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Filled with melty cheese, shredded zucchini, and marinara, these lasagna roll ups are saucy, satisfying, and seriously delicious. It’s a flavorful twist on classic lasagna that’s make-ahead and freezer-friendly, too.
We love to enjoy these rollups with a Mediterranean-style starter, such as minestrone soup and a scoop of my easy homemade caponata.
I don’t know about you and your fam, but we’re in our lasagna-everything phase over here, from crockpot lasagna to white chicken lasagna, even lasagna soup! If it involves noodles and cheese, I’m in! So naturally, lasagna rolls had to happen. And fast.
My cheesy lasagna roll ups are everything you love about traditional lasagna, just rolled up and way more fun to serve! Instead of layering, we’re spiraling tender lasagna noodles around a creamy, cheesy zucchini filling, then baking them in savory marinara until bubbly. The individual rolls are perfectly portioned, so satisfying, and honestly… kind of better than the classic.
Why You’ll Love This Lasagna Roll Ups Recipe
- Meal Prep. Lasagna rollups are great for make ahead! Once baked, store your lasagna ingredients in individual portions for easy freezing and reheating.
- Tasty. These lasagna rolls are filled with fresh zucchini mixed with ricotta, cream cheese, and a melty cheese blend. Pour over your favorite jarred marinara sauce, and the flavors are second to none.
- Flexible. You can make this recipe meatless or not, and fill the lasagna roll ups with even more delicious ingredients and add-ins.
Ingredients for Lasagna Roll Ups
Here’s what you’ll need to make these cheesy zucchini lasagna roll ups. I’ve added a few notes below with easy swaps and tips, and you can scroll down to the recipe card for the full amounts and instructions!
- Tomato Sauce: Use your favorite store-bought tomato sauce, pasta sauce, or marinara sauce.
- Lasagna Noodles: Use the flat sheets or the ruffled edges noodles. Each lasagna sheet makes one roll-up.
- Cream Cheese: You can use fat free or full fat cream cheese; just make sure that it is softened and at room temperature before using it so it blends more easily.
- Ricotta Cheese: Ricotta is a soft Italian cheese. Cottage cheese makes a good swap.
- Shredded Cheese: I use a pre-shredded cheese blend of mozzarella, provolone, romano, and asiago cheese in the lasagna filling.
- Eggs: Adds moisture to the cheese blend and helps to hold everything together.
- Garlic: I almost always use fresh garlic, but a teaspoon of garlic powder will work.
- Parsley: I use fresh parsley in the filling, but a teaspoon of Italian seasoning is a good addition or substitute.
- Salt and Black Pepper: Add to taste to bring out the flavor in the filling. I like to use freshly ground black pepper for a little extra punch.
- Zucchini: Shredded zucchini is my vegetable of choice. Spinach and mushrooms are also good options.
- Mozzarella: Additional mozzarella for topping the roll-ups. If you’d like, mix it up with parmesan cheese for a stronger bite.
Recipe Tips & Variations
- Grate the cheese fresh from the block. A package of pre-grated cheese is convenient, but if you have time, grate your own cheese.
- Boil extra lasagna noodles in case some of the pasta breaks or tears while it cooks or while you roll it. Be careful only to boil the lasagna noodles to al dente, and don’t overcook.
- To keep the lasagna sheets from sticking together, keep them covered in cold water while you work.
- Meat sauce. If you want to add meat to your lasagna roll-ups recipe, Italian sausage is my go-to. You can also add cooked ground beef or pork sausage to the tomato sauce, or substitute the marinara in this recipe with your favorite meat sauce or ragu.
- More vegetables. You could bulk up the filling with diced sautéed mushrooms, canned or frozen spinach, eggplant, or cherry tomatoes. A rolled-up version of my butternut squash lasagna would also be amazing.
- Herbs. In place of parsley, feel free to use another fresh herb like basil, thyme, or rosemary.
- Use zucchini. For a lighter variation, try my zucchini lasagna roll ups that swap lasagna noodles for fresh zucchini slices!
