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This Spicy Pesto and Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Involtini is best for nights when you’re craving Italian, but you’re also wanting to keep things healthy..ish and summery. Summer zucchini is sliced into ribbons and rolled up with a basil pesto and ricotta cheese mixture. Then baked in a spicy, herby, tomato sauce that’s creamy and so delicious! This is a great way to use summer produce. It’s also easy enough to serve any night of the week…or for your next Saturday night dinner party.
I’ve always enjoyed zucchini, but I know it can also get a bit boring at times too. Especially during these August days when you have so much on hand. Sometimes you just can’t eat any more raw zucchini salads or zucchini off the grill. I get it, it can get old. But the fun thing about zucchini is that you can really do so much with it. You just have to get a little creative.
Enter this zucchini Involtini. It’s basically cheesy zucchini baked in tomato sauce, and it is DELICIOUS. I’ve decided the easiest way to take zucchini from boring to insanely good is to just add cheese and pesto. Probably the case with most vegetables, right? Cheese especially can be a game-changer.
Anyway, the real inspiration for this recipe starts with the mass amounts of basil I have in the garden (greenhouse). The herb garden is inspiring a lot of recipes this month (like tomorrow’s recipe). It’s overflowing with fresh herbs, tomatoes, and peppers. I’m loving having all of my favorite herbs at my fingertips. I just have to use them up. It’s actually kind of nice having SO many herbs. It really forces me to test out new ways to use them and put my “thinking cap” on.
Kind of fun!
Traditionally, Involtini is an Italian dish made using sliced and grilled eggplant. I’m not the biggest fan of eggplant, so I’ve always steered clear of making Involtini. I was brainstorming recipes when I thought about swapping the eggplant with zucchini.
Done and done.
I got to work testing out this recipe. I knew after the very first round of testing that this was going to be a recipe worth sharing.
This zucchini Involtini is SO GOOD.
Here are the details.
This recipe requires a little prep work, but it’s all easy and pretty fun too.
First, make the tomato sauce. I kept this very simple, using canned tomatoes, fresh oregano, and thyme. I did add a special ingredient, spicy Italian chicken sausage.
Of course, if you’re vegetarian or just going for a meatless Monday theme, you can easily omit the sausage from the sauce. I’d recommend adding some fresh garlic and a touch more crushed red pepper flakes. This will keep the sauce flavorful and on the spicy side.
With or without the sausage it’s going to be great, so do what works for you!
While the sauce is simmering away, get to work on the zucchini.
Start out by slicing the zucchini into thin ribbons. I find this easiest to do with a mandoline, but you can use a knife as well. You’ll want to lay the zucchini flat, sprinkle it with salt, and let it sit a few minutes. Doing this will draw out any excess water and make the zucchini ribbons pliable for rolling.
Then just mix fresh ricotta cheese with some fontina and basil pesto. Add the cheese to the zucchini, tuck, and roll! It looks all fancy, but it’s actually the easiest to do.
At this point, place the zucchini rolls into the tomato sauce, top with mozzarella, and bake until the cheese is melted and the sauce all bubbly…
Your kitchen will smell incredible…like an Italian grandma’s kitchen, so perfect.
If I could best describe this dish, it’s kind of like stuffed pasta shells, but minus the pasta. Maybe not the best description, but trust me, this zucchini is truly mouth-watering.
You guys know me, I’m usually all about the pasta. But this cheesy zucchini is surprisingly filling and layered with great flavor and texture! This is a new summer dinner favorite for sure. But then you really can’t go wrong with zucchini filled with cheese and pesto in a flavorful tomato sauce. It’s perfection.
If you have fresh zucchini, this is what you should be making…well, either this or my chocolate chunk zucchini bread. Actually, you should just make both. Hey, it’s August, zucchini every day, all day!
If you make this Spicy Pesto and Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Involtini be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch The How To Video:
Spicy Pesto and Cheese Stuffed Zucchini Involtini
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 892 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 pound ground spicy Italian chicken sausage
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 can (14 ounce) crushed San Marzano tomatoes (or 2 cups tomato sauce)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (or 2 teaspoons dried)
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried)
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 large zucchini or yellow summer squash
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded fontina cheese
- 3/4 cup basil pesto, homemade or store-bought
- 4 ounces mozzarella, torn
- fresh basil, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish or dish of similar size.2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken sausage and brown all over, about 5 to 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the bell pepper, tomatoes, oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper flakes, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.3. Meanwhile, 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. You should have around 30 strips. Sprinkle the zucchini with salt. 4. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, fontina, and 1/2 cup pesto. 5. To assemble, spoon 3/4 of the tomato sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Grab 2 zucchini ribbons and lay them side by side lengthwise. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of filling onto the center of the zucchini. Roll into a coil and place each seam-side down in the dish as you go. Repeat with remaining zucchini. Spoon the remaining tomato sauce over top of the zucchini and then drizzle the remaining 1/4 cup pesto evenly over everything. Add the mozzarella.6. Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake 15-20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is lightly browned on top. Cool 5 minutes before serving. Serve with fresh basil and thyme. Enjoy!
Notes
Vegetarian Option: If you'd like to make this vegetarian, no problem, just omit the chicken sausage and use a little more crushed red pepper flakes for heat, if you'd like.
To Make Ahead: Do everything up until the final baking. Cool, and store in the fridge for up to 12 hours. Bake as directed. If there is any excess water on the surface of the sauce, drain this off or blot with a paper towel before baking.
