Three Cheese Eggplant Parmesan Pasta Bake
A hearty, cheesy pasta bake inspired by my favourite eggplant parmesan!
Calories: 603kcal
Ingredients
- 1 large aubergine (eggplant), or 2 small
- Spray oil
- 350 g (~ 2 3/4 cups) small pasta shapes e.g. macaroni
- 425 g (~ 1 1/2 cups) good quality tomato pasta sauce
- 100 g cheddar cheese, grated (~ 1 cup when grated)
- 40 g (~ 1/4 cup) finely grated vegetarian parmesan-style cheese
- 125 g mozzarella cheese (~ 4 1/2 oz or 1/2 small block)
- 3 tbsp basil pesto
Instructions
- Cut the aubergine (eggplant) into thin slices. Aim for each to be around 4-5mm thick, but it doesn't matter too much - just try to get the slices fairly even so they cook at the same rate.
- Lightly spray a baking tray with oil, and lay out the aubergine slices in a single layer. Cook under the grill (broiler) on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes each side, until soft (but ideally not yet crispy). You may need to cook the aubergine in 2 or 3 batches if the slices won't all fit on one baking tray.
- Boil the pasta in plenty of water until cooked al dente, then drain. Mix the tomato sauce with the pasta.
- Lightly spray a baking dish with oil (mine measured around 8 x 8 inches, but it was a tight fit!), then layer up the tomato pasta, the cooked aubergine slices, the three cheeses, and the basil pesto. The exact order of the layers doesn't matter, but this is the order I used:1/3 of the aubergine slices;Smear of basil pesto;1/3 of the pasta;
1/2 the mozzarella;
1/3 of the cheddar;
1/2 the parmesanI repeated this sequence twice, then finished with the remaining pasta, aubergine slices, and cheddar cheese. - Bake at 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F) for around 25 minutes, or until the pasta bake is piping hot throughout, and the cheese on top is crisped up to your liking.
Notes
I used 'pizza mozzarella' (which comes in a block) rather than fresh mozzarella (which comes in a ball, in water). Pizza mozzarella is less wet, so you'll end up with a richer, less watery pasta bake. You can use fresh mozzarella if that's all you can get, but it may end up a little wetter. Grated mozzarella would also be fine!
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Three Cheese Eggplant Parmesan Pasta Bake
Amount Per Serving (1 portion)
Calories 603
Calories from Fat 177
% Daily Value*
Fat 19.7g30%
Saturated Fat 9.4g47%
Cholesterol 41mg14%
Sodium 932mg39%
Potassium 834mg24%
Carbohydrates 82.5g28%
Fiber 9.2g37%
Sugar 10.4g12%
Protein 28.9g58%
Calcium 310mg31%
Iron 5.4mg30%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
🖨 Recipe printed from www.easycheesyvegetarian.com
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