This easy vegetarian eggplant lasagna layers roasted eggplant with homemade tomato sauce and gooey, melty cheese! NO noodles, no breading, no frying, so it's low carb and gluten free!
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Let's make a vegetarian eggplant lasagna with one caveat: NO noodles! We just want luscious eggplant slices, roasted until they are melty and creamy inside, and layered with a blend of cheeses.
No breading, no frying! Which makes it gluten free, yes, but also means it's light and easy to prepare. It's a great low carb alternative to traditional lasagna. Perfect for peak summer feasts or makes a great, comforting freezer meal to store for colder months.
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Tips for making the best vegetarian eggplant lasagna
Are you ready to make the best eggplant lasagna ever?! Follow these foolproof tips!
- It's very important to salt the eggplant slices and wait for them to drain. This helps them to release their water before roasting, and prevents the lasagna from being watery. Don't skip this step!!
- For the best texture, it's important to get the eggplant slices coated with olive oil from edge to edge, so I'd really recommend getting a pastry brush. But if you don't have one, just slather it on with your fingers! (Fun!)
- I prefer to buy blocks of cheese and grate it myself on a box grater. This ensures the cheese is fresh and melts until it's super gooey and delicious! Pre-grated cheese can get dried out and is coated with anti-caking agents so it may not melt as well.
- Slicing the eggplant on a mandoline will ensure that they are all exactly the same width so they'll cook evenly.
Ingredients for eggplant lasagna
- Eggplant: Look for firm eggplant with smooth skin that aren't too big. If they are too large, they tend to be all seeds in the middle and we don't want that.
- Whole milk mozzarella cheese: We want whole milk so the cheese will be extra melty!
- Fontina cheese: Fontina is an italian cheese with a slight nuttiness and a creamy texture. It will give our cheesy filling an extra creaminess and really complement the mozzarella.
- Parmesan cheese: As I always say, use the REAL parmigiano reggiano and grate it yourself. The flavor and texture are so much better.
- San Marzano tomatoes: We're going to make our own tomato sauce, so let's use the best tomatoes. Real San Marzano. I like Cento brand.
- Garlic and crushed red pepper
- Olive oil
- Fresh basil
- Kosher salt
How to make vegetarian eggplant lasagna
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line three sheet pans with parchment paper.
Use a good chef's knife and slice the stem end off of the eggplant. Then cut a thin slice of the skin off one side, so that you have a narrow, flat surface.
If using a mandoline, place the flat side of the eggplant down, and slice the eggplant longways into planks about ½ inch thick. Be sure to use the guard to protect your fingers. (If using a knife, place the flat side of the eggplant on a cutting board and carefully slice longways into planks.)
Lay the eggplant slices out on sheet pans and salt both sides. Then transfer to a bowl or colander to drain for 30 minutes. This is a very important step! Don't skip it! See tips.
While the eggplant is draining, grate the fontina, mozzarella and parmesan with a box grater.
Mix the mozzarella and fontina together, keep the parmesan separate.
Once the eggplant has drained, lay the slices flat on a dish towel, place another towel on top and blot dry. They should be kind of floppy now that they have given up a lot of their water.
Transfer the slices to the parchment lined sheet pans. Use a pastry brush to coat both sides generously with olive oil from edge to edge.
Place in the oven to roast for 30 to 35 minutes, flipping slices over and rotating pans halfway through. The slices should be soft and just barely getting golden. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.
While the eggplant roasts, make the sauce. Transfer the can of San Marzano tomatoes to a bowl and crush them by hand, removing any hard stems that remain. Use a microplane grater to grate the garlic cloves.
Add the olive oil to a wide deep skillet or casserole pan and once shimmering, add the grated garlic and crushed red pepper. Stir for one minute until the garlic is fragrant, but not browning.
Add the tomatoes to the pan. Fill the empty can about ¼ of the way with water and swirl it around, then add that to the pan. Turn the heat up to medium high until bubbling, then turn the heat back to medium, stirring frequently, preferably with a wooden spoon for about 20 minutes.
Once the sauce is finished and the eggplant are done roasting, it's time to layer the lasagna!
Layer 1: Scoop ⅓ of the sauce into a 9" x 13" casserole dish. Place one layer of eggplant on top, tearing slices in half if needed to squeeze into all the spots with visible sauce.
Add ¼ cup of parmesan, ½ of the mozzarella/fontina mixture and a few basil leaves.
Layer 2: Half of the remaining sauce, more eggplant, ¼ cup of parmesan, all of the remaining mozzarella/fontina mixture, a few basil leaves.
Layer 3: Eggplant, remaining sauce, remaining parmesan.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the parmesan is just starting to get golden on top. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
FAQ
No, you do not need to peel the eggplant when making this vegetarian lasagna. It is edible, adds a nice texture to the dish, and leaving the peel on makes layering the eggplant much easier because it holds its shape once roasted.
