If you’re looking for a delicious meatless main dish, you’ve got to try this baked eggplant parmesan. Unlike many other recipes, we bake the eggplant slices to perfection with a crispy coating, avoiding the extra oil from frying. The eggplant turns out tender on the inside and perfectly crispy on the outside. Trust me, this dish is so good, that even the meat lovers in your life will be asking for seconds.
For another delicious way to use eggplant, give our Oven Roasted Baba Ganoush a try!
Why Our Recipe
- Baked, not fried, for a crispy exterior with the perfect texture.
- Fresh mozzarella, marinara, and freshly grated parmesan create ooey gooey perfection.
- Clear and simple instructions make it easy to prepare a restaurant-quality dish at home.
This dish looks and tastes like something you’d order at a fancy Italian restaurant. Eggplant has a very mild flavor, like spaghetti squash. Because it has such a mild flavor, it’s easily used in recipes that have bold flavors. With layers of rich marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella, and freshly grated parmesan cheese, every bite is packed with gooey, cheesy deliciousness.
Ingredient Notes
- Eggplant: Choose firm, medium-sized eggplants with smooth, shiny skin. They should feel heavy for their size. Slice them into 1/4-inch rounds for even cooking.
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides the initial coating that helps the egg mixture and breadcrumbs stick to the eggplant slices.
- Eggs: Acts as the binding agent for the breadcrumbs to adhere to the eggplant slices.
- Panko: Adds extra crunch to the coating. You can find these in the baking aisle or near the regular breadcrumbs.
- Italian Style Bread Crumbs: These are pre-seasoned with Italian seasoning.
- Marinara Sauce: Use your favorite store-bought brand or homemade marinara sauce. This adds a rich tomato flavor to the dish.
- Fresh Mozzarella: Sliced fresh mozzarella melts the best for gooeyness. If using shredded mozzarella, use the same amount (8 ounces) and sprinkle evenly.
- Fresh Basil: Best flavor when using fresh. If using dried basil, substitute 1 teaspoon dried basil for 1/4 cup fresh basil.
- Parmesan: Grating your own parmesan ensures the freshest flavor and perfect melting. Use half in the breadcrumb mixture and half for sprinkling on top.
To Peel or Not to Peel
The peel of an eggplant is completely edible. However, as the eggplant grows bigger and matures, the peel may become tough and bitter. People often prefer to peel larger eggplants because of this, but smaller eggplants do just fine unpeeled. It ends up being a matter of personal preference.
Salting Eggplant
Salting your eggplant slices before cooking is a crucial step in this recipe. This process helps draw out excess moisture from the eggplant, which can make it soggy if not removed. Additionally, salting helps to remove any potential bitterness, especially from larger eggplants. By drawing out the moisture and bitterness, you ensure that your eggplant slices bake up tender on the inside and perfectly crispy on the outside, giving your eggplant parmesan the best possible texture and flavor.
Tips for Breading
Set Up an Assembly Line: Prepare your breading stations in advance. Have your flour mixture, beaten eggs, and breadcrumb mixture in separate shallow dishes. This makes the process efficient and less messy.
Dry the Slices: Make sure your eggplant slices are well-patted dry after salting. Excess moisture can prevent the breading from sticking properly.
Even Coating: Dredge each eggplant slice in the flour mixture first, ensuring it’s evenly coated. Shake off any excess flour before dipping it into the beaten eggs. Let any excess egg drip off before moving on to the breadcrumbs.
Press the Breadcrumbs: When coating the eggplant slices in the breadcrumb mixture, press the crumbs gently onto the surface to ensure they adhere well. This helps create a thicker, crispier crust.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Refrigerate any leftover eggplant parmesan in an airtight container. It will stay good for up to 3 days.
Reheat in the microwave by placing a portion of eggplant parmesan on a microwave-safe plate and covering it with a microwave-safe lid or another plate. Heat on medium power for 2 minutes, then check the eggplant. Microwave in additional 30-second increments as needed until heated through. This method is quick but may not keep the breading as crispy.
Reheat in the oven by preheating to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the eggplant parmesan in an oven-safe dish and cover with foil to prevent drying out. Heat for 15-20 minutes, or until warmed through and the cheese is melted and bubbly. For a crispier top, remove the foil during the last 5 minutes of reheating.
More Italian favorites…
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
I love this recipe y simple to make and delicious.
Never thought anything could be SO easy and SO delicious! I”ve been making eggplant parmesan from “scratch” for years. It always tasted good but was a huge production. Finding this recipe was wonderful. I made it exactly as written ingredient wise. I shortened the sweating process by about fifteen minutes and baked at 425 degrees from start to finish. Had plenty of fresh basil in the garden. Cheated on the marinara sauce using a 24 ounce jar of Classico sauce with plum tomatoes.
Probably not going to make my former L O N G recipe ever again! Thank You.
IF EGGPLANT ISN’T AVAILABLE, CAN YOU SUBSTITUTE WITH ZUCCHINI?
Could be worth a try!
I was given some big zucchinis from our neighbor so I substituted it for the eggplant. It was absolutely delicious. I loved it as much as eggplant and no salting necessary! When you are going to bake the zucchini or eggplant slices, to avoid them from sticking, put tin foil down on the baking sheet and spray with Pam.
Very nice easy recipe to follow.
How do you prepare the baking sheet for browning the eggplant slices. Tried different ways they stick on me. What is your secret of preparing the baling sheet?
Thank u
You could try lining the pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
I used foil and lightly greased the foil with butter.
Look at my comment two comments up. I put tin foil down on baking sheet and spray with Pam. But, like someone else commented further up above, you can also put them on a cooling rack/grate, spray the rack with Pam and put it on the baking sheet, which avoids having to turn them over! The Pam is the trick here.
Easy and delicious. I didn’t think I would be crazy about this dish but I will certainly make this a regular dish for my family.
thanks, just did it!!! easy, love it
Very quick to put together. I used the Michaelangelos frozen eggplant slices which are already breaded and put this together and froze for part of our hurricane supplies this year.
Awesome idea
The frozen eggplant bakes to watery. Tastes horrible, better off fresh.
It looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it!!!
We tried this recipe for the first time last night….WOW!!!
We bake in a humid environment (Florida), so the 25-minute timed bake seemed to be the ticket on our oven. We also had to split the baking process into 2 batches…there was a LOT of eggplant with 3. We still portioned for serving size of 6 as recommended in this recipe, but if I had taken one layer off the top of all of them I probably could’ve made more like 7-8. Well done on the process and ingredients…we were very pleased with the outcome!
Easy to make, and absolutely delicious!