The Keto Eggplant Lasagna You've Been Dying To Try
When going on any sort of diet, whether it's going gluten-free, keto, sugar-free, or low-FODMAP, to name a few, there's always a dish or two that you won't be beyond craving! We find that the best way to stick to your diet is to remake a dish to fit your needs, rather than feel guilty about breaking your diet. It also helps to make the dish so delicious that your loved ones will want to eat it with you! So we did just that with this keto eggplant lasagna.
Lasagna is an easy dish to make ahead of time, to make in bulk, and to reheat when needed, making it a family favorite and a great staple for busy weeknight dinners. Truth be told, though, you don't need all those extra carbs from the noodles to make this dish a home run! Chef Tara Rylie of RylieCakes walks you through how to use roasted eggplant in place of noodles, creating a mouthwatering lasagna that will have your family begging for more.
Homemade tomato sauce for keto eggplant lasagna
There's nothing better than homemade tomato sauce and this recipe is as easy as it gets. The one trick here is to double-check the ingredients on your canned crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. You want to make sure that there is no added sugar. Sugar helps cut the acidity of tomatoes and therefore is often added to canned tomato products. Typically, higher-end brands have fewer added ingredients, which is precisely what you're looking for here.
To make your sauce, heat olive oil over low heat in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan. Once your pan is warm, increase your heat to medium, add your diced onions, and then sprinkle with salt. The water will draw the moisture out of the onions, allowing them to break down and brown a bit faster. Plus, it adds a nice flavor.
When onions are beginning to turn golden brown, add six cloves of minced garlic, stir to combine, and then push your onions to the sides of the pan. Next, you'll add your ground beef. As you break it up with a spatula, begin to combine the beef with the onion mixture. Finally, add your seasonings, canned tomatoes, and water. Stir everything together with a spatula and then turn your heat back down to low. Cover the pot with a lid and let your sauce simmer while you prepare your eggplant slices and ricotta filling.
Roasted eggplant makes the best noodle replacement
While your sauce is simmering, it's time to get started on your roasted eggplant. This will serve as a replacement for your usual lasagna noodles. The cool part about this part of the recipe is that it works for so many other dishes, too. After roasting the eggplant in herb oil, you could use these slices in sandwiches, lettuce wraps, chopped up on top of salads, or even rolled up with some lunch meat and cheese.
To get started, simply cut off the tops and bottoms of your eggplants, saving as much of the eggplant as possible. Then cut each lengthwise into ¼ inch slices and place the slices on your prepared sheet pans. Your slices will overlap, as shown in the picture, and that's totally okay.
Next, for the herb oil, whisk together ½ cup olive oil, the remaining four cloves of minced garlic, mint leaves, and oregano. Brush it on top of the eggplant slices, fully coating each slice. Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and pepper. Bake them for approximately 40 minutes until golden brown. Let the slices cool on a wire rack until ready to use in lasagna. If you're saving them for a later date, simply store the slices in an airtight container in your refrigerator.
The filling that makes keto eggplant lasagna shine
One of our favorite parts about the keto diet is being able to use dairy products without shame! Cheese adds so much flavor to whatever dish it is added to and we fully take advantage of that here. The first cheese we use in this keto eggplant lasagna is ricotta. Ricotta cheese tastes slightly sweet, making up for the sugar that would normally be added to a tomato sauce. It also compliments the salty, savory aspects of this dish.
For the filling, combine your ricotta cheese with one egg and freshly chopped parsley. That's it! This ricotta filling is what really gives this dish its true wow factor.
Layering your keto eggplant lasagna
Since this dish has not only meat sauce but also a ricotta filling, we have to methodically plan out how to layer it just right. As you can imagine, ricotta filling wouldn't spread well on top of the more liquid tomato sauce!
So to begin assembly of this dish, you actually want to start with your tomato sauce, layering one-third of it on the bottom of your prepared pan. Then layer half of your eggplant slices on top of the tomato sauce. Next, layer half of your ricotta filling on top of the eggplant slices. Repeat this process once more. Pour the remaining third of tomato sauce over the final layer of ricotta filling and then move on to your toppings.
The easiest, cheesiest topping for keto eggplant lasagna
To finish off your lasagna, sprinkle the mini mozzarella balls and shaved parmesan cheese over tomato sauce. We love the way the mini mozzarella balls melt, giving your tomato sauce a little room to bubble through the gaps. We also find the smaller mozzarella balls brown a bit more, creating a few delightfully crispy, cheesy bites as well.
If you want to save this lasagna for a later date, cover it well with foil and refrigerate for up to seven days or else place it in your freezer until ready to defrost and reheat.
To bake this lasagna, place it in your preheated oven for 20 minutes. If the top isn't golden brown enough for you, turn your oven from bake to high broil and broil lasagna for 2 to 3 minutes more. Let your lasagna cool slightly before topping with the remaining ¼ cup of parsley and serving it.
- 3 tablespoons + ½ cup olive oil, divided
- 1 large onion, medium diced
- 10 large garlic cloves, minced + divided
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon + ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
- ½ cup water
- 4 eggplants (approximately 4 pounds)
- 9 large fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 2 cups (16 ounces) ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup parsley, chopped + divided
- ¾ cup mozzarella balls
- ½ cup Parmesan, shaved/shredded
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat two half-sheet pans and one 9x13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat olive oil over low heat. Once warm, increase heat to medium, add diced onion, and sprinkle with salt. Sauté until onions start to turn translucent and some are golden brown, then add six cloves of minced garlic. Stir to combine and then push onions to the sides of the pan.
- Add ground beef to the center of the pan. Using a spatula, begin to break up the beef and mix it in with onions. Continue to cook until beef is just browned.
- Add Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon of salt, dried basil, pepper, fennel seeds, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and water. Stir together with a spatula, turn heat to low, cover pot with lid, and let the sauce simmer while preparing eggplant slices and ricotta filling.
- While sauce is simmering, cut off tops and bottoms of eggplants, saving as much of the eggplant as possible. Cut lengthwise in ¼-inch slices. Place eggplant slices on prepared sheet pans – they will overlap slightly.
- In a small bowl, whisk together ½ cup olive oil, the remaining four cloves of minced garlic, mint leaves, and oregano. Brush topsides of eggplant with herb oil – use all the oil and be sure herbs and garlic is on the eggplant and not on the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for approximately 40 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack until ready to use.
- To prepare the filling, combine ricotta, egg, remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ cup parsley in a small bowl.
- Once sauce, eggplant, and filling are ready, begin assembly. Layer one-third of meat sauce into prepared casserole dish. Layer half of eggplant slices on top of sauce. Spread half of the ricotta filling over eggplant slices. Pour another third of meat sauce over ricotta filling and then top with remaining eggplant slices. Spread remaining ricotta filling over eggplant slices and top with remaining meat sauce.
- Finally, sprinkle mozzarella balls and Parmesan over top. Bake in preheated oven for twenty minutes. If the top isn't golden brown enough, turn the oven to high broil and broil for two to three minutes. Let lasagna cool slightly before topping with remaining ¼ cup parsley and serving.
| Calories per Serving | 519 |
| Total Fat | 36.7 g |
| Saturated Fat | 12.8 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.9 g |
| Cholesterol | 96.0 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 24.9 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 8.5 g |
| Total Sugars | 13.2 g |
| Sodium | 1,098.0 mg |
| Protein | 26.0 g |
