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Baked Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Baked Eggplant Parmesan is a great way to enjoy eggplant parm without the hassle of frying. Get the recipe at www.drugstoredivas.net.

Eggplant Parmesan is delicious. But it’s a pain in the neck to make. Breading the eggplant, frying the eggplant, baking it … it’s all too much for a weeknight. So if I want it, I cheat. I use this Baked Eggplant Parmesan recipe.

It’s the lazy man’s eggplant parm because you don’t fry the eggplant. You don’t get the caramelization that you do if you fry them, but you also don’t get the arduous task of cleaning up after frying eggplant on your stove.

For me, baking it is just fine.

If we were having company over for dinner, I honestly would probably even serve it this way.

The main difference (I mean, besides not frying it) is the time. Since you’re not pre-cooking the eggplant, you’ll need to cook it through in the oven. So it may take a little longer to bake than you anticipate. So keep that in mind when you start cooking.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Baked Eggplant Parmesan Ingredients:

  • 2 globe eggplants or 1 large eggplant
  • 8oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 24oz. jar of marinara sauce
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dried oregano
  • Pinch of salt
  • Flour
  • 1 egg
  • Italian breadcrumbs

How To Make Baked Eggplant Parmesan:

Baked Eggplant Parmesan is a great way to enjoy eggplant parm without the hassle of frying. Get the recipe at www.drugstoredivas.net.

Slice the eggplant between 1/8- and 1/4-inch thick. Whatever size you choose, make sure they are uniform.

Put the eggplant into a bowl of water with a pinch of salt. Let them sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour. This will drain out the bitterness eggplant can have. Dry the eggplant.

Pre-heat your oven to 400.

Put a very thin layer of marinara sauce at the bottom of an 8×8-inch pan.

Set out three bowls: one with flour, one with the egg (scrambled), and one with the breadcrumbs. Dip the slice of eggplant into the flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Place the breaded eggplant slice into the pan.

Continue this until you have one flat layer of eggplant in the pan.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan is a great way to enjoy eggplant parm without the hassle of frying. Get the recipe at www.drugstoredivas.net.

Top it with the mozzarella cheese, then the Parmesan, then half the remaining sauce.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan is a great way to enjoy eggplant parm without the hassle of frying. Get the recipe at www.drugstoredivas.net.

Bread more of the eggplant and make a second flat layer.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan is a great way to enjoy eggplant parm without the hassle of frying. Get the recipe at www.drugstoredivas.net.

This time, put the rest of the sauce first, then the cheeses, then the oregano.

Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes (depending on how you thickly sliced the eggplant) until the eggplant is soft and cooked through.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan is a great way to enjoy eggplant parm without the hassle of frying. Get the recipe at www.drugstoredivas.net.

What are some other ways to make eggplant parmesan?

Baked Eggplant Parmesan is one of the easier ways to make eggplant parmesan. But it’s not the only way to make eggplant parmesan. There’s traditional eggplant parmesan, which involves frying the eggplant, and eggplant parmesan bites, which skips mozzarella cheese.

What goes well with Baked Eggplant Parmesan?

We usually serve a simple side salad with our Eggplant Parmesan. We also really like garlic bread on the side. If you don’t like garlic bread, a toasted Italian bread works really well too.

And, if you’re over 21, a great glass of red wine pairs perfectly with eggplant parmesan.

How do you make sure Baked Eggplant Parmesan isn’t soggy?

Eggplant has a lot of moisture in it. So when eggplant cooks, that moisture is released and it can possibly get soggy.

Your best way to do this is to salt the eggplant and let it sweat out some of the water before cooking. After you sweat the eggplant, be sure to pat it dry and remove the water that sweat out.

Do I need to soak eggplant before cooking?

Personally, I never sweat eggplant before cooking. But, I always soak eggplant before cooking. So I think soaking takes place of sweating.

Fill a bowl with water and add about a teaspoon or so of salt. Add the eggplant, after it has been sliced, and let it soak for about 30 minutes. Remove the eggplant and pat it dry.

The salted water will pull out any bitterness from the eggplant, making it taste a lot better.

Do you leave the skin on Eggplant Parmesan?

