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The Best Low-Carb Eggplant Lasagna

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Ever since I can remember I've always loved lasagna. There's no disputing that Italians know their way around a good meal, and this delicious casserole is the proof. Who wants a warm slice of tasty lasagne in just an hour?

Today I'm sharing one of my favourite recipes from the KetoDiet App. If you have our app, you can also find this recipe in the KetoDiet Meals section and use it to plan your keto diet.

What Can I Use Instead of Pasta in Lasagne?

I replaced the pasta sheets with sliced eggplant (aka aubergine here in the UK). Although there are other options you can use instead of pasta sheets (see below), eggplant slices are still my favourite low-carb alternative to pasta. Plus they are a fantastic source of potassium, one of the electrolytes that will help you beat keto-flu! Sliced eggplants soften and become flexible once you roast them, and they infuse with amazing flavour from marinara sauce just like regular pasta.

The idea to use eggplant wasn't my own. Roasted eggplant slices have been the key ingredient in traditional Greek Moussaka. The only thing that makes moussaka high in carbs is the potato layer and the béchamel sauce. But I've already figured that out!😊

Eggplant is not the only veggie you can use. You can use sliced zucchini (aka courgette) like we did in these Low-Carb Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups, sliced turnips, rutabaga (aka swede), wilted chard leaves (super low-carb!), or even my Multi-Purpose Keto Crepes!

I've also had great results with sliced butternut squash. The only drawback of butternut squash is the relatively high carb count per serving, at least for keto standards. Having said that, if you eat this meal with a side of dressed leafy greens as part of your two-meals-per-day routine, or other types of intermittent fasting, in can be a delicious keto option for you too.

Can I Make Vegetarian Low-Carb Lasagne?

Of course! If you don't eat meat, you can even make my Vegetarian Keto Lasagna. I made sure it's just as delicious as the meat-based version and it's packed with protein and electrolytes by using eggs and spinach. It has been getting rave reviews ever since I shared this recipe in 2015, so give it a go if you follow a vegetarian keto diet.

If you follow a vegan keto diet, it will be a bit more challenging to find healthy alternatives while keeping the carbs low. You could swap the cheese layer and the mozzarella for almond-based dairy alternatives and instead of the ghee, simply use coconut oil or olive oil. You could swap the parmesan for nutritional yeast. Skip the egg omelettes — as used in my Vegetarian Keto Lasagna — and use more veggies instead.

Is This Recipe Suitable For Weight Loss?

This recipe is slightly higher in carbs than most keto recipes but it is also very satisfying and ideal for those who practice intermittent fasting.

When it comes to calories, I've checked a few regular lasagna recipes with pasta and there isn't a big difference. A proper serving of regular pasta lasagna will provide anything between 500 and 800 Calories. Now obviously I didn't consider recipes that offer an unrealistically small serving size where the moment you eat it you know you'll need double or triple the serving to be satisfied. If in doubt, use our keto calculator or enter your values in our KetoDiet App to find your ideal macros.

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Hands-on Overall

Allergy information for The Best Low-Carb Eggplant Lasagna

✔  Gluten free
✔  Nut free
✔  Pork free
✔  Avocado free
✔  Coconut free
✔  Fish free
✔  Shellfish free

Nutritional values (per serving)

Net carbs9.2 grams
Protein42.8 grams
Fat53.8 grams
Calories712 kcal
Calories from carbs 5%, protein 25%, fat 70%
Total carbs13.7 gramsFiber4.5 gramsSugars6.7 gramsSaturated fat25.1 gramsSodium894 mg(39% RDA)Magnesium65 mg(16% RDA)Potassium833 mg(42% EMR)

Ingredients (makes 4 servings)

  • 2 medium eggplants, sliced into 1/2 inch (1 cm) slices (500 g/ 1.1 lb)
  • 2 tbsp melted ghee or duck fat, divided (30 ml)
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion (50 g/ 1.8 oz)
  • 500 g ground beef (1.1 lb)
  • 1/3 cup sugar-free marinara sauce (80 ml/ 2.7 fl oz) - you can make your own Marinara Sauce
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese (240 g/ 8.5 oz)
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 2 tbsp chopped mint
  • sea salt and black pepper, to taste
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp grated mozzarella cheese (100 g/ 3.5 oz)
  • 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese (60 g/ 2.1 oz)

