Okay guys, you want the easiest lasagna on the face of the planet that is also packed with veggies. Well this is it. For this one, the flavors of all the ingredients manage to melt together, resulting in a super flavorful lasagna with using very little ingredients. Another reason why this is on a list of favs in our household, is it accomplishes the desire of having of pasta, while alternating each layer with eggplant to make sure you’re getting good veggies in there.

There’s a few steps to get this ready to bake. Three easy steps:

First, over medium to high heat in a sauté pan, brown ground beef or turkey until cooked completely through. Lower heat and then add in all of the pasta sauce. I love to use ones that are low in sugar, filled with extra veggies and simple ingredients, like this one. Once mixed in, turn off the heat and set aside.

Secondly, you’ll want to use either fresh or frozen spinach. I actually kind of prefer using frozen, as it’s already broken down a little, and blends really well with the ricotta. If using frozen, allow it to thaw and squeeze out as much of the extra water as you can. Mix completely with the ricotta and set aside. I’ve also touched upon in other recipes the importance of dairy and the quality you use. For me, using local products allows me to have dairy products without having the negative effects of bloating or digestion issues. Ricotta is one of those products that I tend to do much better with, so if you suffer at all from those issues, try some local ricotta instead! Same goes for the cheese I use on top – a local cheese didn’t cause a negative reaction for me.

The last step is to thinly slice the eggplant. You can use a knife or a mandolin, but you’ll want it as thin as you can get it. It’ll help it cook through faster if each slice is thin.

Now that you have all the components prepared, it’s time to assemble. I start first in a baking pan with some of the sauce mixture, then place a layer of noodles, then more sauce, the ricotta spinach mixture followed by eggplant. Repeat this all the way to the top of the pan making sure that you end with the saucy mixture so that you can then top with shredded cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes until noodles are completely cooked through – you should be able to easily stick a knife all the way through to the bottom.

7 Ingredient Eggplant Lasagna

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes

Cook Time 30-45 minutes

Ingredients

• ½ thinly sliced eggplant

• 1lb ground beef/turkey

• 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce

• 2 cups frozen spinach, thawed and drained or 2-3 cups fresh spinach.

• 1 cup ricotta

• 1 box of lasagna noodles, ready bake

• 1 cup shredded cheese of choice

Directions

1. In a sauté pan over medium high heat, cook thoroughly ground beef or turkey. Once completely cooked through, turn off heat and mix in jar of sauce. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. In a medium sized bowl mix together ricotta and thawed and drained spinach. Set aside.

3. Thinly slice half of an eggplant using a knife or mandolin.

4. In an 8"x12" baking pan, layer all components: meat sauce, lasagna noodles, meat sauce, spinach ricotta mixture, eggplant, and repeat until pan is full, ending with meat sauce and sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

5. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-45 minutes until a knife can cleanly cut through noodles, and cheese is melted and bubbly.

xx

Rita