Healthy Eggplant Lasagna!

I might be late for this party. I’ve already seen hundreds of eggplant lasagnas around Pinterest and on different blogs and not until last week I felt like giving it a try. I’m very glad I did, but honestly, it was so messy that you can also just call it a veggies casserole. (Note: not sure if the lasagna was messy itself or just me while cutting it)

Whichever name you prefer to give it, it still is a pretty delicious and healthy idea for lunch or dinner. Something else I enjoy about this kind of meals is that it’s easy to refrigerate for a “long” time and it stills tastes good. In my case it still tasted great after about 8 days in the fridge!

Also, the lasagna is made mainly of veggies but feel free to add some chicken breast or meat to the sauce layer. Otherwise you can just eat it as a side dish. 

Ingredients:

-1 large eggplant
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-Pinch of salt and pepper
-2 cups of low sodium tomato sauce (feel free to also add chicken breast or meat to it). 
-1 large zucchini, cut in small squares
-2 eggs
-1 1/2 cups of low-fat ricotta cheese
-2 cups of spinach, chopped
-1 1/2 cups of parmesan cheese

Kitchin-it!

1. Preheat oven to 350*F and line a baking tray with parchment paper
2. Cut the edged of the eggplant and then slice thin lengthwise 

3. Put the eggplant slices on the baking tray and brush them with the olive oil. Sprinkle with a pinch or two of salt and pepper

4. Bake for 10 minutes, then set aside
5. In a medium non-stick frying pan add a few tablespoons of water and heat over medium heat. When the water starts to boil add the zucchini and cook for a few minutes until softened. 

6. In a saucepan, add the tomato sauce and zucchini and heat over medium-high for about 5 minutes.
7. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and then combine with the ricotta, chopped spinach and 1 cup of the parmesan cheese. Mix well to combine.

8. Now you’re ready to assemble the lasagna. I had to use 2 different baking dishes because mine were small. Otherwise one baking dish should be enough.
9. Add the layers in he following order until you’re out of ingredients: eggplant slices, ricotta mixture, tomato sauce mixture and then repeat. To finish, add the other 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese on top.

10. Bake the lasagna for about 35 minutes. The cheese on the top should get gold and brownish on the edges. 

11. Let it cool slightly, serve and enjoy!

Adapted from Tattooed Martha