I've eaten a whole lotta eggplant this summer! We were constantly grilling because we had such a lovely summer and wanted to just BBQ everything, well, mostly eggplants. Now that the temps are cooling down, I still want to eat eggplant and was dreaming this up weeks ago. It came to fruition and Walker and I polished off this entire dish of plant-based goodness in about 2.5 days.
I decided to change up the classic eggplant lasagna with ricotta and create a plant-based version (which is deeelish!!) because I figured there are a gazillion and one eggplant recipes online with ricotta. And, selfishly, I'm dairy-free right now, so I wanted to create something for me to eat! Don't worry, I'm not dairy-free forever. I just like to take breaks from time to time.
This Easy Eggplant Lasagna checks all the boxes, but most importantly it tastes and smells absolutely incredible!
If you came here because you were expecting ricotta, don't leave! You can totally use regular ricotta in place of the cashew ricotta. However, I encourage you try something new because my cashew ricotta is super-duper flavourful and you just *might* like it better than regular ricotta. All you need is an open mind, like my hubby Walker for instance. He was skeptical but as soon as he took his first bite, his eyes lit up, and he said "wow, this is actually really good Joy". And I was like "duh, I know!!". Ha!
For the cashew ricotta, you'll need cashews, nutritional yeast (not the same as yeast in bread), lemon and sea salt. That's it!
I bought two large eggplants from the farmer's market. Just make sure you sweat them a little as you'll see in my video as this is an important step, so don't skip it! Eggplants are a wonderful source of anthocyanins which are phytonutrients concentrated in the skin. This particular anthocyanin in eggplant is called nasunin and it is a potent free radical scavenger which means it acts as an antioxidant in the body. This is why you do not want to peel it. The skin gets nice and tender once you cook it anyway!
After watching the video, here are some step-by-step photos of building your Easy Eggplant Lasagna and then the recipe card (which is printable) is just below.
The first layer of the dish should just be pasta sauce. This will prevent the eggplant from sticking and help it absorb some more flavour. Next up add eggplant slices and evenly spread in dish. Then add dollops of spinach cashew ricotta on top of each slice, add pasta sauce and keep repeating the layers until you're done!
And finally, not to be skipped even though it seems like a very simple step, is the Plant-based Parmesan! You might want to do this before you make your ricotta, but it takes all of 30 seconds so it doesn't really matter when you do it. You won't miss the dairy parm when you use this because it is packed with flavour!
This Plant-based Parm is super simple - nutritional yeast, pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, sea salt and garlic powder. Blitz and then store in a glass jar in the fridge to top on this lasagna, avo toast, as a salad topper - so many wonderful uses to jazz up a dish!
Okay let's get to this recipe shall we?
I have put these into separate recipe cards to make things easier. Especially if you want to make the ricotta or the parm for a different dish than this lasagna.
Mains & Sides
Easy Eggplant Lasagna
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Ingredients
- Approximately 3 cups cashew ricotta*
- 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
- 2 large eggplants
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 4-5 cups pasta sauce
- 3-4 tbsp of Plant-based Parm
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C). You'll need a 13"x9" baking dish.
- In a large bowl, combine ricotta and fresh spinach. Set aside.
- Place a layer of sliced eggplant in the baking dish. Sprinkle with salt. This is to draw out excess moisture. Continue adding layers of eggplant and sprinkling with salt. Let sit for 10 minutes. Then pat off the excess moisture from the eggplant and remove from baking dish.
- Spoon some sauce to the bottom of the baking dish. Add 1 layer of sliced eggplant. Next add dollops of spinach cashew ricotta on top of each slice of eggplant and spread around with a spoon.
- Next add sauce on top of spinach cashew ricotta layer. Add another layer of eggplant and continue until final layer. For the final layer, add the last bit of spinach cashew ricotta on top of sauce in dollops.
- Sprinkle Plant-based Parmesan Cheese on top. Bake for 45-50 minutes until eggplant is tender and cooked through.
- Once removed from oven, let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.
- Refrigerate for up to 5-7 days. Eggplant does not freeze well, it gets very soggy so I don't recommend you freeze it. Reheat in the oven.
Notes
Serves 6-8 people.
