I have been sitting on this recipe for WAY too long. Occasionally I make a recipe that I am super excited about, only for it to somehow sit in my queue for months on end. Which is exactly what happened with this one. But this Three Cheese Zucchini Eggplant Lasagna is an absolute delight. It’s one of those recipes loaded with veggies, herbs, and cheese, resulting in a dish that is not only full of flavor and nutrition, but is low in calorie. You can literally eat two big pieces of this dish and still be under 400 calories! I realize life is not about counting calories, but we all know there are days when we’ve overdone it for breakfast, lunch, or snacks along the day, and you just need a light and healthy dinner to help balance out the day – this veggie lasagna {without the pasta} is exactly that!
With the zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes all containing a lot of water that releases when cooked, you’ll want to make sure and drain here and there as you go, but the extra work is totally worth it. I love making things that leave leftovers, but so often those types of dishes tend to be on the less healthy side, this is one of those where you’ll feel great eating on it for days.
It’s a rainy, dreary day here in middle Tennessee, but wherever you are, Happy Friday – and here’s to hoping for a sunny weekend!
Three Cheese Zucchini Eggplant Lasagna {GF}
Ingredients
- 2 Japanese eggplants peeled and sliced lengthwise, approx 1/4” thick
- 3 medium zucchini sliced lengthwise, approx 1/4” thick
- 1 large sweet potato sliced lengthwise, approx 1/8” thick
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup onion finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 cups tomatoes diced
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar or substitute with reg sugar
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 3 ounces chopped lite aged cheddar
- gluten-free bread crumbs recipe below
- fresh basil to garnish
- GLUTEN-FREE BREAD CRUMBS:
- 3 slices gluten-free bread
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- To create bread crumbs, add three slices of gluten-free bread to baking sheet and bake approx 10 minutes or until well toasted, remove and allow to cool completely. Once cooled, use hands to break and crumble bread creating small crumbs. While bread is still on baking sheet, add dried parsley, basil, garlic powder, onion powder and thyme, toss and mix until well blended, set aside.
- Meanwhile, spray two large baking sheets with coconut oil cooking spray, and lay out eggplant, zucchini, and sweet potato slices in single layer, slightly overlapping if needed. Sprinkle all with salt and pepper and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until tender.
- While the sliced veggies bake, add diced onion and garlic to medium pan on stove, cooking over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until onions become translucent. Add the diced tomatoes and cook another 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in 1 tbsp dried parsley, 1 tbsp dried basil, and coconut sugar and cook another 1-2 minutes.
- Remove onion and tomato mixture from heat, then stir in Parmesan cheese.
- Prepare 9x13 baking dish with coconut oil cooking spray, then line bottom of dish with cooked eggplant, top with 1/3 tomato mixture, 1/3 mozzarella cheese, and 1 ounce aged cheddar. Then layer zucchini and repeat process - 1/3 tomato mixture, 1/3 mozzarella cheese, and 1 ounce aged cheddar. Finally layer sweet potatoes, and repeat process one more time using the last 1/3 tomato mixture, 1/3 mozzarella cheese, and 1 ounce aged cheddar. Top with bread crumbs and bake for 15 minutes. Top with chopped fresh basil and serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Beatrice says
Love the sweet potato!
Kaylee Pauley says
Sweet potatoes make everything better! :)