If you’re looking for a hearty and healthy eggplant lasagna without noodles, you’re in the right place. This low carb lasagna recipe has all the flavor of a regular lasagna with a fraction of the carbs. Replacing noodles with sliced, low carb eggplant results in a flavorful eggplant casserole layered with ground beef, marinara and three cheeses. Keto lasagna without noodles? You won’t miss a thing!
Bake in the oven or use your slow cooker and keep the house cool.
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I’ve mentioned in other posts that my mother’s grandparents immigrated to this country from Italy. Mom grew up eating wonderful dishes prepared by her Italian grandma, mother and aunts. Fortunately, she taught me how to make a few of her specialties (some of which I’ve made low carb and shared with you). My keto meatballs recipe gets rave reviews as does my creamy low carb Alfredo sauce.
A labor of love…
Lasagna is one of my favorite dishes, and while it takes a little more time to prepare it’s utterly worth it. Luckily, several steps can be done simultaneously, which cuts down on preparation time. The adjustments I’ve made to my mother’s traditional recipe make this eggplant lasagna low carb, hearty, and delicious.
Keto Eggplant Lasagna with Meat Sauce
I realize that eggplant lasagna may be a first for some of you, keto or otherwise, and you may be wondering what eggplant tastes like? The flesh of eggplant has a slightly spongy texture and a slightly bitter taste which sweetens a bit as it cooks. Since it contains a lot of water, sliced eggplant is usually salted to draw out excess water and bitterness.
Through extensive testing I found that “salting” isn’t necessary for this particular keto eggplant lasagna recipe. The end result is not watery and the slight bitterness of the eggplant noodles is a nice counterpoint to the sweet Marinara sauce and creamy ricotta cheese. The skin of eggplant is thick and tough (mom always peeled her eggplant) but keeping the skin on prevents the slices from turning to mush.
NOTE: Take your time cutting the lasagna to ensure that the eggplant is completely sliced through for easier serving.
How to choose an eggplant
Mom taught me to choose eggplants with beautiful shiny skin. And while smaller eggplants have smaller seeds, choosing the right eggplant is more important than size. You want to choose a male eggplant because they have smaller and less seeds than female eggplants. To tell the difference between male and female eggplant, look at the blossom end. Male eggplants have a small, shallow round circle at the blossom end of the fruit. Female eggplants have a wider and deeper impression that looks like a line or a dash.
How to slice an eggplant
While I like round, crosswise slices for things like crispy fried eggplant or eggplant Parmesan, long lengthwise slices are preferred for eggplant lasagna. Since eggplants are round and roll, the first step is to make it safe for cutting. To do this,
- Slice-off the stem end of the eggplant then slice-off the blossom end. This results in a flat, stable surface to place on the cutting board.
- With a sharp knife, slice vertically from the top of the eggplant straight down, with a slight sawing motion.
Actually, the first few slices and last few slices will occur at the sides of the eggplant. You need at least eight, ¼ inch slices. Then, roast the eggplant in the oven on well-oiled sheet pans, for 6-8 minutes per side before layering in the pan.
Ricotta Cheese Layer for lasagna (Yes, add an egg)
The ricotta cheese is my favorite layer in keto lasagna recipes. It’s traditional to mix a beaten egg into the ricotta cheese. This prevents the cheese from thinning and becoming grainy and also helps firm it up. Equally important is stirring the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses into the ricotta. That’s the way mom did it.
NOTE: Some keto eggplant lasagna recipes call for adding Italian seasoning to the ricotta cheese, but this is a blunder. One should be able to taste the sweet creaminess of the ricotta on its own and the sauce should be flavored enough to carry the seasoning in the dish. The flavor of each layer should be distinct but become something more as you enjoy them together in each bite.
Low carb keto meat sauce
Saute garlic in olive oil and cook ground beef breaking up. I use lean ground beef for two reasons: 1. Lean ground beef results in a higher yield 2. There is enough fat in the cheeses that the extra fat in a fattier grind of beef is not necessary. Once cooked, stir in 1 cup of homemade keto tomato sauce (or your favorite store bought Marinara sauce) into the cooked meat. Two popular low carb sauce brands are Rao’s Marinara or Organico Bello Marinara.
How to layer a lasagna
Lasagna’s are layered in a specific way and generally have three repetitive layers of ingredients. This keto eggplant lasagna has two repeating layers which helps keep carbs low. Here’s how to layer it:
- Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce in the pan
- Add a layer of eggplant
- Spread a layer of ricotta cheese over the eggplant
- Spoon meat sauce over the ricotta cheese
- Repeat with a layer of eggplant, ricotta cheese and meat sauce
- Top with mozzarella cheese
Bake Keto Eggplant Lasagna or Cook in Slow Cooker!
