Make Ahead
Roasted Eggplant and Sautéed Greens Lasagna
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41 Reviews
Ro R.
December 8, 2023
This was pretty good and with a couple of tweaks might be great next time. I used no boil noodles, which never please me, but they were on hand - never again. I'm excited to try the egg roll wrapper suggestion of other reviewers. I got the two biggest eggplants available; i wish they'd been a little bigger perhaps, or that I just did 3 layers noodles rather than 4 to maximize the eggplant per layer. Next time i'd try 3 layers rather than the prescribed 4. I also added mushrooms (good choice) and purple kale, which wasn't a bad choice, but some green via spinach would have been better for presentation. The flavour comes mostly from the sauce, so make it a good one. The fresh mozzarella is good, but the cheese did disappear more in the other ingredients than a typical shredded mozzarella. Not a bad thing, but next time i might use a sauce with cheese in it already. I really appreciate all the alexandra stafford recipes on this site - many thanks to her for them. I never worry about trying them as they're always good and any faults with them are mostly my own.
Harold M.
June 20, 2023
Last night, I prepared a delightful dish utilizing fresh eggplant and tomatoes from our garden. The result was absolutely delicious. I decided to put a twist on the traditional recipe by incorporating a tip I learned from an elderly Italian woman – instead of using lasagne noodles, I opted for egg roll wrappers. This substitution created a lighter lasagne with enhanced flavors that truly shone through letmelivebetter write an article.
MadeleineC
February 19, 2021
Made this last night and it was excellent. It will enter the regular rotation. I suggest not cooking the tomato sauce down very much - this lasagna can use the extra moisture to ensure the no-boil pasta sheets soften and cook through. My lasagna pan is a bit shallow so I only got 3 layers of pasta in rather than 4, and it was still not too wet.
Alexandra S.
February 19, 2021
Great to hear this, Madeliene! And you are absolutely right about it not being too wet. Recently, I've found — and I don't know what explains this — that my no-boil noodles aren't softening the way they used to. So I've been dunking them in a bowl of just-boiled water. Three sheets at a time - just in and out essentially. It helps the noodles soften better.
CHR@SF
November 4, 2020
Adding to what I wrote previously. Made the lasagna, and thought it was delicious. But, have a further comment/question. Ingredients call for 1 qt. of tomato sauce, but, by my calculations, the instructions have you use only 2 1/2 cups. Would appreciate clarification. I used the entire qt. called for, but wonder if the recipe would be just as good with only 2 1/2 cups.
Alexandra S.
November 4, 2020
Hey! Sorry for the delay here. I will try to edit the recipe after I reply here.
First, sorry for some of the confusion, but great to hear you thought it was delicious.
I do use the full quart of sauce. Essentially it's 1/2 cup of sauce on each side of the noodle layer, so 1 cup for every layer of noodles, and there are 4 layers of noodles, so that's 4 cups.
Hope that makes sense. Again, sorry for the trouble ... will try to edit the recipe now.
First, sorry for some of the confusion, but great to hear you thought it was delicious.
I do use the full quart of sauce. Essentially it's 1/2 cup of sauce on each side of the noodle layer, so 1 cup for every layer of noodles, and there are 4 layers of noodles, so that's 4 cups.
Hope that makes sense. Again, sorry for the trouble ... will try to edit the recipe now.
CHR@SF
November 2, 2020
Just prepped some of this prior to making. The ingredient list is misleading & should be modified. Says "finely chopped" greens, but when I checked the online recipe photos (unfortunately after I already finely chopped them) saw that the greens are roughly, not finely, chopped. Please correct the recipe. Additionally, I made the Hazan tomato sauce from scratch, following the Food52 version. It only yielded a pint of sauce, once I simmered down my fresh tomatoes. So, advice to others, that recipe probably needs to be doubled to result in a quart of sauce. One more thing, my sauce took close to 2 hours to simmer down to a good consistency for the lasagna. Anyone else have similar issues?
Alexandra S.
November 4, 2020
Hi! OK, I edited the recipe to say "roughly" chopped greens, and I added some clarifications in the directions regarding the layering... hope that helps.
Regarding the sauce, I think the time will vary depending on the type of tomatoes you are using. I find with our juicy, homegrown tomatoes, this sauce does take longer to simmer down because there's so much extra liquid. You can use plum tomatoes here or beefsteak tomatoes that may be a little meatier and therefore might not be filled with as many juices.
What type of tomatoes did you use?
Regarding the sauce, I think the time will vary depending on the type of tomatoes you are using. I find with our juicy, homegrown tomatoes, this sauce does take longer to simmer down because there's so much extra liquid. You can use plum tomatoes here or beefsteak tomatoes that may be a little meatier and therefore might not be filled with as many juices.
