Eggplant Lasagna With Béchamel
User Reviews
5
-
Prep Time
1 hr
-
Cook Time
1 hr 45 mins
-
Servings
10
-
Calories
674 kcal
-
Course
Main Course
-
Cuisine
Greek, Italian, International
Eggplant Lasagna With Béchamel
Description
This Eggplant Lasagna starts with a meat ragu sauce combining ground beef with a blend of savory vegetables like onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. The sauce includes strong aromatics such as nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, oregano, and fresh herbs, simmered with crushed San Marzano tomatoes for 45–60 minutes to develop deep flavor and a slightly spicy warmth. The eggplants are thinly sliced to about 3 mm and prepared for layering.
The béchamel sauce is made separately with butter, flour, and heated milk, seasoned with nutmeg, salt, and pepper, providing creamy contrast to the hearty meat sauce. The layering uses no-boil lasagna sheets that absorb moisture from the saucy ragu during baking, yielding tender pasta in the finished dish.
The lasagna benefits from quality ingredients like authentic San Marzano tomatoes and a mix of ground meats if desired, though lean ground beef is recommended. Extra butter, milk, and flour can help adjust béchamel thickness. Eggplants can be swapped or additional slices used if needed to build up layers. This dish serves well as a filling family meal with a balance of meaty tomato sauce, tender pasta, creamy béchamel, and vegetable layers.
Be mindful of sauce consistency if using fresh or boiled pasta instead of no-boil sheets.
Ingredients
For the meat ragu sauce
- 2 eggplant cut in ⅛ inch / 3 mm thin slices, plus one more in case you need extra layers, large
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 2 San Marzano Tomatoes pulse in a food processor or smash with your hands, 28 oz canned
- 1 onion
- 1 celery diced, stalk
- 1 carrot diced
- 3 garlic minced, cloves
- 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 oregano dried
- salt sea salt
- black pepper freshly ground
You also need
- lasagna pasta sheets no boil
- 2-3 fresh herbs oregano or thyme. Optional, sprigs
For the bechamel
- 4 cups milk plus more for loosening the sauce, whole
- 6 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour plus more for thickening the sauce
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- salt sea salt
- black pepper freshly ground
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 1/8 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 ⅓ of the milk. The sauce will start thickening. Slowly add another ⅓ of the milk and whisk until smooth. Repeat with the remaining 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
- Nutrition info is approximate and ingredient dependent.
- Keep extra butter, milk, and flour on hand for adjusting béchamel sauce thickness.
- Two large eggplants are usually enough, but having an extra can help with layering.
- Use 85/100 ground beef or a mix with pork or sausage for preferred texture and flavor.
- San Marzano tomatoes are used for a saucy ragu; blending them into a passata ensures smoothness.
- No-boil lasagna sheets work due to the extra liquid in the sauce; adjust sauce if using fresh or boiled pasta.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 10Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 674 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 674kcal | 34% |
| Carbohydrates | 49g | 16% |
| Protein | 30g | 60% |
| Fat | 40g | 62% |
| Saturated Fat | 16g | 80% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 2g | 12% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 17g | 85% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 104mg | 35% |
| Sodium | 415mg | 17% |
| Potassium | 741mg | 16% |
| Fiber | 5g | 20% |
| Sugar | 9g | 18% |
| Vitamin A | 1502IU | 30% |
| Vitamin C | 4mg | 4% |
| Calcium | 270mg | 27% |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
You'll Also Love