Although it’s traditional to cook eggplant lasagna in the oven, this recipe can also be made in the crockpot. Since slow cookers employ a wet cooking method (in the form of trapping steam) and “make liquid” as they cook, I recommend baking the eggplant noodles in the oven to remove excess moisture before layering the lasagna in your slow cooker.
CONCLUSION
Keto eggplant lasagna is a great low carb lasagna alternative. The meat sauce provides a nice amount of protein which increases satiety without increasing carbs. Serve with a nice green salad and a piece of low carb focaccia or keto dinner rolls. The recipe serves 8 hearty portions.
Keto Eggplant Lasagna with Meat Sauce
Equipment
- 9×13 inch lasagna pan
- 2 large sheet pans
- cutting board
- chef's knife
- medium saute pan or skillet
- measuring cups and spoons
- Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds eggplant
- 3 tbsp olive oil divided use
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon Beef Base
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1 1/2 cups Keto Tomato Sauce (or your favorite low carb Marinara)
- 15 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese divided use
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Eggplant (Preheat oven to 400 F)
- Cut off a thin slice from the bottom and cut off the top. (I angle the knife under the leaves and cut them off, exposing more of the eggplant to decrease waste.) Place the eggplant standing up on the cutting board, holding the top with the fingers of one hand. Carefully cut the eggplant from top to base with a slight sawing motion, starting at the side of the eggplant. You want 8 slices about 1/4 inch thick.
- Grease two large cookie sheets with 1 tbsp of oil each. Lay 4 slices of eggplant per sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes per side then, flip, then bake for an additional 6-8 minutes. Set aside.
Meat Sauce
- While the eggplant cooks, slice the garlic and put it in a medium saute pan. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, turn the heat to medium and saute the garlic until slightly softened and the oil is flavored. Add the ground beef and cook breaking it up into small pieces. When cooked through, add 1 cup Marinara sauce, beef base, and dried basil. Stir and simmer until the sauce thickens. Then cool.
Ricotta Cheese
- While the sauce simmers, scoop the ricotta cheese into a 4 cup bowl. Add the egg and stir with a fork to combine. Stir in 1 ½ cup of mozzarella cheese and ⅓ cup parmesan cheese.
Layer
- Spread 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of the lasagna pan, then add 4 slices of eggplant. Spread the half the ricotta cheese mixture over the eggplant. Spoon and spread half the meat sauce over the ricotta cheese. Repeat the layers and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
Bake (Preheat oven to 375 F)
- Place a piece of parchment over the lasagna to prevent the acid in the sauce from reacting with the aluminum foil. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 375 covered for 30 minutes, then 10 minutes uncovered. Let the lasagna sit 10-15 minutes before cutting into 8 equal pieces and serving.
Slow Cooker
- Spray the slow cooker sleeve with non-stick cooking spray. Follow the instructions except layer the eggplant lasagna ingredients in the slow cooker. Cover with lid and cook on high power for 2-3 hours or until a knife inserted into the lasagna meets little resistance. Turn the slow cooker off and let the lasagna sit covered, for 30 minutes to an hour to absorb any liquid. Cut and serve.
I cooked this last night and went exactly by the recipe. It was very good. My husband and I both enjoyed it. Now that I know it’s so tasty next time I’ll add in some mushrooms. Highly recommend!
I made your “Keto Eggplant”. Taste great, but it was watery and mushy! Won’t use it again.
Hi Jeanette. I’m sorry your eggplant lasagna wasn’t what you expected. I make this often (both with meat sauce and with the mushroom ragu) and haven’t had it be watery. Here are some thoughts.
First, eggplant is a mushy vegetable when cooked. Because the eggplant in this recipe isn’t coated in pork rinds or almond flour, the slices won’t be crispy. For crispy eggplant try my crispy eggplant rounds or my eggplant parmesan stacks.
Pre-baking the eggplant helps reduce the amount of water in the slices before cooking in the lasagna, but does not crisp it. The meat sauce mixture should be pretty dry so I simmer it in the pan a bit to remove some of the water before cooling and adding to the lasagna. Letting the lasagna “rest” for 10 minutes after baking lets the moisture absorb back into the filling; that’s a rule for any casserole.
Different brands of ricotta cheese have different moisture contents. I used full-fat ricotta cheese (Galbani?). Using a low-fat ricotta cheese may contain more moisture.
