Melt-in-your-mouth eggplants, creamy ricotta, parmesan and tomato sauce come together in this delicious meatless eggplant casserole that just screams summer. It's vegetarian and gluten-free! See video below.
This healthy eggplant casserole screams summer but... it doesn't matter if it's not actually summer in your part of the world {pointing the finger at myself}.
In that case, the oven will warm up your freezing apartment and you will love this vegetarian eggplant casserole even more. Seems like everybody can be happy with this one.
Plus there's a ton of cheese. See the pictures? Nom nom nom. Ricotta and parmesan go perfectly well together. This eggplant casserole is comfort food at its best.
This recipe for this vegetarian ricotta and eggplant casserole was once again inspired by this great French magazine called Saveurs (I swear I always want to try half of their recipes!) but I simplified and lightened it up a bit.
I followed the recipe to a T first, then made it a couple other times to reduce the quantity of ricotta, use bottled tomato sauce (they used fresh tomatoes) and a few other adaptations.
Now I think we have the best of both worlds: taste and simplicity. Enjoy!
If you tried this Ricotta Eggplant Casserole recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe below and let me know how it went in the comments – I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook for more deliciousness and behind-the-scenes!
Ricotta Eggplant Casserole
Melt-in-your-mouth eggplants, creamy ricotta, parmesan and tomato sauce come together in this delicious meatless eggplant casserole that just screams summer. It's vegetarian and gluten-free!
Ingredients
- 3 eggplants
- olive oil spray
- 3 cups tomato passata or marinara
- 2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves chopped
- 2 tsp fresh basil leaves chopped
- 14 oz fresh ricotta cheese 400 g
- 1.5 cup parmesan cheese, grated, divided into 1 cup + ½ cup (about 5.5 oz - 155 grams total)
- 3 eggs
- sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 430F ( 220C).
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Remove eggplants' ends and slice them thinly lengthwise (about 5 millimetres or 0.2 inches thick).
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Arrange eggplant slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You may need to use two baking sheets or bake eggplants in two batches depending on the size of your oven.
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Spray with olive oil and season with salt and freshly cracked pepper. Bake for 25 minutes then remove from the oven and set aside. They will look a bit dry, it's normal (but they will actually be super tender).
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In a bowl, combine tomato passata, 1 tablespoon of oregano and 2 teaspoons of basil.
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In another bowl, mix together ricotta, 1 cup parmesan, eggs and the remaining oregano (1 tablespoon). Set aside.
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In a 9×13' (23×33 cm)baking dish, arrange one layer of eggplant, one layer of tomato sauce and one layer of cheese mixture. Repeat with another layer of eggplant, tomato sauce and finish with cheese mixture. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan (½ cup).
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Bake at 430F - 220C for 30 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Please note that all ovens are different: keep an eye on the casserole and if it starts browning too much, reduce the oven temperature to 355F (180C).
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Remove from the oven, cool slightly and then slice.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
The recipe makes actually more that what's pictured (about a third more). I just wanted to use this cute dish because my bigger ones are ugly 😉
Adapted from French magazine Saveurs
More eggplant recipes you might like:
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts
This looks so tasty!
I love everything with ricotta in it.
If I see milk reduced in the supermarket I always pick up a couple of bottles so I can make ricotta. It just makes everything taste better.
Can't wait to try this recipe.
x
p.s I would have done the same with the dish. I have a large baking dish that is bright red and never looks good on photos.
marie
Thank you Claire! Do you make your own ricotta? Sounds complicated and awesome at the same time! I'm glad I'm not the only one doing weird things just for the pictures haha
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts
I do, it isn't complicated at all. I promise it is super simple, but pretty awesome to know you have made cheese. I have a recipe on my blog. Honestly it is store cupboard ingredients and 20 minutes.
http://www.sprinklesandsprouts.com.au/saturday-afternoon-platter-homemade-ricotta-and-grilled-bread/
Susan
I love ricotta and eggplant, but I'm not altogether certain about making this recipe because my husband absolutely adores your beef & eggplant casserole. The seasoning is quite different with all the oregano. I would definitely use plain tomato sauce rather than marinara if I do make it, to make sure there's a difference. Actually, it has just occurred to me that this is lasagna using eggplant in place of noodles. I make a pretty good lasagna, too. Hmm… maybe this would be good with a béchamel or Alfredo sauce? Except then there would be no color. I'll have to think about this one.
marie
You're right, I didn't think of it either but it's lasagna without the noodles! I'm sure it would be delicious with a béchamel or Alfredo sauce. I'm always happy to hear how much you love the beef and eggplant casserole 🙂
Susan Willingham
When everything is put together at the end what temperature did you bake it? I'm assuming around 350 degrees?
marie
No you actually keep the oven at 430F/220C. Hope this helps!
