Eggplants are a grownup taste, and this tasty and cheesy Lasaña de Berenjenas is a great way to convince everyone at the table to dig in. A lovely eggplant casserole stuffed with tasty ground beef in layers of eggplant and melted cheese. You'll love our lasagna de berejena.
By - Reviewed: . Original: Dec 21, 2005
Why we ❤️ it
The first time I served lasagna de berenjena to my husband, he was convinced it was a Greek moussaka. A multicultural family means discovering new things often, in his case, that similar dishes can appear in different countries independently of each other.
This is one of my favorite pastelones, mostly because I love eggplants but also because I love cheese, and boy, is there cheese in this-layers upon layers. You're welcome, cheese lovers!
Pastelón vs lasagna de berenjena
This is technically a pastelón, which is what we call casseroles in the Dominican Republic, but this layered dish with ground meat can be called a lasaña. We have another meatless Pastelón de berenjena in our recipe collection if you want to try it.
Eggplants and beef eggplant lasagna.
Serving suggestions
This is a perfect dish for potlucks, cookouts, and family gatherings. At home, it is a great dinner dish with a simple salad on the side. A lettuce Dominican salad is a simple, quick choice.
Top tips
- Cheese: I used fresh mozzarella that comes in liquid in tiny balls. I discarded the liquid and crumbled it between my fingers. As it melts, it'll cover the top of the casserole. You can use any mozzarella you have at hand if you don't have fresh mozzarella.
- More fillings: You can try our other fillings. We recommend our chicken filling with tomato sauce or a creamy, dairy chicken filling. You can also make a vegan version with our vegan mince. Whichever filling you choose, have it ready before starting this recipe.
About this recipe
There are many ways to make lasaña or pastelón de berenjena con carne. Some people fry the eggplants beforehand. I prefer not to do it, but there is a step to pre-cook the eggplant wich uses much less oil than frying it.
Another deviation from some Dominican versions is that I used two types of mozzarella, in the order in which they shine best. The layers of low-moisture mozzarella (I used a bag of pre-grated mozzarella) are better within layers of berenjena, as they do not add more liquid to an already water-rich vegetable. For the top, I used fresh mozzarella that will turn bubbly in the last stage of cooking.
How does your family make this dish? Please share with us in the comments.
Video
Recipe
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Lasana de Berenjenas [Video+Recipe] Beef and Eggplant Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 eggplant (large), or 3 medium
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup tomato sauce
- 2½ cup grated mozzarella, (low moisture)
- Minced meat filling, See recipe + video (about 4 cups)
- 1½ cup crumbled fresh mozzarella, (see notes)
Instructions
1. Prepping eggplants
Wash the eggplants. Score the skin with a sharp knife (see notes). Slice very them very thinly.
2. Pan-frying eggplants
- Brush a frying pan with oil. Heat over medium-high heat.Cook slices of eggplant for two minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for two minutes.Repeat with all the slices, lightly brushing the pan with oil every time you add more eggplants.
3. Layering
- Brush a lasagna pan with oil. Cover with a layer of tomato sauce. Cover with ¼ of the eggplant slices, arranging them to cover the bottom of the baking pan. Cover the eggplant with a layer of ¼ of the grated mozzarella, and follow by another ¼ of eggplant slices. Top with another layer of mozzarellaAdd the meat in one layer, distribute evenly and press down with the back of a spoon. Top the meat with a layer of ¼ grated mozzarella.Add a layer of ¼ of the eggplant slices, top with mozzarella, then the last quarter of the eggplant slices.
4. Baking
- Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in preheated oven at 300 ºF (150 ºC) for 30 minutes.Carefully remove from the oven and remove the foil (use tongs to prevent the steam from burning you).Crumble the mozzarella with your fingers and layer on top. Return to the oven (uncovered) for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and melted.
5. Serving
- Remove from the oven and cut with a sharp knife into six equal pieces.Serve with salad.
Cook's Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutrition information.
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More eggplant recipes
Eggplant is very popular in our country, and we have some great eggplant recipes to serve them.
You'll love the popular Berenjena guisada, our vegan stewed roasted eggplant, Berenjena asada, roasted eggplant with egg, Berenjena con cerdo, our eggplant and braised pork, Torrejas de berenjena, our battered and fried eggplants, the unique Locrio de berenjena, a rice and eggplant pilaf.
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