*If you want to make this with regular ricotta you can do that. Just follow the same instructions and swap cashew ricotta for regular ricotta.
Here's the recipe for the Plant-based Ricotta Cheese.
Snacks
Plant-based Ricotta Cheese
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Ingredients
- 3 cups raw cashews, soaked for 4-6 hours
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Discard soaking water from cashews.
- Add all ingredients to a high power food processor or blender. Blend until creamy.
- Store in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Here's the recipe for the Plant-based Parmesan.
Mains & Sides
Plant-based Parmesan Cheese
Print
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 4 tbsp hemp hearts
Instructions
- In a small food processor, add pumpkin seeds, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and hemp hearts. Blitz until crumbly.
- Store in a mason jar in the fridge for up to 5 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.
So there you have it! Easy peasy Eggplant Lasagna - make ahead for the easiest weeknight dinner ever. This reheats nicely in the oven at 350F for about 10-15 minutes. Enjoy with my Creamy and Dreamy Kale Salad.
Enjoy! Be sure to share with me on social media if you make it! I love seeing your creations just be sure to tag me @joyoushealth.
Wishing you joyous health,
Joy xo
Really excited to try this recipe! Just wondering, do you think I could use some leftover cashew pulp from making cashew milk in place of some of the 3 cups of cashews? I have some now and need to find a use for it :). Thanks!
ReplyYou mean leftover cashews before you've added the nutritional yeast, garlic etc? Sure why not! I would recommend at least 1 cup of soaked cashews. I've got a wonderful recipe for cashew milk here: https://www.joyoushealth.com/107-recipe-creamy-vanilla-cashew-milk It's nice and creamy.
No, I mean the pulp left in the nut milk bag after you have made the milk :). Can I use that (I have about 1 cup) plus 2 cups of soaked cashews (instead of 3) to make the ricotta?
Oh I see! You could but I just don't think it won't be as flavourful once you extract all the goodness out of it. You can try it and see, but I'm just not sure it will be as good.
Looks so good! It may be cheating, but I am trying this with pasta rather than the eggplant. I love eggplant but I was looking for a plant-based recipe so why not try a modified version. :-)
ReplySounds great! You could also use sliced zucchini but pasta sounds wonderful too :)
How much garlic powder did you put in your Ricotta cheese?
ReplyGood question! 1 tbsp or more to taste. Start with that and see how you like it!
Hi! How much Parm are you sprinkling on top? The entire 1 cup amount? Trying this one out today!
ReplyGreat question, I will update the recipe. It's just a sprinkle, so maybe 2-3 tbsp. Enjoy!
What is the Italian seasoning for? Thank you!
ReplyOriginally I had written about adding it to the pasta sauce if you're using plain sauce but I've since removed it to avoid confusion on where to add it, so just ignore! :)
Okay, I was sceptical but honestly this is delicious. I made it exactly as the recipe call for. I wouldn’t change a thing. Thanks Joy
ReplyYou're welcome Beth, glad you loved it!
Maybe I cut the eggplant too thick, but after 45 min I checked and put it back every 15 mins, so it was baking for at least 75 min and still was not soft, but still tasty. I'll recook it tomorrow.
ReplyThanks for letting me know! I'm going to add a note about the thickness because I've had that comment before :) I cut it as thick as you see in the video... about 1 cm at the thickest or less wide.
I made this on Sunday night fir supper along with your sweet potato biscuits. We both loved it. My husband had two stacks. Haha.
ReplyThis is the perfect Sunday night supper, glad you loved it!
Love this recipe. A perfect dish to enjoy as our weather gets cooler. So easy to make!
ReplySo happy to hear you love it Shannon, thanks for the comment!
This was delish! I always thought I hated eggplant but I think I've been converted. I used ricotta cheese and my family pasta sauce with the plant based Parm. Thanks for the great recipe!
ReplyYou're welcome Stephanie, thanks for trying it out!
Can I use real garlic instead of garlic powder in cashew ricorra? And how much - about one clove?
ReplyI would do 1-2 cloves. Enjoy!
This was very filling and tasty. Thanks Joyous Health!
ReplyHappy to hear you enjoyed it Laura!