Slow Cooker Eggplant Lasagna – Perfect Summer Meal
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Slow Cooker Eggplant Lasagna is a perfect meal that incorporates seasonal ingredients (like ripe eggplant and fresh basil), requires minimal preparation, and is prepared entirely in a slow cooker.
Slow Cooker Eggplant Lasagna is my newest creation and is perfect for busy weeknight dinner during the summer. Yes, you heard me right, this is a perfect dinner for the summer. Why? Because eggplant is in season and is most flavorful this time of the year. In that you don’t want to fire up your oven this time of year, the slow cooker will substitute perfectly for you. And if you’re like me, and like to grow your herbs over the summer, you’ll have plenty of fresh basil.
This dish comes together really quickly. For it, I used:
- Fresh eggplant;
- ‘No boil’ lasagna noodles;
- Store bought marinara sauce;
- Part skim, ricotta cheese;
- Shredded cheese blend;
- Parmesan cheese;
- Egg;
- Garlic;
- Basil; and
- Salt & pepper.
It’s super simple. You’ll need to slice up the eggplant first and salt them on one side – wait 10 minutes – turn and salt on the other side – wait another 10 minutes – rinse it, and you are ready to assemble your Slow Cooker Lasagna. I provide a detailed description with step by step photos in the recipe below.
When Summer finally arrives I really like to utilize the seasonal ingredients which are so bountiful. One of my go-to dishes, using vegetables straight from the farmer’s market, is this Hungarian Lescho (Tomato and Peppers Stew), but I also love this wonderful Turkish Inspired Eggplant too, which is seasoned with cinnamon and topped with feta. As the summer winds on, and when tomatoes are ripest, I need to make my absolute favorite pasta dish: Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola. It’s an Italian pasta with vodka sauce – but I used fresh tomatoes from my garden. This is one of the most popular recipes on this blog so you may also want to check this out.
In addition to incorporating seasonal ingredients, I also love using slow cooker in the summer. It can accomplish the same tasks as the oven, but prevents the entire house from heating up too. Another awesome thing about a slow cooker is that you don’t have to watch it (& let me not trivialize this point….it’s huge!). Just set it up, and walk away. Whenever you come back, your dinner is ready to serve. Below I listed some other slow cooker recipes that are very popular on this blog (& in my house). Check them out! They will make your life easier during the busy weeknight meals.
Oh and you can read about the origin of lasagna on Wikipedia.
Slow Cooker Eggplant Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 lb eggplant medium size
- 8 oz lasagna noodles - 12 noodles
- 15 oz Ricotta Cheese
- 1 egg
- 4 cups Marinara Sauce
- 1 cup cheese shredded, mozzarella or blend
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese grated
- 2 tbsp basil fresh, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic small or 2 big ones
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cut up the eggplant in slices (1/4 inch thick) and arrange them in a single layer on a rack. Sprinkle with salt. Wait 10 minutes, turn and repeat the process. Rinse the eggplant slices and dry out with paper towel;
- In a bowl, combine ricotta cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, basil and 1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese and taste. Add salt and pepper if needed. Add egg and mix well together;
- Spray the slow cooker (6 QT) with cooking spray, and begin layering by adding 3/4 cup of Marinara sauce first;
- Add 4 noodles, break them if needed;
- Add half of Ricotta cheese mixture;
- Add about 8 slices of eggplant;
- Add one cup of Marinara Sauce
- Add 4 noodles;
- Add the other half of Ricotta mixture; Sprinkle 1/3 cup of shredded cheese;
- Add 8 slices of eggplant;
- Add one cup of Marinara Sauce;
- Add 1/3 shredded cheese and Parmesan cheese
- Add 4 noodles;
- Add remaining Marinara sauce and cover;
- Cook on high for 2 to 2.5 hours or on low for 4-5 hours;
- Add the remaining shredded cheese, cover and let the cheese melt;
- Open and let stand for 15 minutes before serving; Sprinkle with fresh basil
Notes
- I used 1 cup of shredded cheese but if you like it cheesier feel free to add more on top.
Nutrition
You can accompany this summer recipe with my other summer staple: Horiatiki Salad with Golden Greek Peperoncini + you can enter to win Meal Kit for two, from CHEF’D.
Other amazing slow cooker recipes:
Slow Cooker Whole Roasted Chicken
This is one of my favourite things to cook in a slow cooker. So simple, and really comforting too.
Thanks Danielle
Can you use regular lasagna noodles if you dont have the no boil?
You can try but I’m not sure if they will not become too mushy.
I’m all about using the slow cooker in the summer! It’s been so hot here lately I just don’t want to turn on the oven. This looks so good. I love the idea of using eggplant in lasagna. What a great way to beef up the dish with some veggies!
Thanks Tracy!
I would never have thought to make this in the slow cooker, but it makes sense in the summer, when eggplants are most readily available anyway. Looks tasty!
Thanks Caroline!
Oh my! This looks like the perfect slow cooker meal for summer! SOooo delicious!
Thanks Jenni!
I swear I never thought of using the slow cooker in the summer. Blowing my mind here…..!
Awesome 🙂 Slow cooker is pretty cool in the summer!
yum! i made lasagna in a slow cooker once and was hesitant because i thought the cheese wouldn’t get all brown and crusty, but so pleasantly surprised (:
Yes, it comes out really good 🙂
I love how easy this is to make! Yum 🙂
Thanks Pamela!
Have you ever added meat to the dish to bulk it up? If so how did you do so? I would be fine with just eggplant but I have a carnivorous hubby lol. TIA!
Hi Melanie! You can add meat easily the same way you would do for spaghetti with meat sauce. Saute some onions and garlic, add meat and add marinara sauce, season and let cook. Once the sauce is done use it instead of the marinara in my recipe. I hope it helps!
Do you mean cook on high for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or 2 to 5 hours? I hope it is done at 6, I started it at 3 pm.
Hi Allison, it should be 2 to 2.5 hours. There was a dash instead of a dot for 2.5. I’m sorry for a confusion. If you started it at 3 on high, it should be done before 6. I hope it came out good.
I need to avoid noodles and egg. How would it taste ?
Hi there. I think that the ricotta may not be that creamy but it will still be good. Use zucchini slices instead of noodles. Just keep in mind that while noodles would absorb the liquid, the zucchini will produce more liquid. You may need to use less sauce. I hope that helps.
I just made this for the first time. I think I’ll sauté the eggplant next time as it lacked flavor. I also replaced one of the eggplant layers with frozen sliced mushrooms. It was so good. The mushrooms add a depth of flavor and texture. I used more sauce than the recipe called for and it was great
I just made this recipe today and it is delicious! I didn’t think it would be as firm as it is. I like eggplant but for anyone that doesn’t, you really can’t tell it’s in there. All the cheese… pure YUM!!
This was my first time making lasagna in a crockpot, and it turned out amazing!!!! The detailed directions were extremely helpful. This is a keeper!
This lasagna was fantastic! My range is broken right now, so my slow cooker has been getting lots of work lately. I generally find slow cooker food disappointing, but this lasagna truly surprised me. Even my husband who hates eggplant really enjoyed it. Thanks so much! I’ll be making this again, even after the range gets fixed 🙂
Can I ask why you rinse the eggplant slices after salting? Very interested in making this!
To remove salt so they are not over-salted