These vegan zucchini roll ups are stuffed with a 3-ingredient white bean ricotta and sprinkled with walnuts for a deliciously creamy twist on gluten-free lasagna. Such a simple meal for any day of the week.
Why you’ll love it
Well, for starters: what’s not to love about a meal that only requires 6 ingredients? I mean, come on! How much easier can a quality, delicious, home-cooked meal be? Here’s why you (and your family) are going to be making this over and over again:
- Simple
- Quick
- Satisfying
- Creamy
- Fun
White Bean Ricotta
Bust out that food processor and let’s make some white bean ricotta for our zucchini lasagna roll ups. To the bowl of the food processor add your drained and rinsed white beans, fresh basil leaves, and vegan parmesan. Now, BLEND!
You are going to want to stop periodically and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. And it’s going to come together into a ball. Don’t panic. I know it’s thick. It will all work out in the end. The thick ricotta is perfect for dropping on the zucchini strips and will ensure that nothing goops out once they’re rolled up. Trust me, thick ricotta works here.
Roll ’em Up!
Once you’ve made the ricotta preheat the oven to 350*F and grab a loaf pan. Pour about 1/4 of a cup of sauce onto the bottom of the baking dish and spread it around, evenly coating the bottom with sauce. Carefully sliced the zucchini lengthwise using a mandolin (or a sharp knife). Lay out 4 zucchini noodles. We’re going to work 4 noodles at a time. Spread 1.5 tablespoons of ricotta over 2/3 of the zucchini noodle (as shown below). Continue with the other 3 noodles.
Then, gently roll up the noodles and place them, standing up, in the prepared baking dish. Tip: make sure that the seam of the noodle is pressed up against the side of dish or another noodle to keep it closed.
Continue rolling the remainder of your zucchini until the dish is full. Add the chopped walnuts by sprinkling over the zucchini roll ups and tucking them into open spaces (see photo below).
Finally, pour 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce over the top and gently spread it around so that the zucchini roll ups are covered.
Bake ’em Up!
Cover the dish with a rimmed baking sheet (or foil) and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. Allow the roll ups to sit for 10 minutes before scooping them out and serving.
Top with additional marinara sauce, crumbled walnuts (raw or toasted), vegan cheese of choice, and some fresh minced herbs of choice. Or, just grab-em and go for it. No matter how you eat ’em, they’re sure to be a hit. Enjoy friends!
Ingredient Health Benefits
Basil- phytochemicals, volatile oils (antibacterial properties)
Walnuts- omega 3s, thaimine, B6, folic acid, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, vitamin E, polyphenols
White beans
Zucchini
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Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
White Bean Ricotta
- 2, 15oz cans white beans, drained and rinsed
- handful fresh basil
- ¼ cup vegan parmesan*
Lasagna Roll Ups
- 2-3 medium zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise on a mandalin
- 2 cups marinara sauce**
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a loaf pan by spreading ¼ cup of marinara sauce evenly over the bottom of the dish.
- Place ½ cup of raw walnuts into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times until the walnuts are chopped. Alternatively, roughly chop them using a sharp kitchen knife. Set aside.
- Place the drained and rinsed white beans, fresh basil, and vegan parmesan into the empty bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth (or slightly chunky depending on preference) and comes together in a ball.
- Lay out 4 of the zucchini ribbons and spread each with 1½ tbsp of ricotta mixture.
- Roll up the zucchini ribbons and gently place, vertically, into the baking dish (see pictures above). Continue filling the zucchini ribbons with the ricotta until your dish is full.
- Sprinkle the chopped walnuts on the zucchini roll ups. Top with 1-1½ cups of marinara sauce. Make sure that the each zucchini roll up is covered with sauce.
- Place a rimmed baking sheet over the dish (or cover with foil) and carefully place in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes then remove the covering and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
- Allow the rolls ups to sit for 10 minutes before scooping out and serving. Top with additional vegan parmesan cheese and fresh basil if desired.
