When it comes to easy, healthy-ish summer recipes, my Zucchini Rollatini is top tier! Paper-thin slices of zucchini are rolled around a cheesy blend of ricotta and baby spinach and topped with the simplest marinara and fresh basil. This dish tastes like summer!
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One of the BEST ways to use zucchini!
Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables to grow, to eat, and to cook with because it’s extremely versatile!
I’ll use them for fried zucchini, sausage-stuffed zucchini boats, zucchini tomato shrimp pasta, zucchini bread with cream cheese frosting, and more, but one of my favorite ways to use them is for zucchini rollatini.
Zucchini rollatini is the easier, healthier version of eggplant rollatini, and is every bit as delicious! You won’t even notice that the zucchini are not breaded or fried.
This dish is loaded with all the flavors of summer and is perfect as a main course, but is also great alongside grilled chicken thighs, grilled pork chops, or anything else from the grill!
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Zucchini. Look for firm, medium-sized zucchini.
- Spinach. I’m using fresh baby spinach, but you could use frozen spinach too.
- Cheese. Ricotta, mozzarella, and Pecorino Romano are the 3 cheeses I’m using for my zucchini rollatini. Be sure to drain your ricotta for about 2 hours or so to remove excess moisture, especially if you’re using a wetter ricotta, such as Polly-O brand.
- Tomatoes. I make a very simple marinara sauce to top the zucchini rollatini. I prefer to use canned whole plum tomatoes, but you can also use canned crushed tomatoes.
- Herbs. Fresh parsley and basil give this dish incredible flavor!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
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How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Thinly slice the zucchini using a vegetable peeler or mandoline with a guard.
- Salt the zucchini in a colander for 60-90 minutes.
- Saute the garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the tomatoes, simmer to thicken, and turn the heat to low. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook the spinach, then combine with the ricotta, basil, parsley, 3/4 cup of mozzarella, 1/4 cup of pecorino, and pepper, then taste test and adjust salt as needed prior to adding the beaten egg.
- Rinse the zucchini to remove the salt, dry with paper towels, then place 3-5 slices of zucchini overlapping each other. Place 2-3 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture in the middle of the zucchini layers, then roll them and leave the seam side down. Repeat the process for remaining zucchini.
- Spoon the marinara into a baking dish and place the zucchini rollatini seam side down.
- Spoon more marinara on top along with the remaining mozzarella and pecorino and bake for 20-30 minutes in a 400°F oven until bubbly and golden on top. Broil for the last 1-2 minutes if desired, but watch carefully. Allow the zucchini rollatini to rest for 15 minutes before serving with extra sauce on the side.
Top tips
- Tools. Use a good-quality vegetable peeler or mandoline with a guard to get thin slices of zucchini.
- Salt the zucchini. For best results, don’t skip this step. A lot of water will be pulled from the zucchini strips and will yield better textured zucchini. Make sure to dry the pieces after rinsing.
- Make extra! Zucchini rollatini freezes well, so make an extra batch, pop in the freezer, and save it for a night when you want to hit the easy button!
More zucchini recipes
Zucchini has been a lifelong companion, starring in some of my favorite childhood dishes and memories. I can still remember my grandma making her zucchini soup with broken spaghetti and fried zucchini pasta (Spaghetti alla Nerano). Here are a few more of my absolute favorites that I know you’ll love!
- Roasted zucchini pasta
- Sweet and sour zucchini
- Zucchini alla parmigiana
- Italian zucchini casserole
- Lemon ricotta stuffed zucchini
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Zucchini Rollatini
Ingredients
Base ingredients
- 3-4 medium zucchini thinly sliced, see notes below
- 1 1/2 cups (360g) ricotta drained for at least 2 hours
- 1 cup baby spinach steamed, drained, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 cup (45g) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1 cup (113g) shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- 1/4 cup minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 1 large egg
For the sauce
- 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes hand crushed or blender pulsed
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 packed cup basil leaves chopped
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Instructions
First, prep the zucchini
- Slice the zucchini lengthwise into very thin strips with a mandoline or vegetable peeler, stopping once the seed area is reached. The center 1/2" with mostly seeds should not be used and can be saved for another purpose. Layer the zucchini strips in a colander and sprinkle kosher salt on each layer. Place a plate and a couple of cans on top to weigh it down and accelerate water release. Let the zucchini release water for 60-90 minutes.
Make the sauce
- Heat a large pan to medium with the olive oil and add the garlic. Cook until golden then add the optional hot red pepper flakes and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the plum tomatoes and bring to a lively simmer, about 3-5 minutes. Once the sauce starts to thicken, turn the heat to the lowest setting and cover with the lid cracked. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the basil to the sauce right before assembling the zucchini rollatini.
Assemble and bake
- Cook the spinach in the microwave for 60 seconds, then when able to handle, squeeze the spinach in a clean kitchen towel to remove the moisture. Finely chop the spinach.
- Combine the spinach with the ricotta, basil, parsley, 3/4 cups mozzarella, 1/4 cup pecorino, and a half teaspoon of pepper. Mix well and taste test. Adjust salt levels to desired taste and then add 1 beaten egg and mix to combine.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and set the rack to the middle level.
- Rinse the zucchini to remove the excess salt and dry off thoroughly with paper towels.
- On a large clean surface layer 3-5 pieces of zucchini lengthwise overlapping each other. Place 2-3 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture in the middle of the zucchini layers. Roll up the zucchini and leave the seam side down. Work in batches until all of the zucchini slices are used up.
- Layer a half inch of marinara sauce into the bottom of a large baking dish. Place all of the zucchini rollatini, seam side down, into the baking dish. Spoon some more of the sauce onto each rollatini and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Pecorino Romano cheese.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top. The rollatini can be broiled for the last 1-2 minutes but watch carefully. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving so that the rollatini can settle. Any extra sauce can be served on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
- How to get thin slices. Slicing the zucchini with a mandoline works great but a vegetable peeler works well too.
- Salting zucchini. Though salting the zucchini really helps draw the water out and is recommended, if short on time, you could forgo the step.
- Ricotta. Draining the ricotta for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight, is also recommended to remove excess water. To quickly drain the ricotta, place it in a multiple cheesecloths and squeeze the water out.
- Leftovers. Zucchini rollatini can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and reheated in the oven at 350f until warm or in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Freeze for up to 6 months and reheat in the oven at 350f until hot.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on June 11, 2021. It was completely updated on July 14, 2025.
I can’t wait to make this! If I am using fresh tomatoes from the garden, do you have a link for a recipe on how to make the sauce for this?
Hi Julie, I’m not sure which type of tomatoes you’re using. We have several recipes using cherry tomatoes for sauces, but none that use other types of tomatoes to make a sauce.
Excellent Zuchini Rollatinis!
I made them yesterday for dinner!
Mmmmmm good!
We’re so happy you enjoyed!