If you love lasagna but don't need a 9x13-inch pan staring back at you for the rest of the week, this zucchini lasagna is for you. It's a creamy white lasagna with layers of tender zucchini, sweet leeks, garlic, smoked gouda and mozzarella with spoonfuls of basil pesto, all tucked into a loaf pan or individual ramekins. Your choice - either way it's a perfect dinner for two.
And that lemony béchamel? It's the little twist that makes this baked lasagna recipe feel lighter, brighter and completely irresistible.
Why You'll Love This Zucchini Lasagna
This isn't your big Sunday lasagna-and that's exactly why I love it. It's creamy, vegetable-packed and just the right size for two.
- Baked in a loaf pan or individual ramekins. The smaller baking dish keeps all those layers snug together and gives you plenty of those crispy, golden edges we all fight over.
- A creamy lemon béchamel. Instead of the usual tomato sauce, this white lasagna gets its richness from a silky béchamel brightened with lemon, nutmeg and bay leaf.
- A delicious way to use summer zucchini. When the farmers market-and your garden-are overflowing with zucchini, this is a delicious way to turn it into something special. Add sweet leeks, garlic, smoked cheese, whole milk mozzarella, basil pesto, and suddenly zucchini is the star of dinner.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Zucchini Lasagna
- The Inspiration for This Zucchini Lasagna
- What Is White Lasagna?
- How to Make White Sauce for Lasagna
- How to Layer White Lasagna
- Why Bake Lasagna in individual ramekins?
- Tips for the Best Zucchini Lasagna
- Common questions about this recipe
- Related
- White Zucchini Lasagna for Two
- my new cookbook is here!
The Inspiration for This Zucchini Lasagna
An August visit to the farmers market is when I really notice zucchini taking over. The stalls are overflowing, and if you have a garden, well... you know. One day you have a perfectly reasonable amount of zucchini, and the next you're wondering if your neighbors might like a basket.
So I'm always looking for ways to turn that summer abundance into something a little more special than another batch of sautéed zucchini.
This zucchini lasagna was inspired by one of my favorite Instagram chefs, Julius Roberts, who I recently watched make a beautiful courgette lasagna-courgette being what zucchini is called in British English. I loved the idea of taking his farm-kitchen version and making my own riff for our smaller table.
Rather than the traditional meat and tomato sauce, zucchini and leeks take center stage. I swap in a silky, lemony béchamel for the red sauce, then add smoked Gouda, whole-milk mozzarella and a few spoonfuls of basil pesto. The combination is creamy, smoky, cheesy and bright, with just enough pesto to wake everything up.
I bake the layers in either individual ramekins or a traditional sized loaf pan until the cheese is bubbling and the edges are golden. And because the noodles and vegetables cook while the béchamel comes together, this white lasagna moves from stovetop to oven surprisingly quickly.
That's really what I love about it. It has all the cozy, layered goodness of lasagna without making a giant casserole.
Just enough for two, with no week of leftovers.
What Is White Lasagna?
Traditional lasagna usually gets its richness from tomato sauce, meat or both. White lasagna takes a different route. Instead of tomato sauce, the layers are built around a creamy white sauce, usually a béchamel, along with cheese and whatever vegetables, meat or seafood you're using.
For this zucchini lasagna, the white sauce is a classic béchamel with a few aromatics mixed in: a bay leaf, freshly grated nutmeg, lemon zest and lots of fresh squeezed lemon juice.
The lemon is subtle, but it makes a difference. It keeps all that creamy cheese from feeling heavy and lets the zucchini and basil pesto shine.
How to Make White Sauce for Lasagna
The secret to a good white sauce for lasagna is really quite simple: butter, flour and milk, whisked together until smooth and creamy.
That's béchamel.
How to Make Béchamel Sauce With Lemon
Start by melting the butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook it for about a minute, just until the flour loses its raw taste and starts to smell a little biscuit-y.
Now slowly pour in the milk while whisking constantly. Don't rush this part. A slow stream and a good whisk are your friends to avoid lumps.
Add the bay leaf, nutmeg, salt, pepper and lemon zest. Let the sauce gently cook until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 7 minutes.
Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaf and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Taste.
If you're like me and love a lemony béchamel, go ahead and squeeze in the other half.
That's it. You've just made the white sauce for your lasagna.
How to Layer White Lasagna
Start with a couple of spoonfuls of béchamel on the bottom of each ramekin or loaf pan so the noodles don't stick.
Add a lasagna sheet, then a layer of the zucchini and leek mixture.
Spoon over some more béchamel and dot with basil pesto.
Then repeat:
Noodle → zucchini → béchamel → pesto
Do this for three layers, then finish with the smoked cheese and a little olive oil.
The ramekin or loaf pan keeps all those layers tucked neatly together and gives you plenty of those crispy, golden edges I always want from a baked lasagna.
Why Bake Lasagna in individual ramekins?
Because we're cooking for two!
A traditional lasagna pan is wonderful when you're feeding a crowd, but when dinner is just two people, I don't want to make a giant casserole and spend the next four days eating leftovers.
Two oval large ramekins are the perfect size for this small-batch lasagna. The layers fit snugly, the vegetables and béchamel stay beautifully contained, and you get plenty of those crispy golden edges. But of course you can layer everything in a loaf pan to serve two from one pan.
And in my world, that's the whole point of Our Table 4 2: taking the foods we love and making them work for a smaller table.
Tips for the Best Zucchini Lasagna
Zucchini has a lot of water in it, and nobody wants a watery lasagna. A quick sauté before layering solves that problem while also giving the zucchini and leeks a little more flavor.
