave for 1-2 minutes.
- Brown ground beef in skillet. Drain fat.
- Add pizza sauce or marinara sauce to skillet. Mix into ground beef.
- Assemble zucchini noodle bowl. Place heated zucchini in bottom of bowl. Add meat and sauce to zucchini noodles. Add ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese on top of meat.
- Stir it all together and enjoy!