Rebecca
I'm having this for lunch as I type this. I made two changes: I used a four cheese pasta sauce, and instead of just oregano I used an all purpose seasoning blend commonly used in my country. The result was quite tasty but very salty, which I attribute wholly to the pasta sauce as I only added salt as instructed in the recipe, to roast the eggplant. I was a little concerned when the eggplant slices came out of the oven, as they'd wilted down so much, I wasn't sure if it would have been enough to make a meal per person (as I wanted a meatless meal so I would have just added salad). The serving was surprisingly filling, and I will definitely be making this again...using plain or low sodium pasta sauce next time!
marie
Glad to hear it was good with the changes you made 🙂
Gretchen
This was a huge fail for me. It doesn't say how "thin" the thinly sliced eggplant needs to be - most of it burned. I needed 3 cookie sheets and only used 2 eggplants. So I made the recipe with part of the eggplants, added some al dente gluten free pasta and made the recipe with pasta and eggplant. I really think the temp was way too high and there maybe should be a little more guidance on how thick the eggplant should be. Your picture looks so delicious!
marie
I'm very sorry to hear that Gretchen! The slices should be cut about 5 millimetres (about 0.2 inches) thick. As for the oven, that's really the temperature I used when I tested the recipe. Unfortunately there can be a big difference between different ovens. I really hope you'll try this recipe again, with success 🙂 Thanks for dropping by and leaving me a note!
Meaghan
Planning to make this tonight. But just wondering. Why do you bake eggplant first alone rather than just assembling with raw eggplant and baking? Looks soooo good!
marie
I'm excited to hear how you like it! The eggplant is pre-cooked because 30 minutes would not be enough to make them super tender and more than 30 minutes would be too much for cheese mixture 🙂 Enjoy!
Amanda
Hello! I'm trying this tonight, baking in the final step in fact, so keep your fingers crossed! The problem I ran into was the eggplant cooked super fast on one tray for some reason, but I had an extra eggplant just in case. Oh yeah, plus the Italian cheese blend that I remembered having somehow wasn't there when I went to grab it from the fridge. Had to sub in a student cheese mix, hence the fingers crossed! I'm hoping the ricotta makes it blend ok lol
marie
Sooo how was it?! I hate it when ingredients magically "disappear" in my fridge haha.
Erin
Is this something that's easy to make ahead and then bake the next day? I have no idea how well eggplant keeps.
marie
Hi Erin! Yes you can definitely prepare everything the day before, cover it with plastic wrap and bake it the next day 🙂
radhika
Hi! Can I make this recipe without egg?
marie
I think you could, but the filling might not hold together very well and it could be a bit messy. It would still be delicious though 🙂
Dine
Eggplant comes in all sizes! How many ounces do you use?
marie
I've used medium ones; I'd say about 5-8 ounces each.
Kar
Adding cinnamon to your marinara will make the eggplant casserole out of this world!
marie
Great suggestion! I love using Cinnamon in my moussaka so I guess it would be wonderful in this recipe as well 🙂
glenda
looks amazing, my husband doesnt like eggplant, or so he says, I have made eggplant parm before and it turns out well, but it steps involved salting the sliced eggplant and letting salt soak in on paper towels its a bit time staking, have you any thoughts on comparing the two dishes?
marie
It really isn't necessary for this recipe, no need to salt and soak the eggplant!
Ruth Rodriguez
I always bread and fry my eggplant slices. Then layer with the Tickets, which I mix with egg and fresh parsley, salt and pepper. Top with more eggplant slices, sauce and cheese. Bake at 375 30 to 40 min. Delish. Oh and peel and slice EP than soak in cold, salted water for an hour or so. Drain, pat dry.
Marie
You can always fry the eggplant first but then it's not a healthy option anymore 🙂
Hanna
Think i could prepare, freeze and bake the day i want to serve?
Marie
Yes definitely!
