These Cheesy Marinara Veggie Stacks are the perfect way to load up on your veggies for the day!
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Every once in a while, whether I’m looking for something in particular or just scrolling and wasting time, I find myself browsing through the archives here on the blog. When you have 7 years worth of posts (3,160 of them, to be exact!) you wind up forgetting about a LOT of them.
Sometimes, I come across them and delete them because they were just bad. Baaaaad. And then, other times, I come across some that I feel definitely missed their time in the spotlight and deserve a little extra attention.
This quick and easy recipe is one of them!
As soon as I came across the post title, I immediately remembered them. And I also remembered how much I LOVED them.
Now that spring is upon us and the warmer weather is creeping in (YAY!), I find myself gravitating more towards veggies and light meals (vs heavy comfort foods that I love and crave all winter long). Anyone else?
There really are so many great things about this recipe…
For one, you could saute your veggies on the stove like the recipe says. OR, if the weather is nice, feel free to go ahead and toss ’em on the grill. Who doesn’t love grilled veggies, right?!
You could also switch things up a bit by making it into a mini casserole instead of veggie stacks. Because if you couldn’t already tell by the pictures, these stacks are BIG. So if too many veggies don’t play nice with your gut at once, then feel free to serve the casserole as a side dish along with your favorite protein.
Personally, I love how all of the veggies are layered along with the delicious filling of ricotta, spinach, fresh basil, and spices.
It definitely adds some great flavor.
So once all of the veggies are cooked, layer them up, top off with some more marinara and cheese, and you’ve got yourself a fabulous, light, and healthy dish.
Cheesy Marinara Veggie Stacks
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant ends removed
- 2 small zucchinis
- 1 small yellow squash
- 1 cup jarred marinara sauce
- 1/2 cup spinach canned or frozen, drained and thoroughly patted dry
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
- 3 tbsp fresh chopped basil or substitute dried
- 1 tsp dried minced onion
- dash salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Slice eggplant in half lengthwise. Cut each half lengthwise into 3 slices. Cut off rounded sides of the 2 outer slices so they lay flat.
- Cut zucchini & squash into 1/2-inch wide slices.
- Set out a few layers of paper towels (to use to transfer cooked veggies to drain excess moisture)
- Spray a large pan with nonstick spray and bring to medium-high heat on stove.
- Lay zucchini & squash flat in pan and cook for 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and place on paper towels.
- Re-spray pan & cook eggplant slices for 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and place on paper towels.
- In a small dish, combine spinach, ricotta, basil, minced onion, salt, & garlic powder. Stir well, set aside.
- Spray a deep oven-safe pan with nonstick spray. Place half of the marinara in the center of the pan, and place 2 eggplant slices side by side over the sauce.
- Spread about 1/4 of the spinach mixture on top of each slice. Then layer about 1/4 of the zucchini and squash slices on top of each stack. Over the veggie layer, add another eggplant slice.
- Spread the rest of the spinach mixture on top of the stacks. Layer remaining zucchini and squash slices.
- Cover stacks with remaining eggplant slices. Finish it off with the rest of the marinara, and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
- Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of each stack, and return to oven for 5 more minutes, or until cheese melts. Enjoy!
(adapted from Hungry Girl)
The recipe may look a little lengthy, but the only part that really takes time is cooking all of the veggies. You could always speed up the process by having 2 pans going at one time (but that would mean more dishes…) or do a little extra meal prep on the weekend so they’re ready to go during the week.
I’m planning on trying this dish out as a casserole next, so I’ll let you all know how it turns out! ; )
cardiopizza says
That dinner looks awesome and is something I would make..yum!
I don’t like meals that take a lot of time…I’m definitely a 30 minutes or less kinda gal! :)
Have a great night!
cardiopizza says
That dinner looks awesome and is something I would make..yum!
I don’t like meals that take a lot of time…I’m definitely a 30 minutes or less kinda gal! :)
Have a great night!
Heather (Where's the Beach) says
Dinner looks fantastic. What a great combo of veggies. It all depends on how my day has been, how late it’s gotten, etc as to how long I want to spend on dinner. Sometimes I want it ready in 20 mins, sometimes I don’t mind if it takes an hour.
Heather (Where's the Beach) says
Dinner looks fantastic. What a great combo of veggies. It all depends on how my day has been, how late it’s gotten, etc as to how long I want to spend on dinner. Sometimes I want it ready in 20 mins, sometimes I don’t mind if it takes an hour.
cookinfanatic says
I love these veggie stacks, and I bet I could even get my boyfriend to eat all his veggies this way too! I don’t mind if a meal takes longer to cook as long as I have the time, in fact on a lazy weekend there is nothing I like more than spending time in the kitchen putting together something a bit more involved :)
cookinfanatic says
I love these veggie stacks, and I bet I could even get my boyfriend to eat all his veggies this way too! I don’t mind if a meal takes longer to cook as long as I have the time, in fact on a lazy weekend there is nothing I like more than spending time in the kitchen putting together something a bit more involved :)
Katie says
those veggie stacks are on my *must make* list..amazing! :) thanks for sharing girl!
Katie says
those veggie stacks are on my *must make* list..amazing! :) thanks for sharing girl!
Jenn (Jenn's Menu and Lifestyle Blog) says
Those veggie stacks look divine! I’d have a nice piece of crusty bread with it. YUM :)
Jenn
Jenn (Jenn's Menu and Lifestyle Blog) says
Those veggie stacks look divine! I’d have a nice piece of crusty bread with it. YUM :)
Jenn
Can You Stay for Dinner says
Super duper delicious!! Love the veggie stacks- what a creative and healthy dish!
Can You Stay for Dinner says
Super duper delicious!! Love the veggie stacks- what a creative and healthy dish!
Kerry says
oh wow that looks amazing! definitely only 30 minutes for recipes, i want time to do other things! lol! xx
Kerry says
oh wow that looks amazing! definitely only 30 minutes for recipes, i want time to do other things! lol! xx
Holly at Greek Yogurt and Apple Slices says
My mouth is TOTALLY watering after looking @ this meal- YUM!!!!!! Trying this asap!
Holly at Greek Yogurt and Apple Slices says
My mouth is TOTALLY watering after looking @ this meal- YUM!!!!!! Trying this asap!
Sarah says
WOW. this recipe looks awesome! I remember seeing the Hungry GIrl recipe and flagging it to make in the future. You have just FULLY convinced me :)
I like to spend as little time possible cooking, unless I am relaxed and have time. For instance, I love to prolong cooking when my boyfriend and I are making dinner and chatting. That’s the best!
Sarah says
WOW. this recipe looks awesome! I remember seeing the Hungry GIrl recipe and flagging it to make in the future. You have just FULLY convinced me :)
I like to spend as little time possible cooking, unless I am relaxed and have time. For instance, I love to prolong cooking when my boyfriend and I are making dinner and chatting. That’s the best!
montessoriishmom says
Yum! I love anything with marinara, these look so good!
Annie says
This looks SO good and a great way to sneak veggies into my little guy!
Melissa says
These look so incredible! They combine all my favorite veggies and of course, the addition of cheese and sauce make it even better!
Shaqueefa says
LOLZ Countrey 3.0!
Carrie this fit chick says
Oh heck yes! Anything with cheese in a winner in my book. Loving all the flavors here and fairly simple to make, which is a huge must for me.
Allison says
This looks so good. Definitely going to try this out on the grill this summer.
Juliette @ Namastay Traveling says
These look awesome! And a great way to sneak in some veggies!