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Recipe Box, Eggplant Lasagna

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I am always craving vegetables after Christmas and all the holiday food.  This dish is fairly light for a lasagna, the eggplant is baked, not fried, and it’s full of vegetables.

There is part skim ricotta for the creamy layer you expect in lasagna and some good cheeses to punch up the flavor.  Cooked in an Italian tomato sauce, you won’t even miss the meat!

Roasted eggplant slices, spinach, mushroom and onion mix, ricotta/Parmesan cheese, lasagna noodles, marinara sauce, Parmesan cheese, all the usual suspects to make your mouth water!

Layer like traditional lasagna

and top with plenty of cheese

Let set for a few minutes before cutting

Look at all the layers of flavor

Enjoy!

Here’s the recipe:

Print

EGGPLANT LASAGNA

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword eggplant casserole, Eggplant lasagna
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 1 large eggplant peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch slices [you should have 8-10]
  • 8 oz mushrooms sliced
  • 1/2 large onion
  • 1 T butter
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1/2 bag fresh spinach
  • 1 cup part skim ricotta
  • 4 oz. freshly grated Parmesan cheese divided
  • 2 oz. sharp white cheddar or Fontina cheese grated
  • 9 lasagna noodles cooked al dente
  • 3 cups good marinara sauce
  • salt pepper, garlic powder, olive oil

Instructions

  • Lay eggplant slices on a foil lined baking sheet that has been coated lightly with olive oil or sprayed with olive oil spray. Drizzle with more olive oil on top of slices and spread with fingers. Season with salt and pepper. Roast at 400 for 30-40 minutes until soft and starting to brown.
  • Saute the onion in butter and olive oil over medium heat until transparent and starting to brown. Add spinach and cover. Let simmer for 5 minutes or so to wilt down spinach. Stir and remove vegetables to a bowl. Add mushrooms to skillet and saute quickly over medium high, adding a drizzle more olive oil, until mushrooms release their juices and begin to brown. Add cooked mushrooms to bowl with onions and spinach and stir to combine.
  • Combine ricotta with 2 oz. Parmesan cheese, and season with salt, pepper and a healthy dash of garlic powder.
  • In a greased deep casserole [8×8] put 1 cup of sauce. Top with 3 lasagna noodles. Using your fingers, divide 1/2 of mushroom mixture over noodles. Top with 1/2 of ricotta mix, again using fingers. Top vegetables and ricotta with 1/2 of eggplant slices. Top eggplant slices with a light sprinkling of Parmesan. Now cover with another cup of marinara. Repeat layers, except end with 3 noodles across the top, and cover with the last cup of sauce. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and the sharp white cheddar or Fontina. Makes 4-6 servings.

Notes

you can make this up to 6 hours* ahead of time and cover and refrigerate. Add sausage or ground beef to marinara sauce if desired, for a heartier version. *I don’t recommend making this more than 6 hours ahead due to the water content of the vegetables.

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