A few other things will help you get the best results:
- Rinse your leeks well. Dirt likes to hide between those layers. Slice them first, then swish them in a bowl of cold water and lift them out, leaving the grit behind.
- Slice the zucchini thinly. I use a mandoline on setting 3 so the slices cook quickly and layer easily. You can also use a sharp knife.
Don't overcook the zucchini. You want it tender, not mushy. It will continue cooking as the lasagna bakes.
- Grate your own cheese when you can. It melts more smoothly into a golden cheesy topping.
- Don't hold back on adding lemon to the béchamel. The bright acidity cuts through the creamy béchamel and smoky cheese and keeps this white lasagna from feeling too heavy.
- Let it rest for a few minutes before serving. I know it's tempting to cut right into that bubbling, golden lasagna, but giving it 5 minutes helps the layers settle without losing all that creamy goodness.
Love this recipe? Please leave a star rating and review in the comments below! And don't forget to subscribe to Our Table 4 2 for even more cooking for two recipes and tips.
Common questions about this recipe
You've got questions... I've got answers! If you have a question about this recipe that isn't answered below, feel free to leave it in the comments, and I'll jump in there to help you out.
Honestly, you don't need much. This white zucchini lasagna has vegetables, pasta, creamy béchamel, cheese and pesto all in one dish, so it makes a satisfying meal on its own.
If you want to add something fresh, keep it simple. A crisp green salad with a light vinaigrette is my first choice. The bright, crunchy greens balance the creamy lasagna without competing with all those delicious layers.
And that's dinner-no extra side dishes required.
Yes. No-boil lasagna noodles are an easy shortcut for this recipe. Skip the noodle-boiling step and layer the dry noodles directly into each ramekin. You might have to break up the noodles in pieces to fit snuggly in the ramekin. Just make sure the noodles are well covered with béchamel so they have enough moisture to cook while the lasagna bakes. You may need to increase your bake time until the noodles are cooked and soft.
Yes. You can assemble the lasagna ahead of time, cover it and refrigerate it until you're ready to bake. Since it is a small batch lasagna, it's especially convenient for preparing earlier in the day and baking at dinner time. If baking directly from the refrigerator, allow a little extra time for the center to heat through.
Related
Looking for other ways to turn your zucchini into a something special? Try my gluten-free pumpkin zucchini bread, Italian zucchini and ricotta salad - the prettiest salad I have every made or turkey zucchini meatballs for two.
White Zucchini Lasagna for Two
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 dried lasagna sheets about 6 ounces, you can use no-boil lasagna sheets and skip cooking the pasta step.
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon Extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¾ pound zucchini thinly sliced (using a mandolin on setting 3)
- 1 small leek root and leaf ends trimmed, then thinly sliced and rinsed (about 1 cups), see Tip
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves sliced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 1 bay leaf
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon whole nutmeg freshly grated, using a microplane.
- 1 lemon and 1 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated
- 4 ounces smoked gouda , whole-milk mozzarella or a mix, grated
- 3 to 4 ounces jarred basil pesto (about 8 heaping tablespoons)
Instructions
Cook the pasta noodles:
- Heat oven to 425 ℉. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season with salt (4 cups of water to 1 Tablespoon of salt) and lightly cook the lasagna sheets, until al dente, then drain. If the pasta is done before you're ready to use it, lightly drizzle with olive oil so the sheets don't stick together.
Saute zucchini and leeks
- Meanwhile melt 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium (10-inch) skillet over medium-high. Add the zucchini and leeks, garlic and cook. using tongs to toss and turn the Zucchini and leeks, until soft not mushy, 5 to 7 minutes. (Transfer to a large bowl.
Make the béchamel
- Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in the skillet over medium-low, then whisk in the flour until smooth and begins to smell bisquit-y, about 1 minute. While whisking constantly, slowly pour in the milk in a thin stream and whisk until it's incorporated. Whisk in salt, pepper, bay leaf, nutmeg, lemon zest until the sauce is smooth and slightly thickened, about 7 minutes. Turn off heat, squeeze juice of half a lemon. Taste and adjust as needed.
Layer the Lasagna
- When ready to assemble, remove the bay leaf from the white sauce. Then, place a couple tablespoons of bechamel on the bottom of each 16 ounce ramekin or loaf pan. Spread to cover the bottom. Lay one lasagna sheets over the sauce (it's okay if the noodles hang over the edge). For individual ramekins: Evenly divide spread a third of the zucchini mixture over the noodle in each ramekin. Now, spread ¼ cup bechamel then dot with a couple tablespoons of pesto in each ramekin. Repeat two more times: Noodle, zucchini mixture, bechamel sauce, pesto. Finish with the smoked gouda and mozzarella , a sprinkle of olive oil and a couple twists of freshly ground pepper.For a loaf pan: Layer a fourth of the zucchini mixture over the noodle. Now, spread heaping ⅛ cup bechamel then dot with a two tablespoons of pesto. Repeat four more times: Noodle, zucchini mixture, bechamel sauce, pesto. Using a total of 5 noodles. Finish with the smoked gouda and mozzarella , a sprinkle of olive oil and a couple twists of freshly ground pepper.
- Cover each ramekin or loaf pan with foil, place on baking sheet to catch any spills. Bake lasagna until it's bubbling, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until the edges are golden brown and the cheese has melted, 5-10 minutes.
Notes
Your Notes, Tips and Tricks
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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