Turkey & Eggplant Lasagna


Lasagna is definitely one of the most classic Italian dishes and one I don't make often enough. I wanted to try my hand at creating a slightly healthier version by substituting ground beef with turkey and replacing half the amount of noodles with sliced eggplant to cut the carbs.

Makes: 10 servings

Ingredients
16 oz. lean ground turkey (cooked)
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 large eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/3-inch slices
3 lasagna noodles (cooked)
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
 36 oz. tomato & basil pasta sauce
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup Italian breadcrumbs

Extras
9x13 baking dish
 Aluminum foil


What To Do
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil drizzled with olive oil. Place the eggplant slices in a single layer on the sheet and bake for about 20 minutes until tender.

Line the baking dish with foil to save time on dish cleanup. Pour 1 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of baking dish and layer evenly with ground turkey. Sprinkle with one-third of mozzarella cheese and top with the 3 cooked lasagna noodles side by side. Repeat with pasta sauce, ground turkey mozzarella cheese and then layer with eggplant slices. Spread remainder of pasta sauce on top, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and breadcrumbs. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes.
 

Shortcuts: the ingredients include pre-made pasta sauce, fully cooked ground turkey, and prepared lasagna noodles cooked according to directions on the package


Remove the foil, sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese on top and bake for about 10 minutes until bubbly.
 
 
Let cool before serving and ENJOY!

15 comments

  1. yum! i love subbing some eggplant for pasta. good idea!

    xoxo cheshire kat

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  2. I am making this as soon as possible, you know I love cooking with ground turkey and I absolutely love eggplant! That thing is nobody in my house does but when I make a dish with eggplant, especially when I make my eggplant Parmesan in the summer, I share it with my mom and friends instead ha ha. This looks so good my taste buds are literally dancing, LOL

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  3. I'm with everyone, yummy! This has my mouth watering and it's not even close to lunch time! So smart to sub in the turkey to make it healthier!

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  4. I've never made a traditional lasagna before, but it seems like the perfect comfort food going into winter!

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  5. Looks so good! It's like eggplant parm and lasagna all in one! I will definitely have to try this!

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  6. Oooh this looks a lot like the lasagna I make, but the eggplant is such an AWESOME addition! I definitely want to try that next time :) Thanks for sharing!

    Meg, Borrowed Heaven

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  7. Pure genius to line the dish first. DUH!! Why don't I do that? That pan is always a pain to scrub! I love that you made it a little healthier. Maybe I can talk Chris in to trying this on a cheat day for him.

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  8. We've tried lasagna with zucchini before but not eggplant! This sounds just as good! I love your idea for using foil in the pan to help with clean up!

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  9. What a great idea. I love both turkey and eggplant. I don't think Chuck would eat it because of the eggplant, but my grandfather would...I should make it for us. Great recipe!

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  10. This looks so good! I love ground turkey in Italian type dishes!

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  11. That sounds good! Confession: I've never had real lasagna. My mom always made the frozen kind lol. So sad!

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  12. SOLD. this looks amazing. i have never made lasagna, i have tried to make a veggie one with zucchini in the place of noodles but it just ended up being a bunch of veggies with pasta sauce and cheese, which was fine, but it didn't really satisfy my lasagna craving lol.

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