Make Ahead

Roasted Eggplant and Sautéed Greens Lasagna

September 18, 2017
4.6
11 Ratings
Photo by Alexandra Stafford
  • Prep time 1 hour
  • Cook time 50 minutes
  • Serves 8 to 12
Author Notes

In an effort to include more make-ahead meals into the weekly rotation, I made a lasagna that I could stash in the fridge and bake as needed. This version here calls for roasted eggplant and sautéed greens, but you can really add any cooked vegetables you like: roasted red peppers, sautéed mushrooms, roasted butternut squash, sautéed beet greens, roasted cauliflower, etc.

For the sauce: I've been making a modified Marcella Hazan sauce: I sweat the onion first, add the tomatoes (not peeled) and cook for about an hour, then puréed everything together. Feel free to use any sauce you like.

I like the Barilla no-boil noodles. The box is 9 oz, but I don't use all 15 sheets — you need 12 here. Save the remaining 3 sheets in a ziplock bag.

I've never loved the ricotta-egg layer of lasagna, so I've omitted it here. I find mozzarella and parm add enough flavor/richness without making it taste too heavy. —Alexandra Stafford

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Ingredients
  • 2 to 3 small-ish eggplant (about 2 to 3 pounds)
  • grapeseed oil
  • kosher salt
  • 10 to 12 ounces greens, such as Swiss chard, kale, or mustard greens, leaves removed from stems and roughly chopped (you should have about 8 oz. greens post trimming)
  • 1 quart tomato sauce, homemade is best, see notes above
  • 1 box no-boil noodles (about 9 oz, you'll need 12 sheets, see notes above)
  • 4 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano, grated (about 1 cup)
  • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella (not stored in brine), pulled into small pieces (about 1 cup)
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Slice the eggplant into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Spread into single layers on two baking sheets. Drizzle 3 to 4 tablespoons grapeseed oil over top. Toss to coat. Spread back into a single layer and season generously with kosher salt. Roast the eggplant for 20 minutes or so, rotating the pans halfway—the eggplant is done when the undersides are golden brown and release easily from the pan with a metal spatula. This may take longer than 20 minutes and may require more than one rotation of the pans. Be sure to check the eggplant slices periodically—for instance, the slices on the perimeter of my sheetpan always brown/finish cooking first. Transfer eggplant to a plate. Turn the heat down to 350° F.
  2. Meanwhile, place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil. When the oil shimmers, add the greens, and sauté turning the greens with tongs to help them cook evenly. Season with a good pinch of salt. When the greens have shrunk way down, they’re done—this will happen in 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and transfer the greens to a plate to cool.
  3. Set up an assembly line with your tomato sauce, no-boil noodles, plate of eggplant and greens, grated parmesan, pulled-apart mozzarella. Spread a 1/2 cup of tomato sauce over the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan. Top with 3 no-boil noodles. Spread another 1/2 cup of sauce over top. Layer eggplant in a single layer over top. Spread a thin layer of greens over top. Spread about 1/4 cup of parmesan over top, then 1/4 cup mozzarella. Repeat this layering (sauce, noodles, sauce, eggplant, greens, parmesan, mozzarella) until you have four layers of noodles (the last layer of noodles topped with 1/2 cup tomato sauce). Sprinkle over the remaining cheese. (The idea is to always have about 1/2 cup tomato sauce on either side of the noodles, but you can't go wrong here.)
  4. Cover pan with foil and refrigerate until ready to bake or transfer to oven and bake 40 minutes covered. Remove foil, and bake for 5 to 10 minutes if desired to lightly brown the top.

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I write the blog alexandra's kitchen, a place for mostly simple, sometimes fussy, and always seasonal recipes. My cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs is available everywhere books are sold.

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.
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?
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?
rebeccaowens October 11, 2018
Can this be frozen?
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!
Alexandra S. September 17, 2018
So happy to hear this, Laurie!
Rose November 6, 2017
thank you so much for the wonderful mushroom suggestions!
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!
Alexandra S. October 17, 2017
So happy to hear you, Kitspy! And I'm with 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 :) :) :)