Vegetarian eggplant lasagna makes a great freezer meal as long as you prepare the roasted eggplant as I've directed and bake it first! (Salt and drain, then ensure eggplant is coated with olive oil when roasted at high heat so it gives up all its water.) Bake as directed, allow to cool, then refrigerate overnight. Cover tightly and place in the freezer for up to two months. To reheat, cover with aluminum foil and place in a 350 degree oven until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted.
You can roast the eggplant and make the sauce one day ahead, then assemble and bake. You can also make it and bake it one day ahead. Reheat it in a 350 degree oven until the sauce is bubbling and the center is hot.
Substitutions
- If you can't find fontina, use all mozzarella.
- You can absolutely use store-bought marinara sauce instead of making your own.
What to serve with eggplant lasagna
- Try a simple Massaged Kale Salad.
- Crispy Pan Fried Brussels Sprouts can be prepared quickly and easily while the lasagna is baked.
Related Recipes
- If you like this idea, you'll also love Zucchini Parmigiana, which uses roasted zucchini in place of pasta noodles and smoked mozzarella cheese.
- This Grilled Eggplant Sandwich continues our theme of eggplant, tomatoes, cheese, and basil and tastes like peak summer!
- You can use this simple tomato sauce to make Penne all'Arrabbiata.
Recipe
Vegetarian Eggplant Lasagna
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pounds eggplant about 3 medium eggplants
- 3 ounces grated whole milk mozzarella
- 3 ounces grated fontina cheese
- 1 ½ cups grated parmesan cheese about 3¾ ounces
- 28 ounces San Marzano tomatoes
- ¼ cup olive oil plus more for roasting the eggplant
- 3 cloves garlic
- pinch crushed red pepper optional
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt plus more for the eggplant
Instructions
- Note: I've written these instructions so that you can multitask while making this recipe. Grate the cheese while the eggplant drains, make the sauce while the eggplant roasts, etc. So it may seem like I'm going back and forth between things, but if you do it this way, it will be stress-free and take less time.
Roast the eggplant
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line three sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Use a good chef's knife and slice the stem end off of the eggplant. Then cut a thin slice of the skin off one side, so that you have a narrow, flat surface.
- If using a mandoline, place the flat side of the eggplant down, and slice the eggplant longways into planks about ½ inch thick. Be sure to use the guard to protect your fingers. (If using a knife, place the flat side of the eggplant on a cutting board and carefully slice longways into planks.)
- Lay the eggplant slices out on sheet pans and salt both sides. Then transfer to a bowl or colander to drain for 30 minutes. This is a very important step! Don't skip it! See note below.
- Once the eggplant has drained, lay the slices flat on a dish towel, place another towel on top and blot dry. They should be kind of floppy now that they have given up a lot of their water. Transfer the slices to the parchment lined sheet pans. Use a pastry brush to coat both sides generously with olive oil from edge to edge.
- Place in the oven to roast for 30 to 35 minutes, flipping slices over and rotating pans halfway through. The slices should be soft and just barely getting golden. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.
Grate the cheese
- While you wait for the eggplant to drain, grate all three cheeses on a box grater. Mix the mozzarella and fontina together. Keep the parmesan separate.
Make the sauce
- While the eggplant roasts, make the sauce. Transfer the can of San Marzano tomatoes to a bowl and crush them by hand, removing any hard stems that remain. Use a microplane grater to grate the garlic cloves.
- Add ¼ cup of olive oil to a wide deep skillet or casserole pan and once shimmering, add the grated garlic and crushed red pepper. Stir for one minute until the garlic is fragrant, but not browning.
- Add the tomatoes to the pan. Fill the empty can about ¼ of the way with water and swirl it around, then add that to the pan. Turn the heat up to medium high until bubbling, then turn the heat back to medium, stirring frequently, preferably with a wooden spoon for about 20 minutes.
Layer the lasagna and bake!!
- Layer 1: Scoop ⅓ of the sauce into a 9" x 13" casserole dish. Place one layer of eggplant on top, tearing slices in half if needed to squeeze into all the spots with visible sauce. Add ¼ cup of parmesan, ½ of the mozzarella/fontina mixture and a few basil leaves.
- Layer 2: Half of the remaining sauce, more eggplant, ¼ cup of parmesan, all of the remaining mozzarella/fontina mixture, a few basil leaves.
- Layer 3: Eggplant, remaining sauce, remaining parmesan.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the parmesan is just starting to get golden on top. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- It's very important to salt the eggplant slices and wait for them to drain. This helps them to release their water before roasting, and prevents the lasagna from being watery. Don't skip this step!!
- For the best texture, it's important to get the eggplant slices coated with olive oil from edge to edge, so I'd really recommend getting a pastry brush. But if you don't have one, just slather it on with your fingers! (Fun!)
- I prefer to buy blocks of cheese and grate it myself on a box grater. This ensures the cheese is fresh and melts until it's super gooey and delicious! Pre-grated cheese can get dried out and is coated with anti-caking agents so it may not melt as well.
- Slicing the eggplant on a mandoline will ensure that they are all exactly the same width so they'll cook evenly.
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