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Now let’s talk lasagna—the light, juicy, crispy-edged kind that’s just right for summer. It’s not The Best Lasagna You’ll Ever Make – Restaurant Quality (my crowning glory from Christmas, made with pork shoulder and Italian sausage), but that one will absolutely heat up your kitchen. This one? It’s breezy, fresh, and superbly suited for summer—and my husband and I can’t get enough.
🔥 Why This Lasagna Is Totally Worth Turning on the Oven
This isn’t the heavy, bubbling lasagna you save for cold weather. It’s a lighter, brighter take, built with fresh veggies, soft pasta, and crackly golden edges that deliver every time.
The filling? Just grated zucchini, ripe tomatoes, ricotta, basil, and crushed tomatoes. That’s it. No sautéing. No fussy sauce. Everything goes into the pan fresh—and comes out tasting like summer. The noodles soak up all that tomato-zucchini goodness and become soft and flavorful in the best way.
Better yet? This lasagna shines at room temperature. It’s so much better than pasta salad, and it comes together quickly.
🧺 What You’ll Need for This No-Fuss Summer Lasagna
These simple ingredients layer into something way more than the sum of their parts:
- Frilly lasagna noodles (the kind with ruffles!)
- Ricotta
- Zucchini
- Canned crushed tomatoes
- Fresh tomatoes (cherry or heirloom)
- Basil leaves
- Parmesan
- Kosher salt
- Olive oil
No browning. No simmering. Just bright, fresh, raw ingredients that bake into something magical.
🕒 Quick Steps to Assemble and Bake
This part is fast—under 5 minutes, truly.
- Boil your pasta until tender (but not too soft).
- Oil your baking dish and dust it with grated parmesan.
- Layer like this: pasta, sauce, tomatoes, ricotta, zucchini, basil, more parm, and salt.
- Repeat until you’ve got four tall layers.
- Top it with wavy, hanging noodles to get those crispy, crinkled edges.
- Drizzle with olive oil and bake at 450°F until golden.
Let it rest before slicing—it holds together better and tastes even more delicious.
🧰 Handy Tools for Summer Lasagna Success
You probably already have everything you need:
- Box grater or hand grater (for zucchini + parm)
- 12×9-inch baking dish (I used this gratin dish)
💡 Tips to Make Summer Lasagna Even Better
- Salt every layer, especially the ricotta. It boosts flavor big time.
- Use cheddar-size holes on your grater for the zucchini.
- Ruffle those top noodles! Let them hang and fold—they’ll turn into the crispiest bits.
- Don’t skip the olive oil drizzle—it makes the top irresistible.
- Let it sit 10–15 minutes before cutting in. It’s worth it.
- How to Store & Freeze: Let the lasagna cool to room temp before storing. Cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 3 days. To freeze, cut into portions, wrap well, and freeze for up to 1 month. Reheat in a 350°F oven (covered with foil) until warmed through—add a fresh grating of parm and a drizzle of olive oil before serving.
🥗 Perfect Pairings for a Summer Meal
🥬 The Salad
Peppery Arugula with Lemony Vinaigrette (Recipe for this salad in the notes below.)
Bright, fresh, and crisp—the kind of salad that wakes up every bite of lasagna.
🍹 Something to Sip
Chilled Rosé or Iced Rooibos Tea
Rosé keeps it classic and refreshing. Rooibos adds a caffeine-free, subtly sweet twist—it’s a house favorite for a reason.
🍽 A Little Something on the Side
Marinated Olives & Cured Meats
A small plate with prosciutto, soppressata, and briny olives is all you need to round out the meal.
🍰 End on a Sweet Note
White Peach & Lychee Cake or Blackberry-Lemon Clafoutis
Light, summery, and just sweet enough to match the mood.
✍️ Summer Lasagna Inspired by a Brilliant Recipe
This light, summery lasagna is adapted from a recipe by James Beard Award–nominated chef Clare de Boer of New York’s Stissing House.
Her approach keeps things fresh and unfussy — just raw veggies, good cheese, and pasta baked until golden and bubbly. It captures everything I love about summer cooking: relaxed, flavorful, and unfussy.
Watch the step-by-step instructions in this video!
Light Summer Lasagna with Crispy Edges and Soft Noodles
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat the oven to 450. Boil the pasta in salty water until it’s cooked (a tiny bit al dente is fine, but don’t overcook the noodles or they’ll have no room to take in flavor later). Drain and toss with olive oil. The noodles don’t need to cool before you proceed.
- Drizzle olive oil into your chosen dish and tilt it around, finger-painting the oil into the edges and up the sides. Grate Parmesan all over the bottom, then cover it with sheets of pasta. Thinly slice the tomatoes or halve the cherry tomatoes, and stir 1/2 teaspoon of salt into the tub of ricotta. Then—channeling Pollock—add, in no particular order: a splodge of 1/4 of the tomato sauce, a scatter of 1/4 of the tomatoes, a dobble of 1/4 of the ricotta, a generous grating (on the cheddar holes) of 1/4 of the zucchini, a 4 torn basil leaves, more grated Parmesan, and a generous pinch of salt. Nothing needs to be spread evenly but aim for roughly the same amount of filling in each of the four layers (assuming your dish is a similar size to mine). Repeat.
- Place the final layer of pasta unevenly, hanging some over the edge and rippling the sheets in the center. Add a final layer of the filling then revisit your noodles to accentuate the rumple. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the top is brown. If the top doesn’t call you to cherry-pick edgy lasagna crackers and blistered ricotta, switch off the oven and broil the top (watching closely). Let it sit for a while before you eat.Eat with an arugula salad (optional) and lots of grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
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More Crave-Worthy Summer Dishes You’ll Make on Repeat
- Soupy, Sloppy Summer Orzo
- Summer Sweet Corn with Miso & Mascarpone Pasta
- Dreamy Tomato-Mozzarella Pasta
- Grilled Arayes, a Middle Eastern Culinary Gem of a Dinner!
- Greek Ranch Crunchy Corn Salad
- Easy Italian Sausage & Ricotta Meatballs Juicy, Flavorful & Perfect for Meal Prep!
5 responses to “Light Summer Lasagna with Crispy Edges and Soft Noodles”
Rico.
Thank you, Azurea!
Move over James T. I’d like to be the taste tester for this scrumptious-looking dish. 🙂
Oh boy looks delish!!
Thank you, June. Have a great weekend!