Our Eggplant Lasagna is layered with rich béchamel, pasta sheets, savory tomato meat ragù, and lots of parmesan cheese.
Rich, creamy, and deeply satisfying, this lasagna recipe tastes comforting and familiar with the extra sweetness of roasted eggplant.
If you love this eggplant lasagna, you will also love this pastitsio-pasta bake, Greek beef ragú pasta or moussaka-the Greek Eggplant Potato Casserole!
Why this recipe sings
This eggplant lasagna is a beautiful change to the more standard lasagna recipes.
Thin roasted eggplant slices are layered between classic lasagna ingredients creating a comforting, lovely dish.
For lasagna, I am loyal to the classic version with a rich meat ragu layered with pasta sheets, parmesan cheese, and béchamel sauce. The ragu is always our Greek ground beef meat sauce with juicy San Marzano tomatoes and seasonings.
Here is what you need
- Eggplants. Two large eggplants are enough. But keep an extra available in case you want to layer more slices.
- Ground beef. My go-to is 85/100 ground beef. I prefer it to a very lean cut. You can also use a combination of ground beef and pork or ground sausage. For leaner lasagna, you can make it with ground turkey.
- Tomatoes. Two cans of authentic San Marzano tomatoes are used to create a saucy ragu. I use my food processor to make a passata-tomato puree.
- Lasagna pasta sheets. In this recipe, I am using no-boil lasagna. I have cooked this dish with fresh pasta sheets and boiled dry pasta sheets. The results were the same. Perhaps you want to make the ragu less saucy if you boil your pasta or use fresh, especially if you dislike extra sauce. It is not the case in our house; we crave extra sauce!
- Onion, garlic, celery, and a carrot.
- Parmesan cheese. To sprinkle all over the layers and the top.
- Sea salt, freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, cloves, dried oregano, a bay leaf, and a cinnamon stick. All the seasonings of a greek meat sauce
- Extra virgin olive oil.
For the béchamel sauce
- Butter. Good quality butter. You can use salted or unsalted since you check for seasoning at the end of the cooking.
- All-purpose flour. Keep some extra in case you need to thicken the sauce.
- Whole milk. As with the flour, keep a little extra around if you need to loosen the sauce.
- Nutmeg, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper. The nutmeg is nutty and adds a touch of sweetness to the milk.
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
How to make this recipe
Make the meat ragù
Add the ground beef, a large pinch of salt, and freshly ground pepper. Break the meat with a wooden spoon, stir well, and cook until the beef is browned all over.
Add the dried oregano, chopped fresh herbs, nutmeg, cloves, a bay leaf, and the cinnamon stick and stir.
Prepare the eggplant
Heat the oven to 375°F / 190°C.
When the meat sauce is ready and the eggplant slices are cooked, start the bechamel.
Make the béchamel sauce
Warm up the milk.
Let lasagna stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve family style with a leafy salad and crusty bread.
Thank you to Eri Manley for providing her beautiful kitchen and equipment for this lasagna dish.
Thank you to Karin Kautzky for assisting in prep and cooking.
Check out my Greek pantry staples
Cooked this? Rate this recipe! You can also leave a comment below. I love hearing from you!
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Eggplant Lasagna With Béchamel
Rich, creamy, and deeply satisfying, this lasagna recipe tastes comforting and familiar with the extra sweetness of roasted eggplant.
Equipment
- Large pot For the ragu sauce
- Parchment paper For eggplant prep
- baking sheets For eggplant prep
- Small saucepan To warm up the milk
- Medium saucepan For the bechamel sauce
- 9-by-12-inch lasagna pan
Ingredients
For the meat ragu sauce
- 2 large eggplants cut in ⅛ inch / 3 mm thin slices, plus one more in case you need extra layers
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 2 28 oz cans of San Marzano tomatoes pulse in a food processor or smash with your hands
- 1 onion
- 1 celery stalk diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1½ cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
You also need
- Lasagna pasta sheets no boil
- 2-3 sprigs of fresh herbs oregano or thyme. Optional
For the bechamel
- 4 cups whole milk plus more for loosening the sauce
- 6 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour plus more for thickening the sauce
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- sea salt
- freshly ground pepper
Instructions
Make the ragu
- Place a large pot on the stove and turn the heat to medium. Put the olive oil, diced onion and garlic in the pot, stir, and cook until fragrant, about one minute. Add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well.
- Add the ground beef, a large pinch of salt, and freshly ground pepper. Break the meat with a wooden spoon, stir well, and cook until the beef is browned all over.
- Add two teaspoons dried oregano, some chopped fresh herbs(optional), ½ teaspoon nutmeg, three cloves, a bay leaf, and the cinnamon stick and stir.
- Pour in the tomatoes and stir. When the sauce bubbles, turn the heat down and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. Add half a cup of water or broth whenever necessary, and keep this sauce liquidy. Adjust sea salt and pepper to taste.
Heat the oven to 375°F / 190°C.
Prepare the eggplant
- Cut the eggplants into thin slices about ⅛ of an inch, 3 mm. Place eggplant slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush some olive oil and sprinkle sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and dried oregano all over the eggplants. Bake for about 15 minutes.
After the meat ragu sauce is done and the eggplant slices are cooked start the bechamel
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low. Add the flour, whisk until smooth, and cook until the flour is no longer raw, about one to two minutes.Whisk all around the edges of the pan to prevent burning.
- Whisking constantly, gradually add ¼ cup of the milk. The sauce will start thickening. Slowly add another ¼ cup of the milk and whisk until smooth. Repeat with the remaining ¼ cup of the milk, constantly whisking until the sauce is smooth and creamy.
- Season to taste with sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and a generous pinch of nutmeg. Set bechamel next to your sauce and pasta sheets and start assembling.
Assemble
- Spoon a layer of meat sauce into the bottom of a 9-by-12-inch lasagna pan. Cover with a layer of pasta sheets. Spoon more meat sauce on top. Then, add a layer of eggplant and a generous sprinkle of grated parmesan. Cover eggplants with a thin layer of bechamel sauce. Repeat for two more layers until your last layer is eggplant slices. Cover with the remaining meat sauce. Top with the rest of the bechamel, and sprinkle grated parmesan evenly over the top. Bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
-
- It is best to have extra butter, milk, and all-purpose flour to make more bechamel.
- Two large eggplants are enough for this recipe but keep an extra available to layer more slices if needed.
- My go-to is 85/100 ground beef. I prefer it to a very lean cut. You can also use a combination of ground beef and pork or ground sausage. For leaner lasagna, you can also make it with ground turkey.
- Two cans of authentic San Marzano tomatoes create a saucy ragu. I use my food processor to make a passata-tomato puree.
- In this recipe, I am using no-boil lasagna. This is because the meat sauce has plenty of extra liquid to cook the pasta in this recipe. I have cooked this dish with fresh pasta sheets and boiled dry pasta sheets. The results were the same. Perhaps you want to make the ragu less saucy if you boil your pasta or use fresh, especially if you dislike extra sauce.
Nutrition
Calories: 674kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 30gFat: 40gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 104mgSodium: 415mgPotassium: 741mgFiber: 5gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 1502IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 270mgIron: 3mg
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