What type of tomatoes did you use?
Puma53
October 25, 2020
I too think the ricotta over whelms the taste of lasagna if too much is on it. I made as is but added portabella mushrooms. Yummmmm
jpriddy
October 25, 2020
This looks so delicious! I am eager to try this, but maybe use a layer of baking parchment between the tomato sauce and foil? I am careful about aluminum touching acidic foods.
Sharon S.
October 4, 2020
I made this last night using eggplant and tomatoes from our garden...it was delicious. The only change I made was using egg roll wrappers (which an old Italian woman taught me) instead of the lasagne noodles. It makes for a much lighter lasagne and the flavors really stand out.
Alexandra S.
November 4, 2020
I LOVE this idea. Totally trying the egg roll wrappers. Thanks for sharing.
mary
August 25, 2020
A couple years later..... at a time of the year when overwhelmed with tomatoes and eggplant! Made this last night. Used eggplant, swiss chard and mushrooms. Added about 1/4 pound creamy gorgonzola. Was fabulous!
Alyson C.
July 12, 2020
We loved this! Truly great and better even than I expected after reading the recipe. The flavors come together beautifully. I did sweat the onion first, and also added a few cloves of garlic right before adding the tomatoes. Used Roma and on the vine tomatoes - 1 lb of each. Mixed the sauce in the blender. Loved it
Margo S.
October 28, 2019
Loved this recipe! I used swiss chard from my farmers market and I also made the roasted sherry mushrooms that were in the link. The recipe is time consuming, so give yourself enough time to make all the components (roast eggplant, saute greens, cook mushrooms, if using). That said, this totally worth it! I love this lighter version using fresh mozzerella and without the ricotta. It still had enough cheesy flavor without feeling as heavy as regular lasagne. I used a 9x13 baking dish. Took 4 "no boil" lasagne noodles to make each layer, but still came out to 12 noodles.
June
November 2, 2018
This recipe was really delicious and will definitely make it again. I used the entire box of lasagna noodles and some of them were hard after baking for 40 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered. Was this due to using the addition noodles?
Emma
September 30, 2018
This was SO delicious! I almost had second thoughts about the cheese, considering I'm so used to ricotta in lasagne, but everything about this is perfect. So simple yet so tasty! Thank you!
Laurie B.
September 16, 2018
Wow. This is the best lasagne I have every made, and I have made a few. The variation on the Marcella Hazan sauce is genius. Brava!
Rose
November 6, 2017
looks delicious but I also do not like eggplant. I would love to try with mushrooms. How would you suggest preparing them and what types. I am a newer cook and would appreciate any help. Thank you.
Alexandra S.
November 6, 2017
Hi Rose! Mushrooms will be delicious here. I like to roast them this way: https://food52.com/recipes/62512-roasted-mushrooms-with-sherry-creamy-polenta But you could simply slice and sauté them with garlic. The key with whatever method you choose to cook the mushrooms will be to drain them afterwards — stick them in a colander for 5 minutes or so to allow excess liquid to drain out.
Alyson C.
July 18, 2020
I’m considering making this with sherries mushrooms tonight. Would you suggest then skipping the greens? My choice would be to use the mushrooms, eggplant AND greens but as the recipe creator perhaps you have a thought as to whether one of the flavors may over power, or whatever. Please advise ... :)
Alexandra S.
July 18, 2020
I think mushrooms + eggplants + greens sounds divine! Not too much of anything at all :) Go for it.
Rose
November 6, 2017
looks delicious but I also do not like eggplant. I would love to try with mushrooms. How would you suggest preparing them and what types. I am a newer cook and would appreciate any help. Thank you.
Kitspy
October 16, 2017
This was dinner tonight. I've never had lasagna without the ricotta/egg mixture, and you know what? I think I like it better without! I'm in pasta heaven. Thank you!
Laura C.
October 5, 2017
I made this, almost twice! Both times I made the veggies ahead of time but the first time my husband and I kept eating the veggies before I could even assemble the lasagna, hence almost twice! It was really delicious, but I'm not sure I can get 8 servings out if it for my family, especially since it's much lighter than other lasagnas. Can't wait to try it with other veggies. This might end up being a weekly or bi weekly rotation for us, if we can keep ourselves from eating the veggies first!
Alexandra S.
October 5, 2017
I love it :) I have a really hard time NOT eating all of the roasted eggplant, so I totally understand. I hope this does enter the weekly rotation for you! But if it doesn't, I'll be happy knowing you're getting your veggies :) :) :)
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