Vegan Eggplant Lasagna
Vegan eggplant lasagna with velvety roasted eggplant, tender noodles, herby tofu ricotta, and tomato sauce. It’s cozy, comforting, & a guaranteed crowd-pleaser for vegans and non-vegans!
Servings: 6 to 8
Calories: 557kcal
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants, thinly sliced lengthwise at ½-inch thickness
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- Pinch of salt
- 1 pound of no boil lasagna noodles
- 1 ½ (24-ounce) jars of tomato basil sauce
Tofu Ricotta
- Roasted eggplant
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- ½ cup of water
- 6 garlic cloves, whole
- (16-ounce) pack of extra-firm tofu
- Juice of 1 lemon, plus more to taste
- 1 cup of fresh basil
- 1 teaspoon of salt, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Place the eggplant on the baking sheets, each slice overlapping half of the slice next to it.
- In a small bowl, mix the oil and salt. With a brush, brush the oil and salt on top of the eggplant. Eggplant soaks oil, so do not over oil them. Just lightly brush them so they can roast.
- Roast for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Once the eggplant is ready, remove from the oven and let it cool.
- Place the slices of eggplant that are mostly the skin of eggplant in a food processor. Then add all of the ricotta ingredients and pulse until creamy. Set aside
- To assemble the lasagna, oil the bottom and sides of a deep 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Add 1 cup of water and 1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce to the baking dish, mix, and place one even layer of the raw lasagna pasta.
- Top with one layer of ricotta (it will be divided to 3 layers in total). Top with one layer of roasted eggplant (it will be divided to 3 layers in total).
- Evenly pour 1 1/2 cups of tomato sauce over and add another even layer of lasagna pasta.
- Top with a layer of ricotta, another layer of eggplant and 2 cups of tomato sauce. Top with another layer of lasagna pasta.
- Add all of the remaining eggplant into another layer. Spread 3 cups of tomato sauce over the eggplant. Add dollops of tofu ricotta all over the top of the lasagna and lightly press them to flatten them.
- Tightly cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Set aside for the pasta to rehydrate while the oven preheats.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake the lasagna for 45 minutes.
- Carefully uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes for the top to lightly brown or broil for 5 minutes, constantly monitoring.
- Remove form the oven and allow it to sit for 15 minutes before slicing.
Notes
We found that the amount of lasagna pasta noodles in a box varies. If you run out before the last layer, you can skip that layer of pasta noodles.
- Use no-boil lasagna sheets: These don’t require pre-cooking, helping you cut down on prep time and effort. Check the box, as regular sheets require pre-cooking.
- Cut the eggplant evenly: This ensures it bakes evenly. Do this quickly and easily using a mandoline (but be careful – it’s sharp!).
- Cover while baking: The foil keeps the vegan eggplant lasagna moist to cook the pasta. The 10-15 minutes uncovered then achieves the golden-brown top.
- Leave it to rest: This allows the lasagna to set slightly, making for easier slicing.
Nutrition
Calories: 557kcal | Carbohydrates: 79g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Sodium: 990mg | Potassium: 1175mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 757IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 4mg
