My Paleo Eggplant Parmesan is a totally simple, kid-friendly, comfort food. It’s so basic, I’m going for simple people. Not fancy or gourmet but easy, healthy and quick. My hope is that busy moms find this meal useful and a good way to sneak in a controversial vegetable such as eggplant.
In case you’re wondering, eggplant is a nightshade vegetable that is related to tomato and potato. The raw plant can have a bitter taste, but it becomes tender with a rich, complex flavor when cooked. Eggplant, with its texture and bulk, is sometimes used as a meat substitute in vegan or vegetarian cuisines, but I think it’s best added to ground beef in this Paleo Eggplant Lasagna recipe! Eggplants are low in carbohydrates and have plenty of vitamins and minerals, specifically manganese.
In my recipe, you pre-roast the eggplant to eliminate the bitter taste and then layer it with ground beef and store-bought, organic spaghetti sauce to create the Paleo Eggplant Lasagna. See, I told you it was super simple! You can tweak this recipe to your liking with fresh herbs, more or fewer spices and your choice of spaghetti sauce. Let me know how your kids like it!
Healthy And Quick Paleo Eggplant Lasagna
Ingredients
2 large eggplant (brinjal, aubergine, or guinea squash)
3 tablespoons olive oil - divided
½ medium yellow onion - chopped
1 pound ground beef (minced beef)
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil - to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano - to taste
24 ounce Marinara sauce (tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and onions – pasta sauce in southern hemisphere for Italian seafood dish) - organic high-quality spaghetti sauce
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F.
- Slice eggplant into ¼ inch slices and place on a parchment-covered cookie sheet.
- Using 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil, lightly brush the eggplant slices on both sides. The eggplant will really soak up the oil, but don’t get heavy-handed. Just lightly brush them with the oil.
- Cook eggplant in the oven for 30 minutes, turning the slices over halfway through.
- While eggplant is cooking, heat the remaining ⅕ tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.
- Sauté onions until soft and translucent.
- Add ground beef and spices (salt, garlic powder and dried herbs) and cook until meat is browned.
- Drain excess grease and add spaghetti sauce.
- Bring to bubbling, then reduce to a simmer until you are ready to assemble the lasagna.
- In a 9×9 square baking dish, add ½ of the spaghetti sauce mixture.
- Lay the eggplant slices over this layer.
- Pour the remaining spaghetti sauce mixture on top.
- Put back in the oven for about 10 minutes until you see bubbles around the edges or until heated through.
