The rounds of roasted eggplant replace the usual noodles in this lasagna recipe. Perfect if you want Italian food but are living a low-carb lifestyle.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Additional Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 45 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
- salt, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, or as needed
- 1 (16 ounce) container ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend
- 1 egg
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 sprigs fresh oregano, chopped
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
- 10 grinds fresh black pepper
- 2 ½ cups tomato sauce
- 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 6 slices part-skim mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
- Place eggplant slices on a wire rack; sprinkle with salt. Let sit until some liquid starts beading on slices, about 20 minutes. Rinse salt off eggplant slices and pat dry. Brush olive oil over both sides of each slice. Arrange eggplant slices on a baking sheet.
- Roast in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Flip eggplant slices and continue roasting until slices are tender and lightly browned, 15 to 20 more minutes. Remove eggplant from oven and reduce temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Mix ricotta cheese, Italian cheese blend, egg, garlic, oregano, thyme, and black pepper together in a bowl.
- Line a 9-inch square pan with aluminum foil. Coat the bottom of the pan with about 1/2 cup tomato sauce; top with 1/2 of the eggplant slices. Layer eggplant slices with 1/2 of the spinach, 1/2 of the ricotta mixture, and 1/2 of the remaining tomato sauce. Continue layering with remaining ingredients, ending with sauce. Top with mozzarella slices. Cover pan with aluminum foil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and continue baking until cheese is brown and bubbling, 5 to 10 more minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 432 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 22 g |
| Cholesterol | 102 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Protein | 30 g |
| Saturated Fat | 14 g |
| Sodium | 1179 mg |
| Sugars | 8 g |
| Fat | 27 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Good flavor, perhaps use two eggplants and add mushrooms?
Good flavor, perhaps use two eggplants and add mushrooms?
I used my favorite marina sauce instead of the tomato sauce and it was delicious. I gave it a 4 only because I made a change to the original recipe after all the reviews that it lacked some taste.
I changed it slightly: breaded the eggplant and then baked it. I also added some left over chicken cutlet( cut it in small pieces). Delish!
Tasted great but really soupy 🙁 My only change was sweet italian turkey sausage rather than beef because that’s what I had on hand.
I will make it again, and go shopping for all the ingredients next time. This time I made it with the cheeses which I had on hand. I agree that you need 2 eggplant. I did not peel mine, and it gave the casserole nice body with the soft cheese mixture. I really like the roasted eggplant instead of the fried. It was tasty and much healthier. I also sliced, salted and drained some fresh tomato, because I had it. It still made it too watery, so I would not do that again,
I used fresh spinach instead and added a little onion and garlic as a sautéed it. Delicious! I might add more eggplant next time.
Love this! Didn’t miss noodles at all!
I’m not a fan of recipes that don’t give specific amounts such as a weight but it sounded good so I tried. I was concerned that one eggplant would not be enough for the recipe. However I did follow the recipe as written. The eggplant shriveled to almost nothing while roasting. I am using an electric oven which I am not used to so maybe the time needed to be adjusted? Though it was still tasty, cheese and tomato sauce can’t be bad, the eggplant taste was non-existent. Overall I was disappointed though my Mom & Dad said it was good.
This was so much more delicious than expected! My husband hates eggplant but ate three servings of this lasagna. I did make a couple minor changes. I substituted cottage cheese for the ricotta and I added a couple layers of browned ground beef in.
I agree with others that this needs two good sized eggplants. I subbed in some fresh zucchini slices for another layer.
Use two eggplants, Classico pasta sauce, venison, one pkg frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry. Delicious.
I would use 2 eggplants. I used jarred sauce I will admit and I added venison sausage. Like the idea of roasting the eggplant first!Good flavor and I will make again!
This was delicious, but mine turned out a little runny even though I used only 15 oz of tomato sauce instead of the 2 1/2 cups the recipe called for. Maybe because it smelled so good I didn’t wait to let it cool enough. The only other changes I made were fresh spinach instead of frozen and Italian seasoning because I didn’t have the fresh oregano and thyme. I’ll definitely make it again, but maybe with less ricotta.
I followed the recipe. Next time I will add more eggplant. The flavor was wonderful. I didn’t even miss the noodles.
So good as is! 6 servings in my 9*9, 1 large eggplant. Will attempt again with sugar free sauce and larger pan. Great for making ahead, take to work.
So good! Quite a few steps but not difficult. I only used one very large eggplant and had perfect amount (be sure to use square pan – not rectangle!). And I didn’t bother with peeling the eggplant (I never do – I don’t know why you would?). I also used Italian seasoning instead of the fresh herbs that I didn’t have and it was still tasty. I also used fresh spinach instead of frozen. So many variations could be made and it still be delicious!!
Made a variation of this recipe and my husband and I loved it. I sauteed up some seasoned (w/pepper & garlic) chicken pieces and added the to each layer with mushrooms and chopped kale. I used homemade sauce (don’t like jarred). Each layer was roasted eggplant round, chicken pieces, mushrooms, kale, dollop of ricotta, sprinkle of grated parm and mozzarella and sauce. Top layer was everything but kale and ricotta cheese. Sprinkled with parsley and oregano. Baked 30 minutes covered. Remove foil, turned off oven, let sit in over 10 more minutes. Let sit for 5 out of oven. Extraordinary. Great way to get your eggplant and kale. You will love it.
Great recipe, but it would be better with some peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, corn and any other veggie you like. No reason for this to only have eggplant & spinach. Healthy it up! Excellent flavour though!
I have made this a few times. I agree..you need two eggplants. It is delicious. One time I used sautéed brocolli. Yummy!
This recipe should call for 2 large eggplants instead of 1. The flavor was good, but I ended up having to make pasta to make up for the missing layer and a half of eggplant. Not sure I would try this again.