Well, it excites me to know that others share my enthusiasm for these crazy posts. And boy, sometimes do I ever feel like I am slowly going crazy. Voting is now open, if you care to help me advance to the next round.
While the challenges are certainly demanding, I am having lots of fun. I enjoy that each challenge gives a lot of room for interpretation and creativity so I don’t feel too restricted with what I ‘have’ to do.
You know what else I enjoy?
Using leftovers in fun ways.
The Protein Power Chili that I made for Challenge #6 made a huge pot and quite frankly, I am getting sick of eating bowl after bowl of chili. Sure, I could freeze it, but my freezer is already brimming with goodies (Power Me Up Pumpkin Sesame Cookies and Strawberry Oat Squares, I am looking at you!).
I used the chili in place of a pasta sauce in this layered casserole recipe.
Layered Eggplant and Zucchini Casserole
Adapted from here.
Ingredients:
- 2 medium eggplants
- 1.5 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
- 2 cups leftover homemade chili OR pasta sauce
- One 15-ounce can navy (great northern) beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup spinach (optional)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2-3/4 teaspoon sea salt, to taste
- Vegan parmesan cheese, for garnish
Directions: Preheat oven to 450F. Peel the eggplants and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Lay on a lined baking sheet and pre-cook eggplant only for about 15 minutes, or until shrivelled (see picture below). Remove from oven and cool. While the eggplant is cooking, slice the zucchini and set aside. Now prepare your bean filling, by processing the drained beans, herbs, salt, garlic, olive oil, and nutritional yeast (optional) in a food processor until smooth. Gather the eggplant, zucchini, sauce, and bean filling and get ready to layer your casserole.
Preheat oven to 425. Grease a mid-sized rectangular casserole dish with oil. Put a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of the dish as shown below. Arrange 1/3 of the eggplant slices over the sauce. Spread 1/2 of the bean filling over the eggplant, and put half of the zucchini on top. Add a layer of the sauce. Repeat eggplant, bean filling, zucchini, and sauce. Place the final layer of eggplant over the top and pour the remaining sauce evenly over top, spreading with a spoon.
Bake for about 40 minutes at 425F. Once zucchini is cooked remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle on some vegan parmesan cheese if desired. Makes 4-6 servings.
First things first, pre-bake the eggplant until it gets all shrivelled up like my hands after too many dishes.
That’s about right.
(Note: 2 sliced eggplants made about 3 baking sheets worth!)
Slice up your zucchini!
Now make the creamy filling with navy beans, herbs, garlic, and sea salt.
The original recipe called for 1 cup of spinach in the creamy filling, however I didn’t have any. I would use it if you have some, but by no means is it necessary for it to work.
Lightly oil a casserole dish and spread on a thin layer of chili or pasta sauce.
That’ll do.
Now add a layer of sliced (pre-cooked) eggplant. Try not to eat them all before using! Or maybe that is just me who loves baked eggplant fresh out of the oven.
Followed by a layer of creamy filling…
(It is a bit hard to spread around, but not to worry!)
Next a layer of zucchini…
Followed by a layer of chili or pasta sauce
Now repeat the full set.
And finish with a layer of eggplant and sauce!
Bake for about 40 minutes at 425F.
Let cool for about 10 minutes and serve.
This casserole is weird and wonderful and downright crazy, but I loved it. Lots of different textures and flavours. The creamy filling was also quite nice!
I almost caught myself thinking the eggplant was a lasagna noodle! The eggplant really worked in this casserole.
I sprinkled lots of Vegan parmesan cheese on top for fun.
Now, I shall enjoy a Pecan Pie truffle for dessert and finish up my work for the day.
What recipes would you like to see coming up on OSG?
Not being the biggest pasta fan, these noodless casseroles/lasagnas are right up my alley. This looks so great Angela!
There’s something about baking a casserole dish in a circular dish that makes things more interesting ;)
that looks soooo good! I have been experimenting with ways to incorporate more vegetables in our dinners. Thanks for the wonderful recipes!
Oo that looks nice, i’d imagine the eggplant would be a good noodle replacer
i had to stop in and say wow — what an INCREDIBLE entry! so much love went into that meal, and the pictures are beautiful. well done :)
This casserole looks fabulous!!
I would love to have your Protein Power PAcked Chili recipe :)
i just found your website today and i LOVE it!!! and have shared it with several raw/vegan friends.