I hope these ideas work for you next time you make a keto lasagna, even if the recipe is from a different site. Have a nice day. -Kim
How is this keto when carbs have >6% of calories?
Hi Auridas, thank you for your question. Yes, strict keto is about 80% fat, 15% protein and 5% carbs and this recipe is about 63% fat, 24% protein and 16% carbs. So, although it doesn’t fit the 80/15/5 ratios… at 6.45 g carbs per serving, it is absolutely low carb and keto. Adding a small side salad of green leaf lettuce with 2 tbsp of olive oil and a splash of vinegar brings the macros for the meal to: 77% fat, 15% protein and 8% carbohydrates – which is almost perfect.
It’s good to remember that not all bodies are the same and people may need to play with their macro ratios in order to find the combination that works best for them. Some people need more fat and others need less, some more protein and others need less, etc. Moreover, that ratio may change during weight loss as body composition and metabolism change.
In order to make way of eating easy and sustainable, most of us aim to reach our macro goals in the context of a whole day and don’t aim for perfect keto ratios for each meal. In the context of a whole day, having a lunch with less carbs and a little more fat takes care of the problem or adding a small side salad to the meal, as I mention above can help. If you track your food during the day (I use fatsecret [dot] com) then you can see where you macros for the day are and plan for your next meal by perhaps adding more or less fat, more of less protein or more or less carbs.
So, as you can see, I did a great job developing this recipe to fit a low carb keto diet. I worked hard on it to make sure it tastes absolutely delicious and I stand behind it 100%. – Kim
Have you ever subbed zucchini for the eggplant? Wondering if it would work. Thanks for all your recipes- great!
I haven’t yet, Marie. But will try at some point. The only problem is that zucchini contains so much water. I think it would be better suited for zucchini lasagna roll ups. -Kim
My husband hates keto, but he’s in it with me for the full month :) this recipe however, doesn’t make him feel like he’s missing out, settles his craving for something okey and gooey and is so rich and yummy. One last thing to note, my husband hates all of the “keto casseroles” because it’s like eating pounds of cheese. Even tho this recipe is “heavy” it’s not “gross heavy”
What a great alternative to traditional lasagna! My wife and I loved this, and it reheats really well for lunch the next day. Thanks for the great dinner!
This recipe was amazing. I served it the other night and even my picky-eater liked it.
This recipe is delicious. My family loves everything you make.
Kim,
This was better than expected. I am on a Keto diet and so far I have lost 10 pounds! Your blog has all the good recipes I crave the most! Thank you for all you do!
This eggplant lasagna was so good. I couldn’t believe the flavor. My family gave it two thumbs up. Will make again.
this recipe is great but it a** backwards. Would be nice to be in a readable format
Hi Jacqueline. I tried to keep the recipe easy and with enough detail that even an inexperienced cook could follow it. Do you have specific suggestions to how the instruction can be improved? “A** backwards” just isn’t descriptive enough as the eggplant and meat sauce need to be made before the parts are layered together. Thanks. -Kim
This recipe was amazing. We had guests over and we all loved it.
Hello! Oh my goodness! I made the eggplant keto lasagna tonight. It is awesome. I’m having so much fun with my meals.
I am so happy you like the recipe and are enjoying the food! Have a great weekend. -Kim
I made this tonight and my wife and I loved it. It scratched that lack of Pasta itch, Nice touch with the Better than Bullion. Will make it again, but NOT when it’s 90+ degrees. Thanks for sharing
I’m glad you and you wife enjoyed the recipe, Keith. Thanks for coming back and taking the time to let me know. Have a great day. -Kim
Made this last night using some leftover bolognese sauce and we loved it!!! Didn’t even miss regular lasagna noodles. I recently started keto, and I’m so glad I came across this recipe. Thank you!
I’m so happy you liked the recipe, Alina. Thank you for taking the time to comment and rate the recipe. I appreciate it. Have a nice day. -Kim
I absolutely loved this! Served it to carb-loving friends and they loved it too. This will most certainly go into my winter dish rotation once the weather cools enough again to use the oven. Thank you!!
Yay! I’m glad you liked the recipe, Nikki. Thanks for coming back to let me know and to rate the recipe. Have a great week. -Kim
I love the idea of using eggplant instead of pasta! This stay at home time has made us all crave “comfort food” but the scale isn’t loving that. :) I can’t wait to try this. Thanks!
This is such a beautifully well written recipe! I got an oversized eggplant in my weekly produce subscription box and was looking for something low carb to make with it. I think this is the winner and I can’t wit to try it out. Thank u for sharing u and ur mother’s creation im making it tomorrow for dinner.