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These eggplant lasagnas, made with tender slices of eggplant, a flavorful tomato sauce, three delicious Italian cheeses and aromatic herbs, are THE best classic Italian comfort dish.
They only take a few minutes to prepare, and are a dish my Italian grandmother loved to make for family summer meals, like my Roman semolina gnocchi.
💙Why you'll love them
- They're very simple to prepare: just pre-cook strips of eggplant, assemble everything in the dish and finish cooking.
- They're full of flavor and so cheesy!
- They're vegetarian, perfect for summer and ideal for any occasion: dinner with friends, family lunch, to impress your Friday night date, etc….
- They can be kept for several days, making them a fun dish for batch cooking.
- They can also be made with other vegetables: zucchini in summer, squash in winter, etc.
🍆 Ingredients
You can find a full list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below. Here are a few ingredient notes.
- Eggplants - enjoy this vegetable from June to September included.
- Herbs - thyme, oregano and basil. Fresh, dried or frozen, use whatever you have on hand.
- Cheeses - ricotta, Parmesan and mozzarella. For Parmesan, I recommend buying it in blocks and grating it yourself - it's so much better! As for the mozzarella, I recommend grated mozzarella, but if you can't find it, block mozzarella will also do.
- Italian seasoning, available in most supermarkets.
- Garlic - if you want to choose your garlic carefully so you do not encourage the slavery of Chinese prisoners, read my Eco Tips on the subject.
- Onions - yellow or white onions are more delicate than red ones.
- Tomato sauce - regular, with basil, arrabbiata style, etc…
- Spinach, not to be confused with baby spinach.
✨How to make the best eggplant lasagna?
Recipe details and quantities are in the recipe card below.
- Preheat your oven to 390°F/200°C in fan-assisted mode. Cut the eggplants into medium-sized slices (no need to peel them) - be careful, if they are too thin, they may burn during pre-cooking.
- Place on an oven tray covered with baking paper, add olive oil, salt, black pepper and thyme. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the rest: in a bowl, mix the ricotta, freshly grated Parmesan, Italian seasoning, oregano, salt and pepper to taste, minced garlic and onion.
- Place the tomato sauce in the bottom of a large ovenproof dish.
- Make a first layer of roasted eggplants, add half the baby spinach, half the cheese mixture.
- Repeat to make the second layer.
- Sprinkle with mozzarella and bake in a hot oven at 340°F/170°C for 30 minutes.
- Once out of the oven, garnish with fresh chopped basil and enjoy!
💡Frequently Asked Questions
There is no need to peel them; you can simply cut them into slices. Note that the thicker you cut them, the longer they will take to pre-cook.
Simply follow the recipe; it's the pre-cooking that will prevent them from being soggy.
As they can be stored for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge, yes, you can definitely prepare them in advance!
A green salad would be perfect to bring a bit of freshness.
❄️Storage
Once cold, place the eggplant lasagne in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
To reheat, pop them in the microwave for a few seconds.
I don't recommend freezing them, as they'll give off a lot of water when defrosted.
😋For eggplant lovers
If you make these eggplant lasagna, it would be so nice to leave me a comment and rate the recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. You can also tag me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook or Tik Tok, or even send me a photo, I love seeing my little dishes in your homes!
📖 Recette
Easy vegetarian eggplant lasagna
Ingredients
- 2 lbs eggplant
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons thyme
- 8.5 oz. ricotta
- 1 ½ cups Parmesan freshly grated
- 2 tablespoons italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons oregano
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 onion minced (medium size)
- 12.5 oz. tomato sauce
- 3 ½ cups baby spinach
- 2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil , chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 390°F/200°C in fan-assisted mode. Cut the eggplants into medium-sized slices (no need to peel them) - be careful, if they are too thin, they may burn during pre-cooking.
- Place on an oven tray covered with baking paper, add olive oil, salt, black pepper and thyme. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the rest: in a bowl, mix the ricotta, freshly grated Parmesan, Italian seasoning, oregano, salt and pepper to taste, minced garlic and onion.
- Place the tomato sauce in the bottom of a large ovenproof dish. Make a first layer of roasted eggplants, add half the baby spinach, half the cheese mixture and repeat to make the second layer.
- Sprinkle with mozzarella and bake in a hot oven at 340°F/170°C for 30 minutes.
- Once out of the oven, garnish with fresh chopped basil and enjoy!
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