Baked Eggplant

This baked eggplant recipe is a delicious combination of layers of roasted eggplant and creamy ricotta topped with golden melted cheese. It is a delicious weeknight dinner that stores well in the fridge or freezer, so is perfect for meal prep. Baked eggplant with ricotta is the perfect dish to whip up on a Sunday afternoon for your work lunches during the week or to stock the freezer for emergency weeknight dinners. We love to have this baked eggplant for a vegetarian meal that still contains plenty of protein.

Low carb vegetarian recipes

We love low-carb vegetarian recipes, including this baked eggplant with ricotta recipe. When we eat vegetarian meals we still like to make sure we include lots of protein in our meals, which is completely possible without meat. By including ingredients like Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, eggs, ricotta cheese, hemp seeds, other cheeses, nuts and seeds in meals you can make sure they still include a great protein source.

In this baked eggplant recipe there is 22g of protein per serve, with no meat included! This recipe includes ricotta cheese, eggs, and other cheeses that provide protein. So it is great as a stand alone meal or you can have a smaller portion as a side dish. It would pair really well with steak, chicken, or fish as a side dish.

If you love this baked eggplant recipe and are interested in other low carb vegetarian meals, here are some of our favourite recipes;

How to layer your eggplant and ricotta bake

This eggplant bake is a layered bake with tomato pasta sauce, ricotta cheese, and roasted eggplants. We layer these ingredients up in a large baking dish and then top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese and then bake in the oven until it is golden brown cheesy goodness!

Here are the instructions for layering the eggplant bake;

• Start with a layer of the tomato pasta sauce
• Next a layer of the eggplant slices
• Then a layer of the ricotta cheese mixture
• Another layer of eggplant slices
• The remainder of the ricotta mixture
• The last of the eggplant slices
• Then the rest of the tomato pasta sauce
• Top with the grated cheese

Freezer-Friendly Meals in October

This month (October 2022), we are talking all new recipes featuring freezer-friendly meals! We will be sharing our favourite recipes, tips & tricks, ingredients and kitchen equipment on our Facebook page across October to help you create delicious, easy freezer-friendly meals at home.

We also send out monthly exclusive recipes for our email subscribers, make sure you sign up to our email newsletter below so you don’t miss out on the exclusive recipes.

General tips for freezing meals

• Don’t put hot food in the freezer. Let your leftovers or meal prep meals cool down completely before popping in the freezer.
• If using ziplock or silicon bags lay them flat initially to freeze. Then once they are frozen you can stack them upright or in a pile to maximise space in your freezer.
• Don’t refreeze food. If you defrost meat you need to cook & eat it, do not pop defrosted food back in the freezer.
• Label it! It can be tricky to determine what your meals are once they are frozen, so label you meals and include the date you froze them for future reference.
• Freeze in portions so you only defrost what you need. We usually freeze dishes in 1 or 2 serve potions.

Tips for making baked eggplant with ricotta

• It is best to pre-roast the eggplants, as per the recipe, to ensure they are well cooked and it also removes some of the liquid from them.
• When you remove the baked eggplant from the oven it is best to let it rest for 5-10 minutes, so it is easier to remove from the dish.
• You can use any tomato pasta sauce from the supermarket that you prefer or have on hand. We like the Don Antonio and Mutti brands.

Suggestions for making baked eggplant

• This baked eggplant dish can be served as a main meal as is or with a side salad.
• It can also be served in a smaller portion as a side dish. It pairs well with steak, grilled chicken, or grilled fish.
• This dish can be stored in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container. You can reheat it in a microwave or cover it with foil in the oven. If frozen, you can defrost it in the fridge overnight first or reheat it directly from frozen.

Make it low carb

• This dish is naturally low carb at 12g net carbs per serving.
• You could replace the eggplant with zucchini to lower the carbs slightly.

Equipment

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You may need –

• Large baking dish

Baked Eggplant

If you love lasagne, then I think you are going to love this eggplant bake. It is layer upon layer of roasted eggplant and creamy ricotta with tomato sauce and golden bubbly cheese, which definitely gives lasagne vibes. We love to have this eggplant bake for a tasty weeknight meal knowing we are also stocking the fridge and freezer with leftovers. It is so easy to then grab a container out for a work lunch or easy weeknight dinner. Give this recipe a try today!

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