Serving Suggestions
This lasagna roll-ups recipe pairs perfectly with a variety of sides to make it a full meal. I love serving it with warm skillet bread, garlic breadsticks, or slices of homemade garlic bread to soak up all that delicious marinara. Add a fresh, crisp salad like my homemade chef salad or the La Scala chopped salad to balance the richness.
For veggies, I think my roasted artichokes are excellent here, but so are these air fryer carrots or roasted mushrooms. And if you’re starting with something light, go for these stuffed grape leaves.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Fridge. Store Any leftover lasagna roll ups in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Reheat the rolls in the microwave or in the oven until hot throughout.
- Freezer. These lasagna roll-ups freeze well. Transfer them to an airtight, freezer-safe container and keep them frozen for up to 3 months. You can thaw these rolls overnight in the fridge or heat them in the microwave straight from frozen (use the defrost setting first).
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Lasagna Roll Ups
Ingredients
- 28 ounces jar of marinara sauce, divided
- 14 lasagna noodles
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup shredded zucchini, about 1 small zucchini (see notes below)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 375ºF and line two baking sheets with foil and set aside. Spread half the marinara sauce over the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish; set aside.
- Cook the noodles. Cook the lasagna noodles according to the directions on the package. Rinse and drain the noodles.
- Make the filling. In the meantime, combine the cream cheese, ricotta cheese, shredded cheese, eggs, garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; stir until well combined. Add the shredded zucchini and stir just until incorporated.
- Assemble. Arrange the lasagna noodles, one next to another, onto the foil-lined baking sheets. Spoon the cheese mixture down the center over each lasagna noodle, distributing evenly, and then roll them up tightly.
- Bake. Place the lasagna rolls seam-side-down in the baking dish with the tomato sauce. Top the rolls with the remaining marinara sauce and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the roll-ups. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until heated through.
- Finish and serve. Remove the lasagna roll ups from the oven and let them cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Equipment
Notes
- After shredding the zucchini, use a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth to squeeze out as much moisture as possible. The drier it is, the better your filling will hold up.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Lasagna Roll Ups
Ready to roll? You can have these savory, saucy lasagna rolls on the table in under an hour!
- Prep. Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions, then drain and rinse them. Meanwhile, spread spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9×13” baking dish.
- Make the cheese mixture. Stir together the cheeses, eggs, garlic, parsley, and salt and pepper in a large bowl, and fold in shredded zucchini.
- Assemble and roll. Lay out the cooked lasagna noodles on a foil-lined baking sheet(s). Spread the cheese filling evenly over each noodle sheet and roll them up tight.
- Finish and bake. Transfer your roll-ups to the baking dish, pour over additional tomato sauce, and top with shredded mozzarella. Finally, bake the lasagna roll ups at 375ºF for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Enjoy! Serve the lasagna rolls with a side of salad or garlic bread, and dig in. You can also store these for easy meal prep, see below for more ideas.
How To Make Ahead
To make your lasagna roll ups ahead, assemble them up to 24 hours in advance and store them unbaked in the fridge, covered. You can also freeze the prepared roll-ups for up to 1 month. When you’re ready to cook, thaw them overnight in the fridge and bake as directed.
Looks incredibly delicious! I would love to make his!
This is the PERFECT easy dinner! Thank you!!!
These look so good! I love this method of making lasagna. It’s so much easier than layering it the traditional way.
I was very unsure about this recipe, anything with no meat and cooked vegetables in it would usually be an instant “nope“ from my hubby. We prepared this one together and even as we were doing that he seemed a bit concerned. Once we finally got to dig,in get this – he actually loved it! He gave it a 9/10 which almost never happens – thank you so much for this recipe it will absolutely be added into our usual rotation. For anyone not sure about this – believe me it is fantastic! (even for those picky eaters).
Thanks so much, Chelsea, for chiming in!! I am so happy to know that you enjoyed the lasagna rolls! I love them and make these quite often with all sorts of fillings. I just made it with spinach and feta… we LOVED it! 😀 Give it a try.
This deliciousness has entertaining written all over it!