Can Eggplant Lasagna be frozen? - Step by Step

As our knowledge of healthy foods continues to evolve, we keep trying new things. A popular trend in healthy cooking is to take a common dish that uses pasta and substitute a vegetable for the pasta.

Have you tried the eggplant lasagna? If you are a fan of lasagna, you will be pleasantly surprised by the eggplant lasagna.

The eggplant lasagna is delicious. You won’t even know you’re eating a vegetable instead of the regular lasagna pasta. The dish will still be tasty and a more nutritious option than your typical lasagna dish.

If you haven’t tried the eggplant lasagna yet, we encourage you to try it. Your stomach will thank you later. But if you’ve made it, you know that one batch makes a big pan of lasagna and it’s easy to have leftovers.

What do you do with the leftover eggplant lasagna? Can you freeze it or will it get soggy and weird when you freeze it? The good news is that the eggplant lasagna is totally freezable. In fact, it freezes very well and is quite easy to freeze. If you do that step, you shouldn’t have to worry too much about how your lasagna will hold up in the freezer. 

We have prepared a guide for you to discover the world of eggplant lasagna. We’ll share some information about eggplant and walk you through the steps to freeze your eggplant lasagna.

Read on to learn how to freeze eggplant lasagna and much more.

Your guide to eggplant lasagna

Eggplant is quite a versatile vegetable and has a great flavor. There are already many common dishes that use brinjal, but it is also a great healthy alternative to foods that are usually loaded with carbohydrates.

Here are some examples of things you can do with eggplant:

• stir fry
• Eggplant parmigiana
• Wet
• Substitute for pasta or mix it into a pasta dish
• Stuffed Eggplant
• Eggplant “French Fries” - Sliced, Breaded, and Baked

These are just a few generic eggplant suggestions to give you an idea of how versatile and useful eggplant can be. You will be surprised how many different things you can do with eggplant and how good your dishes taste with it.

Eggplant is easy to preserve, whether you store it cooked or raw. And the same goes for the dishes in which you use it. In a while we will go into more detail about it.

How to make eggplant lasagna

If you’ve ever made lasagna, making eggplant lasagna is pretty much the same thing. The main difference is that you’ll be using sliced eggplant instead of the lasagna noodles.

We wanted to offer you a basic recipe here so you know what you can work with if you are new to eggplant lasagna or curious about what goes into eggplant lasagna to freeze.

Here’s a quick recipe.

Ingredients:

• • 2 eggplants - slice lengthwise about ¼ inch thick
  • olive oil
  • salt, pepper, garlic, oregano, parsley, chopped basil
  • chopped onion
  • 1 pound ground beef or Italian sausage
  • crushed tomatoes
  • Tomato paste
  • Ketchup

• Mozzarella cheese
• Ricotta cheese
• Egg
• Parmesan

Here are a few different steps, since you’ll be roasting the eggplant before making the dish. In this recipe, you also make your own cheese filling, while some lasagna recipes recommend using cottage cheese instead of a ricotta mixture. You can vary this according to your preferences.

Here are some basic instructions for making the lasagna.

1. Drizzle the cut eggplants with olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway. This step enhances the flavor of the eggplant and prevents it from being soggy or rubbery in the dish.
2. While the aubergine roasts, cook the meat, adding the onion to sauté with the meat. Add the seasonings and stir well.
3. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer for at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg, parsley, salt, and nutmeg (optional). If you want, you can refrigerate this until you are ready to make the lasagna.
5. Once the aubergine is roasted and the sauce is sufficiently cooked, start assembling the lasagna in a greased casserole. Start with the meat sauce as the first layer, top with about 6 slices of eggplant, and then spread a layer of ricotta cheese, sprinkle with a layer of mozzarella.
6. Repeat this step to use up your ingredients, you can probably layer 3.
7. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan.
8. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

This recipe is basic and simple, but ultimately you can mix up your lasagna however you like and you can use any type of recipe you like. This recipe has been provided simply to give you a general idea of what you’ll be working with as we go along.

Freeze Eggplant Lasagna

Some suggestions might tell you that freezing the eggplant lasagna is not a great idea because it can cause excess moisture when thawed and reheated. BUT, if you look closely, in the previous recipe it was recommended to roast the eggplant before assembling the lasagna.

One of the purposes of roasting the eggplant ahead of time is to help draw out the moisture, removing much of the excess moisture that the eggplant naturally holds. If you do this step, you won’t have to worry too much about how the lasagna will hold up in the freezer.

Another tip to pay attention to is that you should take the eggplant lasagna straight from the freezer to the oven for the best reheating results.

These are the steps to freeze the eggplant lasagna. 

1. Allow the lasagna to cool at room temperature for 30-60 minutes after cooking.
2. You can cut the lasagna and freeze it into individual slices or freeze it whole. However, we recommend cutting it into individual slices for the best freezing results.
3. Wrap individual lasagna slices with plastic wrap. Be sure to wrap it well so that it is airtight. If you have several slices, you can put them all in a freezer bag or container.
4. You can freeze the eggplant lasagna for up to 9 months.

How to use frozen eggplant lasagna

When you’re ready to use the eggplant lasagna after freezing it, we recommend taking it straight from the freezer to the oven (or even the microwave).

1. Unwrap the lasagna and place it in an ovenproof dish. You can also make multiple slices.
2. Cover with aluminum foil
3. Heat in the oven at 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Remove the foil during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Heat until hot and bubbly.
4. Another option is to heat the lasagna in the microwave. Unwrap the slices and place them on a microwave-safe plate. Heat in the microwave for 3 minutes. Add 30 seconds each time if it’s not enough.

Freezing eggplant lasagna is easy. The hardest part is making the lasagna to begin with as there are several steps to making the lasagna before it is assembled and then it can also take a bit of time to bake.

In the end, the result is delicious and worth the effort, whether frozen or fresh.

Related questions

We hope you have found this guide a valuable resource for freezing eggplant lasagna and that the information provided has been helpful to you.

We’ve compiled some common questions and answers to provide you with additional information that you might find useful, and we invite you to check them out as well.

Can eggplant be toxic?

Eggplant belongs to the Solanaceae family. However, the eggplant itself is not toxic and neither is the eggplant skin if you eat it whole. The part that you should avoid consuming would be the leaves and flowers of the plant.

The leaves and flowers could be potentially poisonous, but these parts are not used in cooking. Be sure to remove them before using the eggplant and you will have nothing to worry about.

What benefits does eggplant have for health?

Eggplant is a low calorie food and a vegetable, making it a great addition to any meal. In this case, you substitute a heavy carbohydrate for a nutritious vegetable.

Eggplants are nutrient-dense, as they contain high levels of fiber and several vitamins and minerals, including vitamins C and K, potassium, folate, and manganese. In addition, eggplants are high in antioxidants. They can potentially lower blood sugar levels, as well as the risk of heart disease.

Can I make the lasagna ahead of time and freeze it before baking?

This is a great idea to prepare meals in advance. You can do it. To do this, we recommend that you roast the aubergine before assembling the lasagna.