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Similar to my Italian Stuffed Peppers, my Eggplant Lasagna uses several vegetables to keep us working towards adding as many vegetables as possible into our daily routine. This lasagna is a mix of spinach, zucchini, onions, tomatoes (however, botanically speaking, tomatoes are actually a fruit), and then, you guessed it, the eggplant. I think you’ll see after trying it, it still fits the profile of being a tasty comfort food. It still has plenty of the cheese, the tomato base, and the spices we love with Italian food but without the high-carb noodles.

Oh, and just a word or two of warning, if you didn’t already know. Any recipe with tomatoes will easily add more carbs so watch for pasta sauces that contain added sugar and canola oil (high in omega 6s) rather than a good fat, such as organic extra virgin olive oil. And, for those more prone to acid reflux, you may just want to include a good portion of salad to eat with this dish. Tomatoes are acidic.

If you get a chance to try my recipe, please leave a friendly comment or rating below. I’d love to hear your thoughts, and as always, I appreciate your support as I provide this site nearly ad free!

Keto Eggplant Lasagna

0 from 0 votes

Recipe by J. Irish, Ketolicious Eats Course: DinnerCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Moderately Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Baking time

hour

Calories

354.8

kcal

Enjoy this Italian favorite without the extra carbs, and with plenty of veggies and flavor! (Don’t worry, it still tastes like lasagna.)

Macros: Each 4″x3″ serving contains approximately: 11.1g net carbs | 28.2g protein | 20.8 g fat per serving. See also the Nutrition Facts Panel below.

Ingredients

1 small to medium 1 eggplant, cut into 1/8″-1/4″ slices
1-2 pounds 1-2 grass-fed ground beef and/or organic free-range ground turkey, depending on how thick you want your meat layers to be
1 medium 1 onion, diced
1 medium 1 zucchini, about 1/2 cup shredded or put through a food chopper
24 ounces 24 organic passata (tomato puree) or strained tomatoes–I get mine at Sprouts or online through a Thrive Market Membership.
3 ounces 3 organic tomato paste
2 2 organic tomatoes on the vine
12-16 ounces 12-16 organic, pasture-raised mozzarella cheese, cut into slices or shredded/processed in a food chopper–I like Organic Valley or Rumiano brands.
4 ounces 4 frozen or fresh spinach
1 tablespoon 1 avocado oil for greasing your large casserole dish, or the spray version works as well
Spices & Herbs
1 cup 1 fresh organic basil, chopped
1 teaspoon 1 ground black pepper
2 teaspoons 2 paprika
2 tablespoons 2 Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons 2 organic minced garlic
1/2 teaspoons 1/2 cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon 1 oregano
1/2 teaspoon 1/2 crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon 1 oregano–this part goes on the top layer before a last layer of cheese
Supplies
1 large 1 casserole dish

Directions

In a 5-quart pot cook the meat on medium heat with the diced onions, making sure the meat is evenly separated into bits. No draining of the fat is necessary if you’re using organic grass fed ground beef; however, if you do, your lasagna will be less runny from all the warm juices running together. (Note: If you can use organic grass-fed and grass-finished meat that’s even better.)
Now add to the meat mixture the black pepper, paprika, cayenne, crushed pepper, garlic, one teaspoon of oregano, frozen spinach, zucchini, tomato paste, and about 1-1/2 cups of the bottled tomato puree. You’ll use the remaining part of the bottle in a little bit.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Now add your fresh basil to the meat mixture. You’ll get more flavor if you add it closer to the end of your cooking.
Then, if you haven’t cut your eggplant already, you can do it here. I cut mine into 1/8″ thick slices but you may be able to do 1/4″ thick slices. I get about 1/3 of my medium-sized eggplant left over and will use it for a stir fry later in the week.
Next, evenly coat the bottom of your casserole dish with the avocado oil.
Then begin spreading your eggplant slices so they cover the bottom of the casserole dish. Then add a layer of meat sauce mixture, just enough so that you don’t see your eggplant showing through. Then add your shredded or sliced mozzarella cheese. Repeat these steps until you get about 1/2″ from the top of your casserole dish. I typically get about two layers (of eggplant, meat sauce and mozzarella cheese) so that the top, before the final cheese topping is applied, ends up either being meat sauce or another layer of eggplant.
Next, add the remaining tomato puree to the top of your last layer, and then sprinkle that last teaspoon of oregano over the top.
Now add your top layer of cheese. If you like the top a little more crispy you can add all the remaining cheese here. I like to add most of the remaining cheese here and then sprinkle another small layer about 10 minutes before I pull the lasagna out of the oven.
Almost there… After the cheese topping is down, you’re now ready to bake it for 50 to 60 minutes. As mentioned above, if you like combining layers of cheese, I pull mine out at 50 minutes and add more mozzarella, then put it back in the oven. It’s up to you.
After 60 minutes your lasagna should be ready to come out of the oven (you should notice the juices boiling up) and in need of a cool down. Wait for about 10 minutes before serving. Then it’s time to eat and enjoy!

Notes

Whenever possible, I recommend using clean organic ingredients.
Time-saving tip: Make the seasoned meat sauce mixture the night before so between preparation and baking it, this leaves you with half the time spent in the kitchen on the night you actually bake and eat the lasagna.