🍆 What Makes This Recipe So Good
Eggplant lasagna is just as hearty, tomato-y, and delicious as traditional lasagna, but without the carbs or gluten of the noodles! It also happens to be a phenomenal entrée for anyone trying to eat less meat, whether you’re meatless just on Mondays or all the time. We skipped the beef ragú of traditional lasagna and opted instead for layers of extra creamy ricotta stuffed with spinach, basil, and plenty of cheese. Because this dish is produce-heavy, you’ve got oodles of nutrients in every bite. Spinach and eggplant (or maybe you know it as aubergine) are both fantastic sources of fiber, and eggplants are especially rich antioxidants. In fact, eggplant gets its vibrant color from anthocyanins, which is a type of pigment that has some antioxidant properties. Even the color of the eggplant is good for you! Leafy spinach is good for more than just fiber, too, delivering its own antioxidants along with various vitamins (like A, B6, C, and K1), folic acid, iron, and calcium.
👩🏼‍🍳 Chef’s Tips
If this lasagna recipe is your first time cooking eggplant, don’t sweat it! Well, wait. DO sweat it, but don’t stress about it! Eggplants are arguably better after they’ve been salted and sweated, and it’s SO easy to do. Once you’ve sliced the eggplants thin, just salt them super generously on both sides, then set them aside to rest at least 10-15 minutes. You can honestly sweat them up to an hour if you’ve got the time. The process draws out the eggplant’s bitter juices, making the faux noodles less astringent. It also pulls out excess moisture from the eggplant slices, making it much less likely you’ll end up with a soggy eggplant lasagna. When it comes to your mozzarella and parmesan, skip the prepackaged stuff and go the DIY route instead. Prepackaged shredded and grated cheese contain added fillers that keep them from clumping in the bag or jar. Those additives can keep the cheeses from melting like they should, though, and can give them a sort of gritty or grainy texture. Since the cheeses are in the ricotta filling AND on top of the eggplant lasagna, you’ll be much happier with the dish if you use fresh cheese instead. Shredding and grating them is really easy, too.
🍝 More Delicious Italian Recipes
White Clam Sauce Stuffed Ziti Fritta Creamy Chicken Piccata Baked Italian Dressing Chicken (Only 2 Ingredients!) Caprese Sandwich (Melted or Cold) Chicken Carbonara Paleo Carbonara with Palmini Chicken Piccata (Paleo, Gluten Free) Firebirds’ Chicken Pasta Copycat Recipe Whole30 Spaghetti and Meatballs (Paleo) Baked Feta Pasta Spaghetti Alfredo