Carmen
I made this dish and it was simple amazing!!!! I even used low fat items...yummy
Marie
So glad to hear that Carmen! 🙂
sophie caliendo
I'd like to make this tonight. But, has anyone tried it with cottage cheese? I have a big tub of cc I would like to use. Maybe drain it first? Thoughts please
Thanks
Marie
Sorry I'm a bit late but I think it would indeed work with drained cottage cheese! Did you end up trying it?
Shannon
I actually just made it with cottage cheese it turned out great !
Patty Tebbs
Loved your honesty about the pan, looking forward to trying this recipe, I LOVE eggplant!
Marie
Sure, Patty! I don't want to mislead my readers 🙂 I hope you enjoyed this recipe if you had a chance to try it!
Pat
looks amazing..however I am confused about the amount of ricotta...on the first listing of ingredients you state 28.5 ounces and on your page you state 14 ounces...????
Marie
Hi Pat, What do you mean by "the first listing of ingredients"? You'll need 14 ounces for this recipe 🙂
Julia
I saw this also - for some reason when you click on the “pin” (before you come to this blog), it says 28.5 oz.
Marie
That's weird! It must be a bug on Pinterest's side.
Shelly Buhr
Just made this! It is wonderful! Definitely need 3 eggplants for this (I only had two). I made my own tomato sauce (that time of season here). Thank you for the recipe!!
Marie
Yum, thank you Shelly! 🙂
Gretchen
Just double checking, do l need to peel the eggplant? Also what is meant by "fresh ricotta"? Is it simply the tub they sell at the grocery store? Does it matter if l use whole milk ricotta or part skim? Also do l need to drain the ricotta through a cheesecloth overnight? I know some recipes call for that.
Marie
Hi Gretchen! So, no need to peel the eggplant. The tub at the grocery store is fine, you can use whole or part skim and you don't need to drain it overnight 🙂
Michelle
do you peel the eggplant?
Marie
No need to peel them no! 🙂
Ann
Looks so delicious. I can't wait to make this recipe, I love eggplant and ricotta.
What size pan would you use for the recipe?
Marie
Hey Ann, I use a 9x13 pan (23x33 cm). Hope you'll love this casserole!
Barbara S
Yes was wondering too about the size of the baking dish... thanks for saying
Donna B
This is probably one of the easiest recipe I’ve seen and made for an eggplant lasagne-type dish and very tasty. My partner really enjoyed it too. Thanks for sharing.
Marie
Thanks a lot Donna! Glad to hear you both enjoyed it 🙂
Barbara S
The initial ingredients stated 28+ ounces of ricotta cheese. Then in the preparation list it says 14 ounces of ricotta cheese. What is the actual amount.?
Marie
It's a bug on Pinterest's side - you can follow the recipe as written here on the website (14 ounces)
Barbara S.
Thanks for that .. I actually used 20 oz.. kinda in between.. trust me It went well.. I could eat ricotta right out of a bowl..
The dish was amazing.. can’t wait to make it again.
Jean
I made this in Switzerland while visiting a daughter - didn’t have the eggs (added a bit of cornflour) and the oregano and couldnt find the ricotta (used “frischkase”) but it still tasted great. The next day the cold leftovers were super too. Thanks
Marie
Thanks for your feedback Jean - super happy to hear 🙂
AMANDA JONES
FINALLY! I was looking for someone who actually made it! I was wondering how the leftovers held up and it they soaked up everything well. I can't wait to make this.
Katie Owens
I can’t wait to try this tonight for dinner! I’m a huge eggplant fan. Not only does the recipe sound amazing, I have to compliment you on your photography and video. My mouth is watering! 😊 Thanks for sharing.
Marie
Aww thanks so much Katie! I hope you enjoyed your dinner 😀
Judy
Delicious, thanks for the recipe.
Marie
My pleasure Judy, glad you loved it 🙂
Mary B.
Hello,
What size dish do you use for this recipe? It looks delicious! Thanks, Mary
Marie
You can use a 9x13 dish 🙂
Dana
Important question! I've been scrolling he comments looking for that too!!
Bethany Swain
I made this dish on Monday and baked it on Wednesday and it was divine! Although we are not a gluten free family, we have friends and extended family members that are, so when we got a review that this tasted like lasagna, I was thrilled! We are blessed to grow eggplant in our garden along with tomatoes, basil and oregano, so making a farm to table recipe is thrilling! I used fat free ricotta (it was all the store had that day) and it was perfect! This recipe is a keeper!
cynde g
Drooling. I'm in love with chicken/eggplant together, and I had a couple of chicken breasts that I needed to use up, so in they went. I also threw in a bunch of shitake and portobella mushrooms, and lightly sauteed onions & garlic. My jar of dried Italian herbs grew legs and, I guess, went dancing or shopping or perhaps on a date, so in desperation I am trying sage. We'll see ...