Looks awesome, per usual Ange :) I am definitely liking your fall/winter recipes that are all warm and comforting versions of non-vegan classics. I have a question for you about Nutritional Yeast, I bought some a few weeks ago but haven’t really used it much…what are you favorite ways to incorporate it into your cooking and how often do you use it? I see your vegan parmesan cheese pop up often, is that my best bet for a good starter recipe?
I would LOVE to see more recipes for baking sweets with ingredients that the average cook has on hand. Your recipes are BEAUTIFUL and everything I’ve ever tried has been delightful, but I almost always have to go buy something in order to make something that catches my eye.
It’s not a criticism! Just a suggestion. Thanks!
yessss… could totally do veggies this way.
Holy moly that looks amazing! I love making chili when its cold but get tired of it before I make it to the bottom of the pot. I am making this one stat!
That casserole looks so good!!
My Mother always makes apple dumplings for the holidays, and I would love it if you could make
A vegan version of apple dumplings!! :)
Love this recipe! I have a pureed bean sauce with broccoli and zucchini already pureed into the sauce that has been sitting in my freezer that I could use for this recipe! Although I think layered zucchini when I already have zucchini pureed in the sauce might be a bit much – what do you think?
hmmm I guess it depends how much of a zucchini taste the puree has…I find generally, zucchini is quite light tasting in flavour so it might work?
Thanks Angela, you are right, the zucchini flavour is not too strong in my sauce so I will try this recipe out my family this week. Thanks again!
Love your use of leftovers! The creamy bean layer looks especially good, and might be tasty in a lasagna dish too! Can’t wait to try this!
I’d love to see the recipes from the food blog challenge 6! Unless I missed the memo and they are somewhere! They all look fabulous!
Thanks!!! :)
yup they are linked in the challenge #6 post, right underneath the menu thingy :)
‘cept for the cakes ….those are coming up in a week or two.
I love veggie only lasagnas!! I would like to see some recipes for candies with the holidays coming up. I usually make fudge and truffles but I really need some recipes that are cleaner!
This looks so good! Cant wait to try the recipe out!
I would have eaten all the eggplant before it made it to the casserole dish, lol. I LOVE roasted egg plant. Looks delish!
Now that looks great. Wow.
What would I like to see you make? Angela, you nail it always, I can’t think of anything, I am happy as can be reading your posts. :)
I’d also love to see some vegan macaroni and cheese, or just a cheesy sauce (vegan)…
I’m going to make your cheesy savoury oats tonight… I can’t wait!!
Keep up the awesome work :)
Steph xxx
Ange, I love all your recipes and always look forward to seeing what you come up with next! Even though I love to cook, I usually go for the simple recipes because I have such a small kitchen (it is the size of a broom closet) and I try to minimise the number of pans/equipment that I use to save on cleaning up – it’s so disheartening to enjoy a delicious meal and then have a war zone to clean up afterwards! I would love to see some more hearty fall/winter vegan dinners that can be made in one pan, or just in the oven, similar to what you’ve done here! Looks scrumptious! :)
You are a cooking genius!
I hope you’ll do a caramel/candied apple post! I can only imagine the clever toppings & decorations you would think up!
Why don’t you roast the zucchini too in this recipe?
Hmm. That bean filling kind of excites me because it reminds me of the baked ziti I used to make (somehow it reminds me of cottage cheese). I’m sure it tastes nothing like that, though :-)
its funny it reminded me of cheese filling too! Not so much taste wise, but something about it I liked. It was creamy and lovely.
Angela, this recipe looks delicious! I can’t wait for you to post about your Cake in a Jar Parfaits. The Triple Layer Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake was speaking to me. You definitely got my vote. As for what I’d like to see coming up on OSG, how about a Vegan Chess Pie (oh how I miss those!). I asked my husband his opinion and he immediately responded, “Vegan Chicken Fried Chicken!” Now that’s something I haven’t tried to conquer in the kitchen!
Your creativity keeps inspiring me!
I noticed your a Parisian at heart after having it stolen by your trip to Paris, which is like home to me I visit as often as I can.
I am litterally begging you to re-create some of the buttery melt in your mouth croissants, crispy fresh baguettes, Tarte Au Citron but most importantly I would love for you to try and make Creme Brulee! I’ve tried countless times to make the dessert but I fail but then (truth be told) without out instructions Im an awful cook.
I eat it non-vegan because it is my all time favourite dessert and you just have to love cracking the top of Creme Brulee – Just watch Amelie that will set your heart a light for it it. (A film you will adore if you love Paris, Im sure)
another amazing recipe! This is def a must try :O)
thanks as always for sharing your creative recipes and mouthwatering pictures!
