no noodle eggplant lasagna
Hey! Welcome back to our weekly recipe series. If you're new here, you can discover more of my culinary creations on social media at @alliesbananabread
While I'm usually all about embracing carbs, I find myself navigating another one of my boyfriend's keto phases. You know how it is, when your boyfriend decides he's going full keto mode, somehow you end up making keto recipes too. Yeah, that’s how the saying goes 100%.
I've shared a similar recipe with you before, but that version featured zucchini as the star. Don't get me wrong, the zucchini version was delicious, but let's be honest about zucchini's limitations. It tends to get soggy and doesn't quite deliver the satisfying, substantial bite you crave from a proper meal.
Enter eggplant – the game changer. It transforms this dish from a "making do" keto substitute into something I'd genuinely choose to make any day of the week. The eggplant holds its structure beautifully, creating a hearty, restaurant-quality Italian dish that leaves you satisfied without that post-meal food coma.
That's really what I'm after during these keto experiments: recipes that transcend their dietary restrictions. Instead of creating "keto versions" of beloved dishes, I want to discover meals that happen to be keto-friendly but are so good they earn a permanent spot in my regular rotation. This eggplant creation absolutely passes that test.
The beauty of this dish lies in its versatility and substance. It's impressive enough for dinner guests, satisfying enough for a weeknight meal, and delicious enough that you'll forget it started as a compromise with someone else's diet plan.
As always, I'm open to your suggestions for future recipes—feel free to reach out via email, instagram dm, or however works best for you.
love u all!! -Allie
Ingredients:
2 medium sized eggplants
2 cups spinach
Half a yellow onion
1 pound turkey (or your meat of choice)
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup parmesan
1.5 jars Rao’s marinara sauce
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Olive oil or avocado oil
9x9 pan
Tinfoil
Instructions:
Slice eggplant & salt both sides of each slice.
Let eggplant slices sit for about 30 minutes, then pat them down with a paper towel. This will get all the moisture out.
Put olive oil or avocado oil on both sides of eggplant slices.
Bake eggplant slices in oven at 450 degrees F for 30 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
While eggplant is cooking, sauté onion and spinach in olive oil on a pan on medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Add the ground meat and break up into pieces.
When it looks mostly done, add the marinara sauce, fresh parsley, and the spices.
Stir everything together, and cook on low for about 15 minutes.
Once eggplant is done, turn the oven down from 450 to 400.
Layer! Start with some of the sauce, then eggplant, more sauce, mozzarella and parmesan, and then one more with eggplant, sauce, mozzarella and parmesan.
Cover with tinfoil and bake for 25 minutes.
