Who knew ravioli could be this delish without pasta? Thinly sliced, woven strips of garden fresh zucchini, wrapped around a rich filling of spinach, mushrooms, vegan sausage and cheese. The ravioli are then covered with marinara sauce and topped with crispy panko breadcrumbs, Italian parsley, and cheese, then baked to perfection. Sounds heavenly, doesn't it?
Using a peeler or mandoline, slice zucchini lengthwise into 32- 40 thin, even strips. Set aside.
Thoroughly rinse spinach leaves and then place them in a pot of boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes. Immediately remove spinach from hot water and rinse under cold water. Drain all excess water from spinach. If using thawed frozen spinach, make sure to completely drain excess water. For tips on preparing fresh spinach, watch our video on Vegan Quiche
In a large mixing bowl, combine spinach, sausage, mushrooms, mozzarella or ricotta cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Mix thoroughly and then spoon filling onto cutting board.
Pat the the filling into a rectangle. Using a large chef's knife, divide filling into 16 - 20 equal portions.
Wrap it up!
This is the fun part! First, prepare an 8"x 8" baking dish by coating the bottom with one tablespoon of olive oil.
On a cutting board or plate, place one slice of zucchini. Next, add one portion of the filling - placing it in the middle of the zucchini strip. Fold both ends of strip over the filling. Place the ravioli onto another strip of zucchini, crosswise. Fold both ends over.
Place the wrapped ravioli, wrapped ends facing down, into baking pan.
Repeat the process until the pan is completely filled with neatly wrapped zucchini raviolis. I like to alternate them, creating a basket-weave pattern.
Bake and Enjoy!
Once the pan is filled, cover the raviolis with a generous amount of marinara sauce.
Sprinkle thoroughly with breadcrumbs, cheese, and half of the parsley.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 375º.
Remove from oven, uncover, sprinkle remaining parsley and drizzle 2 tablespoon olive oil over top. Continue baking (uncovered) at 375º for another 10-15 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are lightly browned.
Allow ravioli to set for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
🥕This dish can be prepared several hours ahead of time and refrigerated (covered) until ready to bake. I suggest adding the breadcrumbs and cheese just before you put it in the oven.🥕To prepare this recipe gluten free, simply substitute the Panko Italian Breadcrumbs with gluten free breadcrumbs of your choice. Note: As of this posting, the sausage and cheese products listed in this recipe are shown as gluten-free on the manufacturer's websites. I suggest confirming the ingredients before using them.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, please rate it in the comments below. Sharing your experience helps others decide if they should give it a try too. Thanks a bunch!🥕