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Eggplant Lasagna

It took me until day 3 of leftovers to finally take a picture. Imagine 3-day-fresher-looking tomato sauce on top, but it was delicious in this state too.

First, I must brag that I made from scratch the ricotta cheese, the mozzarella cheese, and the tomato sauce (from fresh tomatoes that I'd canned) before assembling this casserole. I'd say that for a normal day in the future, the ricotta and the tomato sauce were definitely worth it to make from scratch. The mozzarella is slightly more of a project, so I'm more likely to buy that unless I'm really in the mood to make cheese.

I should have written down what I did for the tomato sauce, because it was really good this time. My memory is that I sauteed 1/2 an onion in olive oil until translucent, added 3 cloves of garlic and stirred, then immediately added 2 pints of tomatoes with some salt, basil, and oregano. I thought it would need a little bit of sugar, but I tasted it and it was plenty sweet, probably just from the fresh tomatoes. I let it simmer for about 15 minutes on low heat.

Back to the big picture: This is lower-carb lasagna! I wanted to try it because I had exactly 6 lasagna noodles leftover from previous lasagna, so I used them for the top and bottom layer while relying on eggplant slices for the middle. We didn't miss the extra noodles at all... this had outstanding flavor and held together just fine. I was wary of adding more vegetables because I didn't know if it would get too messy, but some cooked spinach mixed with the ricotta next time would be great.


The Recipe:
6 no-bake lasagna noodles (I like the Trader Joe's kind)
2 pints tomato sauce
1 eggplant, sliced into 1/4" thick slices
1/2 c panko crumbs
1 c ricotta cheese
4 oz mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded
  • 2 hours before eating, generously sprinkle salt onto both sides of the eggplant slices (probably a tablespoon total for the whole eggplant). Let sit at room temperature to draw moisture out of eggplant.
  • Pat eggplant dry and rub off any excess salt. (The eggplant will still be plenty salty, but it'll mellow out when you cook it with the other ingredients. Just don't add anything else salty besides the cheeses.)
  • Spray tops of eggplant slices with baking spray, then top with panko. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.
  • Assemble casserole by building the following layers from bottom to top: sauce, noodles, ricotta, eggplant, sauce, ricotta, noodles, sauce, mozzarella.
  • Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 60 minutes or until bubbling.

The Verdict:
Overall grade: A-
Overall reason: Delicious and healthier than lasagna
Time to prepare: 10 minutes of work, 80 minutes of baking, and 2 hours of waiting for eggplant. More if you make the cheese and/or sauce.
Husband quote: "Lalalalala eggplant lasagna!" (Also, he liked it.)
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