Noodle-Less Eggplant Lasagna

As much as I love tucking into a delicious, carb-filled slab of lasagna, it isn’t exactly the lightest meal, even if it is satisfying. However, when you sub in thinly sliced eggplant for the pasta sheets and keep the cheesy, saucy goodness, you can have a light, yet hearty dish on the table with just a fraction of the carbs. 

Even though lasagna seems like a time-vampire of a task, this dish comes together quickly with the help of my handy ceramic mandolin slicer and prepared marinara sauce. The mandolin makes super-thin slices of eggplant, perfect for replicating those pasta layers while adding a bit more health to an otherwise indulgent meal. I love kitchen tools like the mandolin, as no matter how much I sharpen my knife skills, I could never get the paper thin slices this guy can manage. When a tool can make a task both easier and pretty, it’s always a win in my book! 

We start, unsurprisingly, with eggplants and the mandolin.

Then, we slice ‘em up! Eggplant wafers…so pretty and perfect.

Before we layer, a brief stint in the oven makes sure the eggplant is tender and delicious in the finished dish, and also ensures that the lasagna isn’t watery. A sprinkle of salt encourages the release of any excess moisture.

Slightly shriveled (in a good way) and barely tender eggplant slices.

The cheesy filling is a simple mix of thawed and drained chopped spinach, ricotta and parmesan.

It’s time to layer! Begin with a smear of sauce in the bottom of the pan.

Follow that up by an overlapping layer of eggplant.

Next up, cheese and sauce. Repeat ‘til you’re out of ingredients.

Finally, a crown of mozzarella pearls for extra cheesiness.

After a bake in the oven, your bubbly, veggie-packed lasagna is ready to serve.