Eggplant Parmesan
Prep Time Minutes 30
Cook Time 1 Hour
Passive Time
Servings People
| Prep Time Minutes 30 | Cook Time 1 Hour | Passive Time | Servings People |
Eggplant Parmesan is both a classic and a great meal that uses the abundant end of summer eggplant. Even those who generally don’t run towards eggplant will love it covered with crunchy breadcrumbs and layered with marinara sauce and melted cheese. This version, moves away from the classic fried eggplant and uses baked and breaded eggplant slices instead, making this a healthier choice that still boasts the same depth of flavor. If you are short on time, use your favorite store bought marinara or you can make your own. (See recipe below) Serve this with a green salad and your dinner is set.
Ingredients
- 2 Eggplants large
- 2 Eggs beaten
- 2-3 Cups Breadcrumbs (seasoned or season them yourself with your favorite Italian spices and with salt and pepper)*
- Cooking spray
- 4-6 Cups Marinara sauce (Use my recipe, listed in recipes, or choose your favorite store bought variety
- 2 Cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1/2 Cup Parmesan grated
| Ingredients
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400.
- Slice the eggplants into ¼ inch rounds.
- Prepare a station for breading: A bowl with your cut eggplant rounds, one shallow pie dish with the beaten eggs and a bowl with the seasoned breadcrumbs. Prepare two sheet trays with greased parchment paper or tin foil.
- Breading: Dip an eggplant slice into the egg and coat on both sides. Then place the dipped eggplant into the breadcrumbs and coat with breadcrumbs on both sides. Place on the lined and greased sheet tray. Continue breading all of the eggplant slices.
- Once all are on the sheet tray, spray the tops of the breaded eggplants with cooking spray and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until they are crispy and cooked through. [Note: You can also make a larger batch of these eggplant slices and freeze them in a ziplock bag for future eggplant parmesan meals]
- While the eggplants are cooking you can make your marinara sauce! (see recipe in recipes)
- Once the eggplants are cooked, grease the bottom of a 9 by 13 casserole dish. Place a layer of marinara sauce on the bottom, until just covered. Place a layer of eggplant slices on top of the marinara sauce. Sprinkle the eggplants with a layer of cheese (about ½ a cup). Top with another layer of marinara, then eggplant and then cheese – and continue layering until you have filled the casserole.
- Place the casserole on a sheet tray (to catch any drippings while cooking) and cover tightly with parchment and foil.
- Place the dish in the oven at 350. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until it is bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and uncover. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and raise the oven heat to 400.
- Cook until the parmesan is beginning to color (but make sure it doesn’t burn).
- Take out of the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes before eating.
Recipe Notes
* I like to take the heels from sandwich bread, that no one likes to eat, and store them in the freezer in a bag. Once I have enough of them, I toast them in the oven until they are crisp and dry and make breadcrumbs out of them. Simply break them up with your hands and put into a food processor until they are crumb sized. I keep any extra breadcrumbs in the freezer in a ziplock back and pull them out whenever I need some.