Perhaps a recipe using an ingredient such as seitan? or even tempeh or textured vegetable protein? I have all these things in my kitchen and not a clue what to make with them. I bet you could come up with something fantastic! :)
I love noodle free lasagna!! I like to make a tomato lentil sauce with mine normally but ill have to try the chili idea:)
Hmmmmm have you made fudge before? I think you should make some, and some peppermint bark for the holidays!!!
Ahhh, I wish you could be my personal chef! I just want to eat everything on the page. yum!
The casserole looks so good, it is definately going on my must make list.
How about a lightened up pumpkin pie, I am trying to find a good recepie to make for thanksgiving.
Your picknic looks so so so good, thank you for all of the wonderful recepies. I made sure to put my vote in for you yesterday.
Oooooh some recipes I would like to see …
Maybe a tortilla soup, or something Mexican.
Also, maybe a ooey, gooey, brownie!
I just made this recipe today and it was sooo delicious! I love that it had a creamy filling without tofu! :D Thanks, Angela!
This looks delicious, definitely on my menu for the week. Cannot wait to try it. BTW I love your site, as a new vegan I am enjoying the recipes. I also love creating in the kitchen though I don’t have much time right now.
I LOVE using zucchini and eggplant in place of lasagna noodles, although what I’ve made in the past contains dairy. I’m thinking about giving it up. This looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it!
This dish is fabulous!!! I have made it so many times and always get rave reviews. I’d like to double (or triple) the recipe to serve as a main dish at a dinner party – how much should I increase the cooking time?
Thats a good question Kate! Im not to sure, I would just keep an eye on it and check it every 5-10 mins or so.
I just made this recipe last night (it must be gratifying to know that after 2 years, this recipe is still delighting strangers!)…and I have to say that bean spread is awesome. I think I liked it just as much, if not more, than hummus. And I love hummus. So thanks, you’ve just given me a new favorite spread for veggies and crackers (and spoons, and fingers…).
Looks so good! I’m gonna try and make a low-carb stovetop version of this, just need to buy some eggplant and zucchini from the market :)
This recipe is great! I added couple extra things the second time I made it and had some serious success with the boyfriend.
In the filling I added:
~10 oil packed sun dried tomatoes
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
couple sprigs fresh parsley
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
~1/2 cup extra firm tofu
2 extra cloves of garlic (I won’t lie. I have a garlic obsession)
When I finished the layering I added some sliced olives on top with a sprinkling of nutritional yeast. I also sauteed some cremini mushrooms and onions which I added into the layering process, but I wasn’t as pleased with it.
This must be an older recipe, but I just made it tonight. Delicious! My husband liked it too :) I sliced my zucchini the long way, sort of in ribbons. Not that it made a difference! Thank you. I am new to your blog, but I love everything I ‘ve made from it. So good.
I love this recipe! Finally a recipe that gives all of the taste of cheesy lasagna without the fat and calories! Thanks for sharing!!!
I just put this in the oven. I had to modify it a bit. I only had eggplant and garbanzo beans in the house so I used eggplant and kale for the layers and garbanzos for the filling. It looks pretty. Hopefully it’ll taste as good as it looks. :-)
This casserole is amazing! I made it the other night with a homemade pasta sauce. The only problem I ever have is cooking eggplant. . .I feel like I must do it wrong every time. I either add too much oil or not enough and in this case they came out dry from the oven and they stuck to the foil. Any suggestions on cooking them in the oven perfectly so I’m not wasting half of them?
Hands down the best vegan recipe I’ve had!
This is lick-the-plate good. I’ve made it at least 4 times now and the last time I made it, it only lasted me half a day (ate it all myself!). Great job! :)
Hi, I just finished preparing the casserole and its 10:00am my husband doesn’t come home from work until 7:00pm. Wondering if I should bake this now and reheat later or put it in the fridge and bake in the evening! Would it get soggy?
Thank you,
Natasha
Ps. You are truly my inspiration. I became vegan not too long ago and boy am I glad I have found your blog!!!
Hey Natasha, I think it would be fine either way (although I haven’t tried either) – good luck and thanks for your kind words!
This actually turned out great and tasted just like lasagna to me. I was a little nervous as I’m not a huge eggplant fan but it worked out in this recipe, Thanks!
I know this is 3 years too late, but I just found your blog a few months ago and got around to making this tonight. So delicious.. love it. Next time I’m doubling the recipe so that I have lots and lots of leftovers!
Hey Angela! I make this at least twice a month and I’m wondering if you think it would freeze well. Would it be better to freeze before baking the whole casserole, or after?
Thanks! ~Meredith