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Because when life gives you zucchini, you turn it into something super cheesy.
Or at least that’s the way I like to do it, but then you guys know how much I love cheese! And yes, I did make us ravioli using zucchini “noodles”. I know I am typically all about real deal pasta, but you know, sometimes swapping veggies for carbs just works better. A tip though…serve this with bread. You know, for dipping into that homemade tomato sauce. <–oooops, you knew I’d sneak those carbs in somewhere!
*side note*–> I just re-read that very first line of this post and I swear I didn’t mean for it to sound so cheesy, but I kind of like it.
Anyway, I feel like this is a quintessential way to use up all the zucchini that summer has been offering us. I mean, what could be better than zucchini stuffed with not one, not two, but THREE cheeses. Answer? Nothing, this dish is so delicious even you pasta lovers out there will love this recipe.
Trust me, if we all love it over here, you will to!
Okay, here’s the deal, I’ve been wracking my brain all summer long, trying to come up with some new and exciting zucchini recipes. I feel like zucchini noodles have been done over and over again. And I feel like zucchini lasagna is a pretty common thing as well. So then I got to thinking a little further and wondered about a cheese stuffed zucchini ravioli thing.
Originally this recipe was supposed to use real, deal pasta, but when I had the idea to use the zucchini noodles as pasta, I just knew I had to combine my two recipe ideas and make them into one. It’s summer and I feel like lighter dishes are welcomed…right? Say yes!
So this (finally) brings us to the recipe!
It’s zucchini (I also used yellow summer squash) wrapped around a bundle of cheese (hello to ricotta, feta, and parmesan), then served over a warm batch of homemade roasted tomato sauce.
Yesssssss.
This is basically summer in a baking dish and I love it.
The recipe starts off by making the tomato sauce, but don’t worry there’s nothing hard about this tomato sauce. Then add everything to a baking dish and throw it in the oven for fifteen minutes or so. Pretty stinking simple.
While the sauce is doing its thing in the oven, start making the ravioli. I like to use a mandolin to uniformly cut my zucchini into eighth inch slices, but a vegetable peeler will work great too! Then mix up your cheeses in a bowl and it’s assembly time.
I took a few photos of the process for you guys so you could see how I wrapped up my ravioli, but it’s really as simple is taking four zucchini “noodles” making a star with them and then wrapping the ends up and around the cheese. See? Simple!
Now take those ravioli and lay them in the baking dish with all those flavorful tomatoes and bake a few minutes more, until the ravioli are warmed throughout and that cheese is a melty inside.
Top with fresh herbs (I used basil and thyme), and plenty of shaved parmesan, and then…dig in.
Oh, and lastly, add that piece of fresh bread for the extra sauce. <– do it, I promise you will not regret it.
I’ve got to say…Thursday night dinner never looked so good. And even though this recipe is pretty easy and pretty healthy, it’s also fun enough to serve up on a Friday or Saturday night too. Maybe add a fun cocktail or glass of wine and then finish the night off with a summer galette?
Yup, I’d say that right there is my kind of Friday night.
Watch the How To Video:
3 Cheese Zucchini "Ravioli" with Roasted Tomato Basil Sauce
Servings: 6 servings
Calories Per Serving: 280 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 heirloom tomatoes, sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- large handful fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and pepper
- 3 medium zucchini or summer squash
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.In a baking dish, layer the tomato slices, garlic, and cherry tomatoes. Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, thyme, crushed red pepper, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Toss lightly to combine. Bake for 15 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to burst. Meanwhile, make the ravioli. Using a mandolin or vegetable peeler, peel the zucchini into 1/4 inch wide strips and lay them flat on a paper towel lined counter. Sprinkle the zucchini with salt. In a medium bowl, combine the cheeses, basil, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Grab 4 zucchini "noodles" and layer them to make a star. Start with 1 noodle, then add another to make a X. Now make another X with the remaining 2 noodles that will overlap with the current X (see above photo). Spoon about 1 tablespoon of filling onto the center of the zucchini. Bring the ends of the zucchini together, laying them over the cheese. Repeat with remaining zucchini and filling. Remove the tomatoes from the oven and lay the ravioli seam side down in the sauce. Drizzle the ravioli lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes or until the ravioli is warmed though. Serve with fresh basil and grated parmesan. Enjoy!
Pretty healthy food you say? Yep, going with it!
