Eggplant Lasagna

I love lasagna! And who doesn’t? But we can all agree that it can be such a heavy meal with all the noodles that you simply cannot eat it all the time. But what if we replace the noodles with eggplant? game changer! It tastes so good that I promise you won’t even notice there aren’t any noodles in it.

While this recipe is easy to make, it can be time-consuming since you need to do a few steps. Roasting the eggplant, cooking the meat marinara sauce, and making the cheese filling can take quite some time but after that’s done, it’s a matter of simply assembling the layers and baking. Trust me, it’s worth it!

Ingredients:

Meat Sauce:
- 1 tsp Olive oil
- 2 cloves of Garlic (minced)
- 1/2 Yellow or white onion (minced)
- 1 1/2 lb Ground beef
- 1 tsp Sea salt
- 1/2 tsp Black pepper 1 can of whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 tbsp of fresh basil
- 1/4 cup of red wine

Roasted Eggplant:
- 20 oz Eggplant (about 1-2 depending on size; sliced lengthwise into 8 slices, about 1/4"-1/2" thick) I used 1 medium eggplant.
- Drizzle of Olive oil
- Sea salt
- Black pepper

Cheese Filling and layers
- 16 oz Ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 large Egg
- Salt and black pepper to taste - 2 cups of Mozarella cheese for layers and topping

Here is how to make it:

Roasted eggplant: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Use a large baking tray and cover it with parchment paper. Brush both sides of the eggplants with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the eggplant for 15minutes.

How to make the meat sauce: You can actually do the step before our while you roast the eggplant. Use a frying pan to saute the garlic and onion in olive oil. Then add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook until browned and add the wine. Keep stirring and add the whole peeled tomatoes, add the basil and add more salt and pepper if needed. Reduce heat to low and cover the pan to cook it for about an hour. Stir occasionally to make sure the sauce isn’t drying. Set aside once this its done.

How to make the ricotta cheese filling: Mix together the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, and salt & pepper in a bowl.

Start assembling and layering: It’s time to start adding the layers now! I started with a layer of the meat sauce but other people like to start with a layer of eggplant, it really doesn’t matter. It is all about your preference. My only suggestion is to ALWAYS make sure you grease the pan or glass casserole thoroughly with olive oil or butter to make sure the lasagna doens’t stick to it.

Add your layer of meat, eggplant, the ricotta mix, and then sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers and add the mozzarella cheese at the top before baking it.

Cover it with aluminum foil and cook for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, uncover it and set the oven to broil and broil it for 8-10 minutes.

Sprinkle with fresh cut basil before serving and MANGIA!