Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna

Sat, Feb 22, 2014

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As part of the Ragú “New Tra-Dish” project {where I was asked to select two of the Ragú Authentic Italian Recipes and create my own spin on them} I initially turned Skillet Chicken Cacciatore into Chicken Cacciatore Soup. For round two of this project, I have transformed eggplant parmesan into a low-carb, vegetarian lasagna.

In this vegetarian lasagna, I used Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce for the base of the lasagna sauce (instead of tomatoes), doctoring the sauce with some seasoning and Parmesan cheese. {A splash of red wine doesn’t hurt things, either!} The eggplant parmesan slices replace the lasagna noodles. This lasagna may be hands down my favorite way to eat eggplant and I can honestly say that I do not miss the noodles.

I found the trick to the baked eggplant parmesan is to cut the slices as thinly as possible, preferably thinner than 1/4-inch thick. When seasoned and baked, they become crispy (almost like eggplant chips in the very thin places) but they soften right up, remaining tender yet not soggy, once they are assembled with the cheeses and sauce and baked into lasagna.

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna

Author: Itsy Bitsy Foodies

Recipe type: Main Course

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Serves: 4

This eggplant parmesan lasagna may be hands down my favorite way to eat eggplant and I can honestly say that I do not miss the noodles.

Ingredients

1 jar Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce
1 eggplant, sliced as thinly as possibly (1/4-inch thick or less)
½ cup plain breadcrumbs
1 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
1 tsp oregano, divided
1 tsp garlic powder, divided
½ tsp black pepper, divided, to taste
1 egg mixed with 1 tsp water
8 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
1½ cups mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Mix the egg and water in one shallow bowl.
Mix the breadcrumbs, ½ cup parmesan cheese, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp oregano and ¼ tsp black pepper in another shallow bowl.
Dredge the thin eggplant slices in the egg and then in the breadcrumb mixture, evenly and completely coating both sides.
Place the pieces on a greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, flipping them over roughly half way between cooking, until each side is golden brown.
In the meantime, pour the Ragú sauce, ½ cup parmesan cheese, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp oregano and ¼ tsp black pepper in small saucepan and heat on medium-low until the cheese has melted.
Working with a 9x13 pan (or smaller), pour roughly ⅓ of the sauce into the pan and spread it to coat the bottom of the pan.
Arrange half of the eggplant slices in one layer. (I used 3 whole slices and one half slice).
Spread half of the ricotta cheese on top of the eggplant slices (or spread each slice of eggplant generously with ricotta cheese).
Sprinkle roughly ½ cup mozzarella cheese on top.
Pour another third of the sauce over the cheese and gently spread it around to evenly coat the top.
Repeat the layers with the remaining half of eggplant slices, ending with a final layer of sauce and mozzarella cheese.
Sprinkle parmesan cheese on the very top if desired.
Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and lightly browned. (You can uncover the pan and broil it for a minute or two to help lightly brown the cheese if desired.)
*This recipe can be doubled if you would like to make a thicker lasagna (with four layers of eggplant parmesan).

Each jar of Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce is made with 11 juicy tomatoes making it its richest, thickest recipe. Ragú® has the Authentic Italian taste American families love and a variety of great tasting, quick and easy to make family favorite recipes.

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Disclosure: This was a sponsored post from Ragú, in partnership with Yummly. Sponsored posts such as these help support the work behind the scenes on Itsy Bitsy Foodies. All opinions are my own.