Instructions

  1. Brush the eggplant slices with 1 tablespoon of ghee from both sides. Place in the oven and bake at 200 °C/ 400 °F (fan assisted), or 220 °C/ 425 °F (conventional) for 20 minutes. The Best Low-Carb Eggplant Lasagna
  2. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. The Best Low-Carb Eggplant Lasagna
  3. Grease a pan with 1 tablespoon of ghee and cook the onion for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the beef and cook until browned and opaque. The Best Low-Carb Eggplant Lasagna
  4. Add marinara sauce and mix (reserve about a tablespoon for later). Take off the heat. The Best Low-Carb Eggplant Lasagna
  5. In a bowl, mix the ricotta, chopped herbs, salt, pepper, and egg. Mix until well combined and creamy. The Best Low-Carb Eggplant Lasagna
  6. Spread the remaining marinara sauce in the baking tray. We used a 12.5 x 10 inch (32 x 26 cm) baking dish per 4 servings, but any large deep dish will work. Add a third of the roasted eggplant slices. You'll be making three layers of eggplant in total. The Best Low-Carb Eggplant Lasagna
  7. Spread half of the ricotta mixture over them and add half of the cooked beef. Repeat one more time and finally add the last layer of eggplant slices. The Best Low-Carb Eggplant Lasagna
  8. Top with grated mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake in the oven preheated to 180 °C/ 360 °F (fan) for 30 minutes. The Best Low-Carb Eggplant Lasagna
  9. Let it cool down slightly before serving. You can store the cooled low-carb lasagne in the fridge for up to 4 days. Freezing is not recommended as it will change the texture of the cheese layer. The Best Low-Carb Eggplant Lasagna

Ingredient nutritional breakdown (per serving)

Net carbsProteinFatCalories
Eggplant (aubergine), fresh
3.6 g1.2 g0.2 g31 kcal
Ghee
0 g0 g7.5 g68 kcal
Onion, brown (yellow), raw
0.8 g0.1 g0 g5 kcal
Beef, minced (ground), raw, grass-fed
0 g21.5 g25 g318 kcal
Marinara sauce
0.9 g0.2 g3.3 g34 kcal
Ricotta cheese, full-fat
1.8 g6.8 g7.8 g104 kcal
Parsley, fresh (spices)
0.1 g0.1 g0 g1 kcal
Mint, fresh
0.1 g0.1 g0 g1 kcal
Salt, sea salt
0 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Pepper, black, spices
0 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Egg, whole, fresh, raw (free-range or organic eggs)
0.1 g1.6 g1.2 g18 kcal
Mozzarella cheese (low moisture, for pizza)
1.4 g5.9 g4.9 g74 kcal
Parmesan cheese
0.5 g5.4 g3.9 g59 kcal
Total per serving
9.2 g42.8 g53.8 g712 kcal

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Martina Slajerova
Creator of KetoDietApp.com

Martina Slajerova

I changed the way I ate in 2011, when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. I had no energy, and I found it more and more difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

That’s when I decided to quit sugar, grains, and processed foods, and to start following a whole-foods-based ketogenic approach to food.

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Comments (15)

Hi Martina,
I found this recipe the easiest lasagna that I have ever made & delicious!
However, i found the leftover dried & not as juicy as at the time it was made! I don't know if that is due to the  cheese souse being just Ricotta & egg rather than using a creamy cheese sauce between the layers of meat & eggplant!  Nevertheless, my partner still eats & lives it cold!   So like most of your recipes, this recipe will be a regular family dish! x

Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed! This could be caused by too much liquid being cooked out and you can prevent that by adding a bit of bone broth or chicken stock to the meat mixture, or even a little more marinara or canned tomatoes. Or if you make some more of the ricotta cheese filling it will also make it more moist. I hope this helps!

Best low-carb eggplant lasagna. In Step 4 I added the 1/3cup marinara sauce to meat. Step 6 wants the “remaining marinara sauce” to be spread in the tray. What remaining sauce?

Thank you! You are right, one tablespoon was meant to be reserved for that - I'll fix this now.

And, mention adding the mint in the ricotta mix.

Got it! 😊

I made this recipe tonight and it is delicious. My only problem is calculating the carbs. Your recipe  indicates 9.2g net but when I added the ingredients to my other app (CarbManager), it came up with 21g net. Yikes!  How do I figure out which is correct?

Thank you Lynne! The reason you get completely different results is the food database of the app you are using. The most common errors occur in net carbs as many foods in these databases are missing fiber. Unfortunately, apps like these do very little to improve accuracy because their priority is quantity and it comes at a cost. Crowdsourced databases like theirs contain errors (everyone using the app can add a new entry which can be completely wrong). To calculate nutrition facts in our recipes we always use verified data and very rarely branded products (if I do use these I always triple check for accuracy). You can click through each and every ingredient in the table below the recipe for details. There is more about our food database and what we do to make it more accurate:  Barcode Scanning and Food Database in the KetoDiet App

I stopped using carb manager a long time ago because I kept getting totally wrong macros on most blogger recipes. Too pricey too and looks like it was done in the 70's.

Wow, Lasagna looks good, I will make it with zucchini.

Thank you! We made that one too 😊 Low-Carb Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups

Isn't this Moussaka?

I've had many Moussakas in my life because my partner is Greek 😊 In a Greek Moussaka there are different spices like cloves and cinnamon, there's bechamel topping with nutmeg, and there are potato slices  too. Having said that it is very similar in the way it looks and because that is how I got the idea to use slices of eggplant instead.

Martina, your ground beef did not convert to the correct # of ounces....should be about 17.6 oz not 1.1 oz for 500g.
Looks like an amazing recipe.

Oh thank you! You are right this was meant to be pounds. Fixed! 😊