For years, one of my go-to dinners in the summer was zucchini lasagna, where zucchini is used in place of noodles. It’s delightful, but it’s also very labor-intensive, requiring you to slice the zucchini into long, thin planks, salt each individual plank, wipe each individual plank, and then layer the zucchini “noodles” with ricotta, sauce, and mozzarella. Now I have far too many children to be salting individual planks of zucchini—so I make this. It’s a dump-and-go skillet meal that has all of those favorite flavors in a way, way quicker and easier format.
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Recipe information
Total Time
15 minutes
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
2
1
3
1¾
1
2
1
½
1
4
4
Need to make a substitution?
Preparation
Step 1
Heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add 1 lb. ground turkey and cook, breaking up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until mostly cooked through with only a little pink remaining, about 4 minutes. Add 3 medium zucchini (about 20 oz.), halved lengthwise, sliced crosswise ⅛" thick, and 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt; season with freshly ground black pepper. Increase heat to high and cook, stirring often, until meat is cooked through and no longer pink and zucchini is tender, 6–8 minutes.
Step 2
Reduce heat to medium and stir in one 14.5-oz. can tomato sauce, 2 tsp. Italian seasoning, 1 tsp. garlic powder, ½ tsp. onion powder, ¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal or Morton kosher salt, and half of 1 cup thinly sliced basil leaves. Taste zucchini mixture and season with more salt and pepper if needed. Swirl in spoonfuls of 4 oz. whole-milk ricotta (about ½ cup), then sprinkle 4 oz. mozzarella, coarsely grated (about ¾ cup), over. Reduce heat to low, cover pan, and cook until mozzarella is melted, about 4 minutes.
Step 3
Top zucchini mixture with remaining basil and crushed red pepper flakes (if using) to serve.