You’re going to love this wholesome eggplant parmesan! These slices of eggplant are cut thinly and drenched in egg and breadcrumbs and then layered with cheese and tomato goodness!! A meal your whole family will love!
What can I say about Eggplant Parmesan?
It is yummy, wholesome and soothes the soul on a cold wintery day! It is one of my favorite meals. With only a few ingredients, this dish is an easy meal to make to feed your entire family.
Did you know that eggplant is actually a fruit and not a vegetable? Yep, I didn’t know that either until I looked it up! 😉 Eggplant is tender, mild and sweet. It absorbs flavor really well when cooked in something. It’s texture when raw is firm and spongy like and becomes super tender when cooked.
I love making eggplant parmesan because it tastes really good, can be adapted to fit your health needs and can be made with so many different types of tomato sauce.
Instructions
I don’t typically peel my eggplant. The skin is edible and packed with flavor and powerful antioxidants when left on. I use a mandolin slicer when cutting my eggplant. It leaves for a very even cut. I don’t like to cut it more than 1/4″ because then it gets too thick and more tough when cooking. If you don’t have a mandolin slicer, then a sharp knife will work just fine.
After I cut the eggplant into slices, I set up two trays. One for eggs and one for breadcrumbs. Beat 5 eggs really well. I use an electric hand mixer to beat the eggs. You can use a whisk if you’d like. I feel that mixing it with an electric mixer does a really great job at mixing the eggs really well and not leave it runny.
I use Colonna’s Flavored Italian Style Breadcrumbs and 4C Breadcrumbs Panko Seasoned with Pecorino Romano Cheese. These two together taste really good. Pour these two breadcrumb types in the same tray and add the garlic powder, ground black pepper, paprika and Kosher salt. Mix well and set aside.
Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If you don’t have parchment paper, then grease your baking sheet with olive oil. I use parchment paper because it’s an easy clean up and the eggplant doesn’t stick to it.
Dunk eggplant into eggs first, eggs are used as a binding agent to help keep breadcrumbs stick to the eggplant, coating both sides, then into the breadcrumb tray doing the same. Make sure it is evenly coated then place on baking sheet. Keep repeating this step until you fill up your baking sheet. Using a spray olive oil, coat all pieces to help keep it nice and crunchy and not dry when baking.
I have 2 baking sheets, so I fill both up and then place them in the oven and keep repeating this process until I’ve baked all the eggplant slices.
Tip
If you only have one baking sheet, coat as many eggplant slices to fit on that sheet and bake in oven. Do not coat the rest of the eggplant with egg and breadcrumbs all at once because the breadcrumbs will get soggy if it’s just sitting there waiting its turn to go into the infirmary. LOL! 😉 Coat eggplant in egg and breadcrumbs as you go to help keep breadcrumbs nice and crispy.
Once in oven, bake 15-20 minutes or until all pieces are golden brown.
Tomato Sauce
I love using my homemade tomato sauce for this recipe. You can find my recipe here My Mama’s Quick and Easy Classic Homemade Tomato Sauce – Keeping it Lucy Many people like to use a store-bought marinara sauce for eggplant parmesan. I say use whatever sauce is your favorite. If you have your grandma’s favorite homemade recipe then feel free to use that. If you find a tomato sauce on sale in your local super market then by all means use whatever you like! I’m not here to judge! 😉
Prepare baking dish with a bottom layer of tomato sauce. Once your eggplant is baked, layer your dish as you go. First eggplant, then tomato sauce, then shredded mozzarella and repeat until your baking dish is filled to the top.
Bake in oven at 350℉ for 45-60 minutes, until cheese is golden brown. When finished, remove from oven and let sit for about 15-20 minutes to allow for it all to settle and cool off a bit. This dish is also always better the next day!
Gluten Free/Vegan
This dish can be adapted as gluten free by using gluten free breadcrumb. I am pretty sure Italian breadcrumbs are all gluten free and follow all other steps.
Panko seasoning is not gluten free but is vegan. If vegan is what you’re looking for, I would recommend dunking eggplant in flour, then almond milk and finally breadcrumbs in that order, follow all other steps to complete.
Baking vs Frying
I like to bake eggplant because it is less work, less time and much healthier versus frying the eggplant. If you like to fry your eggplant, then feel free to go right ahead! To each their own! 😉 Using a air fryer is a great alternative as well.
Freezing
If you’re looking to freeze this dish as a plan ahead meal, it freezes really well. Do everything I mentioned above. Bake the eggplant and layer your dish, cover dish with plastic wrap, aluminum foil or if your dish has a lid and is freezer proof then that’s great, and place in freezer.
Keep in mind after removing it from freezer, let it defrost for a few hours before placing your dish in the oven. You don’t want to place this in the oven right after removing it from your freezer, because you can break your dish this way!
Serve with garlic bread and a fresh house salad if desired.
Have fun with this recipe. Feel free to share what you have done in the comments below or share a picture of you enjoying this delicious meal!
Bom apetite! Enjoy your meal!
Best and Easy Eggplant Parmesan
Equipment
- 1 Deep Baking Dish
- 1-2 Baking Sheets
- 1-2 Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 2 medium sized eggplants sliced thin
- Homemade Tomato Sauce My Mama's Quick and Easy Classic Homemade Tomato Sauce – Keeping it Lucy
- 2 cups Italian style bread crumbs
- 1 cup Panko seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 5 whole eggs beaten
- 4-5 cups shredded mozzarella
- Fresh parsley for garnishing
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉.
- Slice eggplant about ¼ inch thick or thinner into round slices.
- Prepare 2 trays, one for breadcrumbs and the other for eggs.
- Line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In one tray, mix Italian style breadcrumbs, panko, garlic powder, ground black pepper, paprika and salt.
- In other tray beat 5 whole eggs.
- Start an assembly line of eggplant, eggs and breadcrumbs.
- Dunk eggplant, piece by piece, in eggs first and then in breadcrumb mixture.
- Place all pieces of eggplant on a baking sheet.
- Spray each piece with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
- Place tray in oven and bake until golden brown. Repeat until all eggplant is baked.
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Layer bottom of deep dish with tomato sauce.
- Then layer with baked eggplant, then with shredded mozzarella.
- Keep layering until the dish is filled to the top.
- Place filled deep dish in oven for 45-60 minutes, until cheese is golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let sit for 15-20 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve with salad and garlic bread if desired.
- Bom appetite! Enjoy your meal!
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