Summer squash lasagna with early girl tomatoes, goat cheese, and mozzarella. I’m a sucker for homemade marinara sauce – It’s easier than you think to make and so incredibly delicious, especially as we head into tomato season!
Private Chef Tips – for the Summer Squash Lasagna:
- I’m using a combination of early girl tomatoes (a very sweet and delicious varietal that you can only get in the summer) and canned fire roasted tomatoes. Feel free to just use canned tomatoes if you can’t get ripe in season tomatoes. The sautéed onions cut the acidity of the tomatoes and add this beautiful sweetness to the dish.
- Season every ingredient you add to the pot. Taste for salt along the way.
- I’m using chevre goat cheese, a milder, creamy cheese that adds a unique flavor. I didn’t like goat cheese until I had it in culinary school, and now LOVE the flavor the cheese adds in this summer squash lasagn. If you don’t like goat cheese, feel free to skip and just use mozzarella.
- I ended up making this recipe into (2) 8”x8” pans since I didn’t have a larger pan. I’m going to freeze one for a lazy day, but this recipe will also work for a 9” x 13” pan.
- My layering goes like this (I like more sauce :D): sauce, pasta, cheese, sauce, pasta, cheese, sauce, pasta, sauce, cheese.
Summer Squash Lasagna
- Total Time: 1.5 hours
- Yield: serves 6
Description
Summer squash lasagna with early girl tomatoes, goat cheese, and mozzarella. I’m a sucker for homemade marinara sauce – It’s easier than you think to make and so incredibly delicious, especially as we head into tomato season!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 Zucchini, cut into 1/4 moons
- 2 yellow squash, cut into 1/4 moons
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 6 early girl tomatoes, diced
- 14 ounce crushed canned tomatoes
- 2 Teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 lb (pound) ground turkey
- 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
- 4 ounces chevre goat cheese
- black pepper
- 1/4 Bunch basil , optional – for garnish
- 16 ounces of lasagna noodles (I use either the fresh lasagna noodles, or the no boil type)
- 2 Tablespoons neutral oil, like canola, avocado, grapeseed oil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flake
Instructions
- Dice the onion.
- Heat a large pot on medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and the diced onions, ground turkey, and a large pinch of kosher salt. Use a wooden spoon to break apart the ground turkey, and sauté for about 5-6 minutes.
- As the onion and turkey are cooking, mince the garlic and slice the zucchini and squash..
- Add the minced garlic, diced zucchini, squash, dried oregano, and red pepper flake. Stir together and let cook for about 5 minutes.
- As this cooks together, dice the tomatoes. Add in the crushed tomatoes, the diced tomatoes, another big pinch of kosher salt, and black pepper. Bring up to a boil, and let simmer covered for 10 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, taste, adjust seasoning (more salt and pepper to taste), and remove from heat. Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Begin to assemble to lasagna. In a 9″ by 13″ baking dish or cast iron, add a layer of 1/3 of the sauce. Top with an even layer of the lasagna noodle sheets, 1/3 of the chèvre goat cheese (just break apart small pieces from the log or spoon 1/2 tablespoon dollops across the lasagna), and a big handful of mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup). Repeat this process for another 2 layers.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, broil for another 3-4 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and bubble, and remove from the oven. Let cool for 10 minutes, cut, and serve.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Easy Gourmet
- Method: Oven & Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Jackie has done it again – this was absolutely delicious! Made exactly as-is except for shortening the broil period since my oven has the tendency to burn things. What a lovely way to use summer produce 🙂