This looks wonderful and I am looking forward to trying it! I know this recipe is a few years old, but I have a question about quantities: you show 6 “raviolis” in the pan, and say that each one should get about 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture – for a total of 6 tablespoons. But the recipe calls for a total of 2 cups of cheese, which is equivalent to 32 tablespoons! So…..should I put more like 1/4 c. of cheeses in each ravioli, which does makes sense if each ravioli is a whole serving?
Or will the recipe actually make more than 6 ravioli (and if so will I need a second pan?)
Or, do you normally end up with a lot of leftover cheese mixture?
Thanks!
Hey Shannan, Yes why don’t you use closer to 3-4 tablespoons. You will have some cheese leftover. You only need 1 baking pan. So sorry for the confusion, I just did the math incorrectly. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
So good!!!!……and so easy to make! Fantastic presentation, too! Thanks for making me a star in the kitchen!
Awh that is so sweet to hear! Thank you so much Dina! xTieghan
I am a lasagna fanatic and this reminded me of the freshest light summer lasagna! It was so balanced with that hit of acid from the balsamic. I did end up with some leftover after making my “ravioli” and just rolled those up which I’d probably do next time, just cause it went much faster. Thanks!
Thank you so much Joey! I am so glad you love this recipe! xTieghan
More Keto dishes like this please! Love this!
Thank you Kelly! I will try! xTieghan
Made this the other night and it was delicious!! Everything from the sauce to the cheese blend was on point!! The only thing I felt I needed to change was the thickness of the the noodles. I used my mandolin, (which is always great to break out), and sliced it 1/4″ but it seemed the squash was too thick to fold, so I dropped it to an 1/8″. Worked much better! Love your blog and your recipes!!
Thank you so much Barbara! I am so happy to hear that this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I can’t wait to try this recipe! It looks absolutely delicious! Can I make ahead and serve the next day? Or are there some steps I can make ahead and then put together and bake the next day? Thanks.
Hey Jane! You can certainly make this ahead and then serve OR you can prepare the dish all the way up until the final bake, then chill the dish and finish baking the following say. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Amazing recipe idea! I had some roasted butternut squash I needed to use up, so I made a filling with it, sautéd onions and mushrooms, seasoned with a little cinnamon, salt , pepper and garlic. I added some Parmesan and Colby jack grated cheese to the filling and made the packets with that. When I took the pan out of the oven, the tomatoes had disintegrated, so I removed the zucchini bundles and then cooked the tomatoes into a sauce on the stovetop. My husband raves about these “ravioli”! Thanks for posting this very adaptable, GENIUS idea!
Wow I am so glad you both loved this! Thank you so much!
I LOVE this recipe! The zucchini, the cheese on top of the tomatoes. YUM!!!
Thank you so much Amy!
I made this and it was absolutely delicious. Would not change a thing. Thank you for a great recipe!
Thank you Allison!
Love, love this! I make it multiple times each year with fresh tomatoes, squash and herbs from my garden. The sauce is magnificent!
Thank you so much Lonnie! I am so glad you loved this!
Great recipe! I have so much zucchini right now in my garden that I was wondering if you could freeze this and do the tomatoes after defrosting? I would appreciate your thought on this. Thanks
Yes, I think that will work great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! x Tieghan
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I made these the other day and they turned out delicious! We didn’t have any cherry tomatoes at home, so instead I chopped up some roma tomatoes into big chunks. I used a mix of fresh and dry herbs, and it turned out all the more delicious. Getting the zucchini slices thin enough took a bit of experimenting, and I ended up using small leftover bits to make tiny little parcels as well. If the parcels wouldn’t close because the slices were too thick or something I just put them down the other way and it worked out fine! Thanks for such a tasty recipe, I can’t wait to make them again 🙂
Thank you so much Anna! I am so glad you loved this recipe and I hope you like others on my blog!
Me again! Still loving this! Have made it 4 times and am making again as I type. Still have the same question though..,where does the garlic go?
That is so awesome!! Thank you so much, Jen!! The garlic gets stirred in with the tomatoes. Recipe is fixed! 🙂
Thank you for another Home run recipe. Full flavored, wonderful use of fresh local summer produce. My wife is a pasta fanatic, she was totally impressed with this dish.
Love this dish, will double the recipe next time, its that delicious.
The tomato sauce is something else. You rock Tieghan!!!!
Awh yay so happy you tried it and liked it Joe, thank you so much!