Sausage & Zoodle (Zucchini Noodles) Bake

If you're craving pasta / something lasagna-"like" (lasagna-adjacent?), this honestly is really good. The Zucchini noodles don't taste like you're compromising and just eating squash, and the rest is what you might find in a pasta bake/lasagna/whatever.  I was pleasantly surprised at how this one turned out!

It's certainly not as pretty as a real lasagna, but the flavor is actually close enough to satisfy a craving.

Sausage & Zoodle Bake Notes:

So let's get the most important thing out of the way first.  The word "Zoodle" is possibly the dumbest thing I've ever heard.  But that's what people are going to be searching for if they're looking for something like this, so here we are.

Now that little detail has been addressed, they actually taste pretty good!  To be clear, nothing that's pretending to be pasta that is not real pasta is ever going to fool anyone, but if you must, (or choose) to avoid the real thing, this really isn't a bad substitute at all.  Just treat it like it is it's own thing, and dig in.

I made this one with shredded mozzarella and parmesan, but it would be good with some ricotta on the bottom layer of cheese also.

You'll need a way to cut the zucchini noodles, the easy way is to get a spiralizer.  It makes quick work of them, and they come out all curly/fancy looking.  Or you could slice them into straight "noodles" on a mandolin.  

I'm cooking for two here, this recipe is sized for approximately 6 portions in an 8x8 dish, enough for 2 people to have some leftovers.  If you're using a 9x11 just approximate the increase in ingredients.  (this isn't an exact science)

Once the zucchini has drained, rinse, dry, and taste it.  I didn't feel like it took on a lot of salt flavor, so I still seasoned the whole thing before baking, but try it & if they're salty you might want to omit seasoning the final combined dish.

This is important!:  If you don't salt and drain the noodles, they will get mushy and you'll have a ton of water in the bottom of your dish!  Toss them with kosher salt and put them in a colander in another bowl for at least 2 hours.  They'll lose a lot of water.  Even after doing this I still had some water in the bottom, I should have squeezed them in paper towels to remove more excess liquid.  But it wasn't too bad.

I used a jar of Rao's sauce, but if you have the time and ambition, it would be great (even better?) with a homemade pasta sauce also.

Ingredients:

• Zucchini, I used 3 medium-large size zucchini (about the size you'd usually get from the grocery store.  Spiralized
• 2-3 teaspoons salt for salting the noodles before draining
• 10-12 oz Italian sausage.
• 1.5 C. Diced Onion
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced or put through a garlic press.
• 1 jar marinara sauce, (Rao's had less carbs, and I think is better than most other brands, but you definitely pay for it.)
• 1 to 1.5 C Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• Parmesan cheese, probably 1/3 cup or so?  I didn't measure, just enough to put a decent amount on the top of the whole thing.
• Optional:  2-3 tsp crushed red pepper.
• Salt and Pepper to season.

Directions:

• Prep the zucchini: 

 

Follow the directions for your spiralizer and make the noodles.  Salt them and toss thoroughly, put them in a colander and put that in a bowl to catch the water, leave it to drain for at least 2 hours.  I had at least a cup of water drained into the bowl.

• Cook the sausage:

My sausage had plenty of fat in it, so I didn't use any oil.  Break it up in the pan, cook over medium heat until it's cooked through and browned.  Set aside, reserve a couple tsp. of fat in the pan.

• Sauté the onions and garlic, and then simmer with the sauce.

In the reserved fat, add the diced onions, sauté for a few minutes until they're cooked.  Add garlic and sauté for another minute.  Stir frequently!  Then add the jar of sauce (or your homemade sauce) and simmer it together for a while...maybe 10 min?  Again, not a science here.

• Put it together.

Return the sausage to the pot and add the noodles.  Mix well until everything is coated with sauce, and transfer to your casserole dish.

• Top with Cheese, and bake.

Spread your mozzarella over the top, then add the parmesan.  Bake uncovered at 350° F until the cheese is as done as you like.  As you can see, I like my cheese to be more on the browned side, so mine went for probably 50 minutes.  If you want it more melty and less brown, try 35-40 minutes.  Cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving. 

 

Still had some water in the bottom of the dish.  

I think I could improve that, but it wasn't a big deal to just drain it off before serving.