Baked Eggplant Parmesan {Dinner Recipe}

Eggplant Parmesan

I’m always looking for a great meatless meal. Lately I’ve been turning to one of my favorite blogs, Ezra Pound Cake, for meatless inspiration. I just recently decided to try her baked eggplant parmesan but knew I wouldn’t need as much so I tweaked the recipe a bit to meet our needs. And boy was I happy I made this! The dish was delicious, healthy, and the kids loved it!

If you’re looking for a great Sunday evening dish or even something to prep and freeze for meals later on in the week or month then I highly recommend trying this dish out. It sure beats the Trader Joe’s dish I’ve been buying (and you all know how much I love Trader Joe’s)!

Baked Eggplant Parmesan 

  • 1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound)
  • 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 2 cups breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (about 1 ounce)
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 cups marinara sauce, homemade or store-bought
  • 4 ounces part-skim mozzarella, shredded
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 ounce)
  • Fresh basil, cut in ribbons
Eggplant Parmesan ingredients

1. Cut eggplant crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and place into a colander.

Eggplant Parmesan sliced eggplant

2. Place colander over a small bowl and add salt to the eggplant. Toss to coat well. Let eggplant “sweat” for 30 to 45 minutes or until about 2 tablespoons of liquid is released.

3. While eggplant is sweating, line 2 baking sheet with foil. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-thirds of the oven, place rimmed baking sheets on both racks, and heat oven to 425 degrees F.

4. Mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan, Italian seasoning and salt & pepper together in a shallow baking dish. Add egg to another dish and whisk together. Add flour to another dish. Align dishes in an assembly line with flour first, egg in the middle and Parmesan at the end.

5. Thoroughly pat eggplant dry with a paper towel.

Eggplant Parmesan sweating eggplant

6. Dip eggplant into flour and tap to release excess. Then dip eggplant into egg mixture and coat with Parmesan mixture. Place breaded eggplant on a wire rack until all of the eggplant is coated.

Eggplant Parmesan breaded

7. Remove baking sheets from oven and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil to each pan. Place eggplant on hot baking sheets and bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping eggplant and rotating pans after 10 minutes.

Eggplant Parmesan baking

8. Spread 1/2 cup marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Layer with eggplant and top with 1/2 of the cheese. Add another cup of marinara on the top. Layer again with eggplant. Drizzle remaining marinara over the top leaving enough exposed eggplant to allow browning and top with the remainder of cheese.

Eggplant Parmesan with cheese

9. Sprinkle with a little Parmesan and bake until bubbling and browned, about 13-15 minutes.

10. Cool for 10 minutes and then top with ribbons of basil and serve.

Eggplant Parmesan baked

Have you tried eggplant? What’s your favorite eggplant dish?

Pinterest Inspiration

Comments

  1. This looks soooo good! I love Eggplant Parmesan. Thanks for the recipe.

  2. Oh I LOVE baked eggplant Parmesan, I will have to try your recipe!

  3. I have never tried eggplant parmesan let alone make it myself. Maybe i’ll give this recipe a try. Thanks!

  4. Looks even better than the one we make- we’re going to have to try your recipe!

  5. First time for us and eggplant. This recipe is the bomb. I used egg beaters but other than that stayed true to recipe

    • So glad you enjoyed it! I love being able to swap out certain ingredients and egg beaters is one of them depending on if I have it in the fridge or not.

  6. Great recipe! First time eating eggplant and this was very yummy! Only thing is I used parmesan instead of mozzarella as I didn’t have any. Thanks for sharing!

Trackbacks

  1. […] starting to exhaust my resources with what to do with eggplant. I mean you can only make so much eggplant parm. So this week I went to my favorite slow cooker ratatouille recipe. Easy, simple, and tastes […]

  2. […] It’s in the frozen foods section and is delicious. But when I’m making it at home this baked eggplant parm recipe takes the cake. Sooo […]

  3. […] Baked Eggplant Parmesan: an easy family dinner that will please adults and kids. […]

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