Zucchini Roll Ups

These delicious zucchini roll-ups are meatless and made with cottage cheese as a replacement for ricotta. They are mixed with fresh herbs, hearty spinach, and melty mozzarella cheese. A perfect low-carb appetizer for a crowd or served as the main dish for a weeknight family dinner! Anyway you serve them they are a winner!

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine American

Diet Low Calorie

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 17

Total Time 27

Servings people

Calories 254kcal

Author Jillian Schneider

Equipment

1 8-inch square baking dish
1 large rim baking sheet

Ingredients

2 large zucchini ends trimmed and cut into thin strips, lengthwise
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp ground black pepper to taste
¼ tsp kosher salt to taste
8 tbsp reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese divided
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese divided
1 large egg lightly beaten
1⅓ cups part-skim ricotta or cottage cheese
1 10 oz package frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry
1 tbsp garlic powder
¾ cup low-sodium marinara sauce divided
2 tbsp Italian seasoning

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425° and position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven.
Slice zucchini lengthwise to get 24 total strips, about ⅛ inch thick each. Use a mandolin slicer to get them ultra-thin, if possible.
Toss the zucchini in ¼ tsp olive oil, and kosher salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl. Arrange the zucchini in a singel layer on 2 rimmed baking sheets.
Bake the zucchini, turning once, until tender, about 10 minutes total.
Meanwhile, combine 2 tbsp. mozz and 1 tbsp. parm in a small bowl. Mix egg, ricotta or cottage cheese, spinach, garlic, and the remaining 6 tbsp. mozz and 2 tbsp. parm and ¼ tsp. ground black pepper and ⅛ kosher salt in a medium bowl.
Spread ¼ cup marinara in an 8-inch square baking dish. Place 1 tbsp. of the ricotta (or cottage cheese) mix near the bottom of the strip of zucchini. Roll it up and place, seam-side down, in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining zucchini and filling. Top the rolls with the remaining ½ cup marinara sauce and sprinkle with the reserved cheese mixture. Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top.
Bake the zucchini until the cheese is bubbly, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with more Italian seasoning, if desired, right before serving.

Notes

How can my kids help? Have them line the zucchini strips on the baking pan.

To keep your zucchini from getting too watery, make sure your zucchini is sliced into super thin slices. The thinner the slice, the less water. Salt your zucchini right after slicing and let it sit for 15 min. Salting your zucchini draws the water out.

Freeze in an airtight container before you bake. It will taste completely fresh before you go to bake it. You can also freeze it after baking, but make sure it is completely cooled before you store it in the freezer. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition