Skip to main content

No-Noodle Zucchini Lasagna

"Looking for a low-carb dinner to satisfies your Italian food craving? Look no further! This lasagna is perfect in the summer with your garden-fresh veggies and herbs, or in the winter when you need a comforting meal. You won't even miss the noodles in this one!"

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 19 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Basil and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,390 recipes mention both. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

The recipe

1 - 9x13 inch baking dish
Prep30 min
Cook1 hr

Ingredients

Contains: egg, milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin strips about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. Sprinkle them with the salt, let stand 20 minutes, then pat dry with paper towels. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

  2. Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up, until no pink remains and it reaches 160°F (71°C) inside. Spoon off excess fat and set the beef aside.

  3. In the same skillet, cook the onion, green bell pepper, and mushrooms over medium heat until soft and the mushrooms release their liquid, about 8 minutes.

  4. Return the beef to the skillet. Stir in the tomato paste, tomato sauce, red wine, basil, oregano, black pepper, and a splash of hot water as needed to loosen. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring often.

  5. In a bowl, mix the ricotta, egg, parsley, and thawed spinach until evenly combined.

  6. Spread a thin layer of meat sauce in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add half the zucchini, half the ricotta mixture, half the sauce, and half the mozzarella. Repeat the layers once more.

  7. Top evenly with the Parmesan cheese. Cover the dish with foil and bake 25 minutes.

  8. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more, until bubbling and the egg in the ricotta layer is set. Let rest 10 minutes before cutting.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Basil + oreganotop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,390 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Tomato + basiltop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together3,979 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Tomato + oreganotop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together2,767 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  4. Pepper + basiltop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together5,292 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  5. Beef + oniontop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together17,091 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Flavor stand-ins for the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, pepper, tomato, sauce, red wine, basil, oregano):

  1. Capsicumbetter flavor fit
  2. Carrotbetter flavor fit
  3. Eggplantbetter flavor fit
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, pepper, tomato, sauce, red wine, basil, oregano. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).