Diane
I made this for dinner tonight -- easy and delicious. Thank you for sharing. I even had my own fresh basil and oregano.
40A.
Anything with ricotta in it is a winner in my book! This casserole looks divine and I cannot get over that cheese crust!
Meg Sears
I made this wonderful recipe tonight and it did not disappoint! I have been eating gluten free for a couple of years and i miss yummy dishes like lasagna & eggplant Parmesan. This dish tasted like a cross between lasagna and eggplant Parmesan and it was gluten free! I will be making this recipe on a regular basis for sure. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Marie
Eating completely gluten free can be a bit challenging at times! I'm glad you found this recipe and loved it Meg 🙂
Linda
I made this recipe tonight and everyone enjoyed it. I will definitely make this again. Thank you.
Marie
Yay so glad to hear Linda, thank you!
Julie
Can I add mozzarella on the top? Haha
Marie
You definitely can 😉
Denisse
Hi! I just made this tonight and it was ok, it was very salty! I won't go too heavy on the salt next time and I think I will soak the eggplant the night before to get rid of the acidic taste. Hope my husband likes it. He's coming home soon and I made him a plate 🙏
Marie
Sorry to hear it was too salty, I've never had this problem before. Hope you both enjoyed it nonetheless 🙂
Lucie
CAN i bbq the eggplant instead of cooking in oven.
I mostly always cook eggplant on BBQ. ....thankyou!!
Marie
You could, yes!
Lucie
Would it be ok to cook eggplant on BBQ instead of oven.
Thankyou
Donna L
Hi Marie, just found your site! I am doing "dirty keto" I guess you'd say and want to try this. If you make then freeze to serve another day, do you thaw first or bake from frozen? What would be the times and temps both ways?
Marie
Hi Donna. If you plan on eating it the next day I would actually suggest you refrigerate it instead of freezing. This gives the flavors some time to settle and mingle and this casserole really tastes better the next day! Cooked, it should freeze well, portioned out in individual slices!
You could even assemble the dish but do not bake; wrap tightly with foil and freeze, up to 3 months. Thaw it completely, then bake as directed. If you froze your casserole from baked, you just bake until heated through, about 15 minutes. While reheating cover it with some aluminum to trap the heat and keep it from drying out. Hope this helps.
Beth
I agree it was a bit salty, but I use coarse ground sea salt and next time I would just omit it. Otherwise, this was amazing! I added sauteed mushrooms as well. My carnivore husband and even my 2 year old loved it!
Nicole
Oh my goodness! This was amazing! Even my husband who hates eggplant liked this, and my son who said he would refuse to eat it because of the eggplant loved it. Thank you for helping us find a way to get eggplant into our diet!
Ruthersfam
I can't eat aged cheeses as they are migraine triggers. Can you recommend a sub for the Parmesan cheese? Fresh mozzarella or Farmers cheese? Thanks! Sounds like a delicious recipe!
Marie
Hi there. Yes, any of those cheeses you mentioned would work. Enjoy
Natalie
This looks great.
How well do you think this will freeze once cooked? My husband wont eat eggplant so I'd like to cook it up for myself and freeze portions for later.
Marie
Cooked, it should freeze well, portioned out in individual slices!
You could even assemble the dish but do not bake; wrap tightly with foil and freeze, up to 3 months. Thaw completely, then bake as directed
Maria
This looks great. What accounts for all the sugar?
Marie
The eggplants, mostly! (assuming you use a sugar-free tomato sauce)
Janice Fryatt
Made this tonight! It was absolutely delicious, I used my own homemade sauce but followed the rest of the recipe to a t. Definitely will be making this again and again. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Tami
It was easy to make. Tastes like regular lasagna. Good for people that are watching their carb intake. I added mozzarella cheese because I love cheese. I like how this recipe doesn’t require the eggplants to be fried. One has to be careful to not slice it too thin otherwise the eggplants will be burnt.
M
Absolutely delicious!!
Just added some hot peppers and used spaghetti sauce...
Marie
Happy to hear M, thank you!
Alyssa
Can this be frozen?
Marie
Yes! You could even assemble dish but do not bake; then wrap tightly with foil and freeze, up to 3 months. Thaw completely, then bake as directed.
