Eggplant Lasagna Roll-Ups
An alternative to regular lasagna that allows you to use up some eggplant or other veggies from your garden!
Servings: 9 roll-ups
Ingredients
- ½ box lasagna noodles (9 noodles total)
- 1 medium eggplant, diced
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp garlic salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup shredded Italian cheese blend, plus more for topping the lasagna rolls
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp dried basil
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- 1 24 oz jar pasta sauce
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the lasagna noodles until al dente (follow the directions on the box).
- Drain the noodles and set them aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 350° and spray a 2½ quart baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Add the diced eggplant, pepper, garlic salt, and olive oil to a pan and sautee on medium heat until the eggplant is cooked through, or 5 to 10 minutes.
- Set the eggplant aside to cool.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and egg.
- Add the two types of shredded cheeses and the remaining spices. Mix well.
- Add the cooked eggplant to the cheese mixture and stir well.
- Add about one to two cups of pasta sauce to the bottom of the prepared baking dish and spread it around evenly. This will be the base for the lasagna rolls to sit on.
- Begin making the lasagna rolls one at a time: take one noodle and spread about two tablespoons of the cheese mixture on one side, then carefully roll the noodle up (not too tightly, but enough to trap the cheese inside).
- Place each lasagna roll-up in the baking dish on top of the pasta (I prefer to put the seam side down).
- After making all 9 lasagna roll-ups and placing them in the baking dish, pour the remaining pasta sauce over the lasagna roll-ups.
- Top the pasta sauce with more shredded Italian cheese blend.
- Cover the dish with foil (or lid if your baking dish has one) and bake covered for 45 minutes.
- Remove the foil (or lid) and bake for an additional 5 to 15 minutes, or until the cheese is browning an bubbly.
- Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- If you prefer not to make this a vegetarian dish: try adding cooked hamburger or sausage to the cheese mixture, or use meat sauce instead of marinara sauce.
- An additional cup of ricotta cheese can be used instead of cottage cheese.
- Try using different vegetables too - zucchini, spinach, and more work really well.
- This recipe can be doubled, just use a 9x13 pan instead.