I had saved this recipe months ago when I took a cookbook out from the library. Described as a cross between eggplant parmesan and spinach lasagna, this recipe did not disappoint! I made 8 servings, but you can make more of less depending on your needs. I felt there was not enough tomato sauce so I have written out the recipe to make 1.5 times the sauce. You may have extra but it’s better than not having enough! Final note, while cheese is delicious, adding extra cheese will make this high-fibre, protein filled meal into a less healthy one.

Find a downloadable PDF version of this recipe here: Roasted Eggplant Lasagna 

Makes 8 servings

Prep Time: 60 minutes, cook time 30 minutes

Ingredients:

 Roasted Eggplant

  • 1 medium eggplant (1.5 – 2 lbs)
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil for brushing
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • Pinch of salt

Tomato sauce*

  • 5 cans diced tomatoes, drained (42 ounces)
  • 1/3 cup fresh basil or 3 tablespoons dried
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 gloves garlic, pressed or minced
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Spinach-Cheese Mixture

  • 2 cups 1% fat cottage cheese, divided
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
  • 1 cup chopped red onion
  • 1 pack (355g) frozen spinach, drained (original recipe was 5-6 cups fresh)
  • Freshly ground black pepper

 Assembly

  • 1 package oven ready lasagna noodles (I could not find whole wheat so nutrition information is with white pasta; I used dried “Oven-ready express” noodles and they worked well and cost less than fresh lasagna sheets)
  • 2 cups (8 ounces – measure if you have a scale) grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese (I prefer cheddar!)
Roasted-eggplant-lasagna-nutrition-facts

Directions:

  1. To roast the eggplant: Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Wash eggplant and slice off round ends. Slice the eggplant into ¼-1/2 inch thick slices either length-wise or into rounds. Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with olive oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast until golden and tender, about 20 minutes, flipping the eggplant slices half-way through cooking time. Leave oven on at 425°F for baking the lasagna.
  3. To make the tomato sauce: in a food processor, combine the drained diced tomato, olive oil, garlic, basil, salt, and red pepper flakes. Pulse until tomatoes have broken down into a spreadable sauce. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
  4. To make the spinach cheese mixture: Rinse out the food processor bowl and return to the machine. Add 1 cup of cottage cheese and blend until smooth. Set aside for now.
  5. In a large frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Then add garlic and onion, sauté for 4-5 minutes until onion is tender and translucent. Add the spinach and cook until wilted (if using fresh) or add thawed spinach and mix with onions and garlic.
  6. Transfer the spinach mixture to the food processor and pulse until spinach is chopped. Transfer to a bowl and add in the remaining 1 cup cottage cheese and black pepper to taste. Mix well.
  7. To assemble the lasagna: Spread ¾ to 1 cup of tomato sauce evenly on bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Layer lasanga noodles on top. Spread half of the cottage cheese-spinach mixture over the noodles. Arrange half the eggplant slices over the cottage cheese. Top with ¾ to 1-cup tomato sauce, the ½ cup of the mozzarella (or cheddar).
  8. Top cheese with another layer of noodles, followed by remaining cottage cheese mixture. Arrange the remaining eggplant slices over the cottage cheese, then ¾ to 1 cup tomato sauce, and ½ cup mozzarella.
  9. Top with a final layer of noodles, then ¾ to 1 cup tomato sauce. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup remaining mozzarella.
  10. Cover with foil, taking care to not let the foil touch the cheese layer, and bake for 18 minutes. Uncover, rotate the baking dish, and return to oven for 12 minutes and bake until top is browned. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

* I found the original recipe did not have enough sauce, so I have changed the numbers to make a 1.5 batch of sauce. Be cautious with adding sauce to make sure your lasagne does not over flow! You may have some leftover sauce.

Recipe adapted from “Love Real Food” by Katherine Taylor, Rodale Books 2017, page 163-164