Tania Ragone
I'm sorry I didn't enjoy this, there was too much oregano, even though I put exactly what the recipe said, I also didn't like the texture of the ricotta, I much prefer a normal eggplant parma recipe, just letting you know that I'm not a fussy eater at all.
Marie
It's ok Tania, tastes differ 🙂 Thanks for your feedback anyway!
Ina
Can i use dried oregano and basil? If so how much?
Marie
I prefer to use fresh herbs because they have a lot more taste but you can use 3 tablespoons dried oregano and 2 tablespoons dried basil (sounds like a lot but dried herbs are not as strong as fresh ones)
Summer Yule
This was excellent! I cut the eggplant into circles instead of lengthwise (because I failed to read the directions correctly) but it was still perfect. I made my own ricotta for this and was surprised to see some of the other commenters did too. Then again, this is a really great recipe to use some delicious homemade ricotta. 5 stars 🙂
Marie
I really need to try homemade ricotta, I'm intrigued! I'm sure it's delicious! Thanks for the rave review Summer 🙂
Michaela Morris
I’m on the fifth time making this amazing dish. We make our own sauce, so I just add some onions and peppers and more garlic to it. I have also started to make it with ground beef and am really impressed with the outcome. I do make a smaller version for my mom as she does not digest soft cheese very well,so her casserole is without the ricotta and it all holds together nicely and freezes well also.
Marie
Amazing! So happy you like it Michaela!
Linda
I was wondering if could make this with zucchini instead, I actually don’t like eggplant. Thanks, Linda
Marie
I haven't tried but I think you could, yes. Don't pre-bake the zucchini for that long though. Let me know if you give it a try!
Buster
I used a varigated eggplant (fiesta) that I got at a farm market. It had a lot of seeds. My husband asked me to slice the eggplant the round way vs. lengthwise. I realized that I needed to cut the eggplant a little thicker as there were holes where the seeds were causing the shape of the eggplant to fall apart at baking. There was no structure left to some slices. I was piecing the eggplant together in places. Advice: note the amount of seeds in the type of eggplant you are using and perhaps reduce the over temperature or bake time for the eggplant. Lesson learned.
Carroll
Food bloggers must tear their hair out over comments along the lines of "Well, I didn't have any mushrooms, so I subbed in some marshmallows instead. Terrible recipe. Would not make again" On the other hand, reading through your gracious responses to all of the comments above, I think you will like this one.
Finding four pieces of lasagna noodles in my pantry, too few for a regular pan of the stuff, but certainly not something one would simply throw away in the middle of a pandemic, I went a-googling for inspiration, and here we find your now-more-than-five-years-old recipe, still garnering comments and (well-deserved) compliments.
Thinking I had most of a large container of cottage cheese in the fridge, I figured we were good to go. Committed to baking the eggplant slices (so happy not to have to add lots of oil or salt/sweat them) only to discover that the cottage cheese had gone bad. Very bad.
Your commenters mentioning homemade ricotta, led me even deeper into Google. But, sadly, no milk in the house. Can one make ricotta with almond milk? Why yes, indeed, it turns out you can! Or even by simply soaking some almonds and then blending them up with a bit of garlic for flavor. Bam! Ricotta substitute sourced.
And, hmm...there's some tomato juice already open? Decided to try soaking the pitiful few slices of lasagna noodles in the juice for a while to do the "no-bake lasagna thing. That led to the amazing discovery that the starch in the noodles actually thickened the juice into a "sauce" even while the juice was softening the noodles. Kitchen chemistry at its finest!
I cross-layered the few lasagna noodles with the many eggplant slices, glopped on the faux-ricotta, snipped in plenty of fresh oregano and basil, drizzled the remainder of the thickened tomato juice over the whole thing, and boy did it ever turn out great!
Certainly not "your recipe", not by a mile, but something I would never have thought to put together with*out* your recipe.
I'm curious to know if you've tried making your own ricotta yet, If not, have no fear -- even without "real" milk, DIY soft cheese is clearly dead easy.
Thank you immensely for the inspiration for a successful
"Use what you have on hand and make the best of it" meal. I've bookmarked your site and for sure will be back to visit again very soon.
Marie
Oh thanks so much for sharing your version! “Use what you have on hand and make the best of it” meals are the best kind of meals! Happy weekend
Aiyana
Love this recipe! Turned out great for me.
Marie
Amazing! Enjoy!