We grow globe eggplants in our garden every year. The skin on globe eggplants, because they’re so small, is so thin and cooks really well when you bake it.

If you’re using small eggplants, you can leave the skin on eggplant parmesan. It also makes the meal a lot easier because you don’t have to peel the eggplant.

If you’re using a large eggplant, though, the skin will be tough and chewy when you bake it. Eggplant skin is edible, but when it gets tough, it doesn’t taste very good. So if you’re using a large eggplant, you should peel it before making eggplant parmesan.

Can you make eggplant parmesan without breadcrumbs?

You absolutely can make eggplant parm without breadcrumbs. In fact, that’s the traditional way to make Italian Eggplant Parm (Melanzane alla Parmigiana, if you want to sound fancy).

Melanzane alla Parmigiana is made with just eggplant, sauce, and cheese.

When Melanzane alla Parmigiana was adapted by American chefs, breadcrumbs (and egg and flour) were added.

So go ahead and skip the breading. If you do, that makes a gluten-free eggplant parm.

Is there a Weight Watchers eggplant parmesan recipe?

You can definitely make a Weight Watchers eggplant parmesan recipe.

Eggplant is one of the zero point foods, so that’s a start.

Tomatoes, tomato sauce, and onions are also zero point foods. So if you make your own homemade marinara with tomatoes, garlic, onions, herbs, and omit the oil, that’s actually a zero point marinara sauce.

Skip the breadcrumbs, like we mentioned above, and you’re still at zero points.

If you can find fat free mozzarella cheese, it may be zero points for 1 ounce. So now, you actually have a zero point eggplant parmesan.

Just be sure to double check the your Weight Watchers program to make sure that these points are accurate. Different programs count points differently, so check your WW program’s specifics before making this.

Yield: 4 Servings

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Baked Eggplant Parmesan is a great way to enjoy eggplant parm without the hassle of frying. Get the recipe at www.drugstoredivas.net.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan is a great way to enjoy eggplant parm without the hassle of frying.

Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 round eggplants
  • 8oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 24oz. jar of marinara sauce
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dried oregano
  • Pinch of salt
  • Flour
  • 1 egg
  • Italian breadcrumbs

Instructions

    1. Slice the eggplant between 1/8- and 1/4-inch thick. Whatever size you choose, make sure they are uniform.
    2. Put the eggplant into a bowl of water with a pinch of salt. Let them sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Dry the eggplant.
    3. Pre-heat your oven to 400.
    4. Put a very thin layer of marinara sauce at the bottom of an 8×8-inch pan.
    5. Set out three bowls: one with flour, one with the egg (scrambled), and one with the breadcrumbs. Dip the slice of eggplant into the flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Place the breaded eggplant slice into the pan. Continue this until you have one flat layer of eggplant in the pan.
    6. Top it with the mozzarella cheese, then the Parmesan, then half the remaining sauce.
    7. Bread more of the eggplant and make a second flat layer. This time, put the rest of the sauce first, then the cheeses, then the oregano.
    8. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes (depending on how thick you sliced the eggplant) until the eggplant is soft and cooked through.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 675Total Fat 22gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 98mgSodium 1933mgCarbohydrates 92gFiber 14gSugar 22gProtein 31g

Would you make this Baked Eggplant Parmesan recipe? Be sure to let us know in the comments.

Blair villanueva

Sunday 25th of August 2019

We love frying eggplants, and maybe this recipe could be a new one for us. Looks delicious!

Mommy Sigrid

Sunday 25th of August 2019

I have made this several times before for my husband and he absolutely loves it because he likes eggplants. But it's been a while. So I will me this again for him. :) Thank you for reminding me. :)

Laura G

Friday 23rd of August 2019

I love eggplant and always have it stocked in my fridge! And this recipe is seriously delicious! It reminds me exactly of how my grandma made them!

alexandra cook

Thursday 22nd of August 2019

I love this recipe so much! Every single ingredient sounds amazing, I’ll definitely be adding this to my list of things to try!

Amila

Thursday 22nd of August 2019

This Baked Eggplant Parmesan looks deliocus.It is good to find a recipe that is easy to cook without many steps.I am also a lazy cook and always look for easiest ways to cook. :)

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