I made this tonight as we had all the ingredients in the fridge (except fontina … which was nowhere to be found at 3 different stores, so we used gruyère instead). I used precooked chicken sausage (Italian flavor with roasted red pepper) and cut it up into small chunks to fry before adding veggies.I would also recommend slicing the zucchini thinner than 1/4” as 2 zucchini sliced at 1/4 on my mandolin slicer yielded maybe 15 slices. I’d go for 1/8”, even after letting it sweat for a while. Rerolled a few also as there was lots of cheese filling. So delicious and will be fantastic warmed up for lunch this week while we continue to WFH. Definitely worth not having real pasta for this one. So good!
Love that!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you, Lindsay! Thank you! xTieghan
Made it with homemade pesto, it was so delicious. My 86 year old mother in law liked it as much as my young adult children. Will make again – as soon as my basil recovers!
I am so glad this turned out so well for you, Steve!! Thank you for trying it! Love that you are growing your own basil! xTieghan
The best part of this recipe is definitely how easy it is. Otherwise, it was a bit of a miss for me and lacked flavor. For reference, I did make it vegetarian. Two large zucchini cut on a mandolin to be 1/4 inch is definitely too thick. I’d love to see this addressed in the original recipe as so many commenters have had trouble with that measurement. If I were to make it again, I’d also add more tomato sauce so that it could cover the zucchini and make it more tender.
Hi Liz! I am really glad this was easy for you! Are there any questions I can help you with? Please let me know! xTieghan
This was so yum! And fun to make, I just gave myself plenty of time so I wouldn’t stress. I’m not huge into replacing pasta with zucchini so i was a little worried, but this dish is so delicious in it’s own right. Great with some bread to soak up that sauce!
Thank you so much Ashley!! xTieghan
This was terrific! Made it tonight but for some reason I found it a little labor intensive, Maybe that was because I was trying to do too many things at once … or just grumpy!`/ Anyway, my husband and I absolutely loved this and will definitely make it again. Didn’t have sausage, but we decided we liked the ‘just veggie’ version. By the way, we find so many of your recipes creative and delicious. So, thank you Tieghan!
Thank you so much Molly!! I am really glad this one turned out so well for you both! xTieghan
First off let me say that I make several of your recipes each week! My family loves everything I make that is yours. Also my daughter as well as my son are huge fans! This recipe I have to say was also delicious but mine did not look anything like yours. The zucchini was very difficult to roll and did not stay together without toothpicks. You suggested 1/4 (which I tried) on the mandolin and I used 1/8 which was much better for rolling but still not easy. It was tasty so thanks for that but not one I’ll make again.
Hi Penny!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help! xTieghan
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to try the recipe with fresh produce from the summer garden.
Thank you so much Johanna!! xTieghan
Hi,
Is there any way to substitute the Ricotta cheese for any other type of cheese? Just curious. Thanks so much!
Hi Johanna,
You could use a creme fraiche or mascarpone in place of the ricotta. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This was so easy and so delicious! Hardest part was finding the Fontina cheese, but man is this good! I made it all in one pan and it turned out great….plus less dishes for me!
Yes the best! Thank you so much Kelly! xTieghan
Me and my husband LOVED this! We used turkey sausage instead of the chicken and smoked Gouda instead of fontina only because I couldn’t find them at the store but it was amazing. We paired it with some sweet and spicy roasted Brussels sprouts. Thank you! I have been in a cooking slump but you have so many different things that I think we will love and I’m excited to be cooking again!
Thank you so much Sara! That is really great to hear! xTieghan
When I first met my partner, four years ago, he claimed never to eat any vegetables other than lettuce and tomato (and even the tomato was a recent thing….) Since then I´ve been trying to drive him down the path of adventurous vegetable eating, little by little. I made this last night and not only did he ask me when could have it again, he generously offered to take the leftovers for lunch if I thought I wasn´t going to eat them myself. I was.
A great recipe, utterly delicious. Thank you!
Wow that is so amazing!! I am so glad you both loved this and hope you continue to enjoy others of mine as well! xTieghan
I made this tonight and it was delicious!! I made a few modifications out of necessity – I can’t get to the store very often because of the pandemic. I had to substitute ground beef for the sausage, and used a Mexican blend cheese for the Fontina. It was still great! Even my vegetable-adverse sons liked it! (I’ve never used a vegetable peeler to make ribbons like that- what a great tip!!)
Hi Pamela! That sounds like an awesome night! I am so glad you all enjoyed this one! Thank you! xtieghan
Hi, this was delicious! Only thing was—it was watery—is it from the zucchini? Any tips? Thanks, Sandhya
Hi Sandhya,
Yes that is my guess. Sorry about that! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This is the second recipe from your blog that I’ve tried and is another home run. Gonna have to explore these posts even more! This dish: Super easy, delish, gonna keep it in the rotation. Thank you!
Thank you Angela!! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I have never been a “zoodles” or zucchini pasta substitute person but now I’m a convert. EVERYTHING about this dish is amazing. I used Italian ground turkey since that’s what was available, still fantastic. For the zucchini I actually used a cheese slicer to get the super thin strips and it was perfectly malleable, no troubles rolling. The ricotta mixture quantity is a lot, I definitely could have cut that in half. HOWEVER that just means I have a ton of delicious cheese mixture to use. Certainly not the worst thing I’d say…
Haha I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan