Eggplant Parmesan Eggplant Parmigiana

About Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Eggplant also known as aubergine is one of my favorite vegetables! Since my family are not as fond of this veggie as me I tend to eat most of the eggplant based dishes by myself. To be honest I’m not complaining because this means more for me! My favorite eggplant dish has to be eggplant pasta which was introduced to me by a work colleague. The Eggplant Parmigiana recipe is simple and easy to follow. Most of your time will be spent preparing and assembling layers of the ingredients. Traditionally, parmesan cheese is used however here in the recipe I have used mozzarella cheese as when living in one city, it was difficult to source vegetarian parmesan. But now since I can source vegetarian parmesan cheese, I make this eggplant dish with it. Though feel free to use the cheese you can find easily. You can also use cheddar cheese, cottage cheese or any of your preferred melty cheese. You could also use a combination of various kinds of cheese. Eggplant Parmesan is a great way to use up the eggplants you have in your kitchen. I love this dish for its simplicity and easiness. If you have canned Italian tomato sauce, the cooking goes more faster. If you like eggplant dishes, then you will absoloutley love this cheesy tangy and succulent aubergine recipe!

How to Make Eggplant Parmesan

Prep and Fry Eggplants

1. Rinse and slice one large eggplant (as shown in the photo below) lengthwise in 3 to 4 mm thick slices. Sprinkle some salt all over them, toss as well and mix the salt with the slices. Set them aside on a plate for 15 to 20 minutes. Alternatively soak the eggplants in salted water for 15 minutes. Salt removes the bitter juices if any from the eggplant and also prevents from discoloration. Make use of eggplants that are added to make Baba Ganoush. Generally large sized eggplants with dark purple color works best for such recipes. 2. Rinse the eggplants in water and dry them completely with a kitchen cotton towel or paper towel.
2. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a pan and pan-fry the eggplant slices in batches until they are golden. Make sure that the oil is hot enough and the eggplants touch the oil. If the oil is not hot, then the eggplants will become too oily after being fried. Alternatively, you can grill or bake them if you do not want to pan-fry.
3. Drain eggplants on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Make Tomato Sauce

5. Add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil to the same pan in which the eggplants were fried. Add ⅓ cup finely chop onions and ½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic. Sauté both on low to medium-low heat until the onions are softened.
6. Then add 2 cups of finely chopped tomatoes and sauté on medium-low to medium heat until the tomatoes soften and become pulpy.
7. Add 1 teaspoon white wine (or red wine), salt and pepper as required. Sauté for one minute on low heat. Skip the wine if you are making this dish for kids.
8. Next add ½ teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil and sauté for one minute. You can also use dried basil instead of fresh basil. Switch off the heat and set the tomato sauce aside.

Bake Eggplant Parmesan

9. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C/390 degree F for 10 minutes. Brush a baking pan lightly with olive oil and add half a portion of the tomato-herb sauce for the first layer.
10. Then arrange 3 to 4 fried eggplant slices on the top and add some grated vegetarian parmesan cheese. Make sure the cheese is spread evenly. You can opt to use mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese or a mix of these cheese types. Feel free to add more quantity of cheese in each layers if you prefer. 12. Repeat the last two steps again. That is of add the remaining tomato herb sauce, placing the eggplants and topping with the grated cheese. Make sure to spread the grated cheese evenly all over the eggplants covering them. You can also sprinkle breadcrumbs on top of the cheese for some extra crunch.
11. In a preheated oven bake the eggplant parmigiana for 8 to 10 minutes at 200 degrees C/390 degree F or until the cheese melts and becomes golden. Serve the Eggplant Parmigiana hot or warm.

Expert Tips

Eggplant: It is really important to prepare the eggplants correctly. Before frying and baking, slice eggplants, mix salt and leave them to sit for 15 to 20 minutes to remove the bitter taste from the eggplants. Once this is done rinse them and pat them dry. This will prevent the eggplants from becoming soggy when frying.Cheese: Parmigiano is not vegetarian as it is made using animal rennet so it is not suitable for this vegetarian dish. If you can find vegetarian parmesan then feel free to use it, but if not, you can replace parmesan with mozzarella or cheddar and the dish will still taste just as delicious!Frying: To achieve the best results fry the eggplants in hot oil. If you want a less oily dish then bake or grill the eggplants instead. Once they are grilled or baked, assemble the sliced eggplants in the same way to make the eggplant parmigiana. Assembling: When assembling the eggplant parmigiana in the oven proof dish make sure that each layer of the ingredients are evenly spread in the dish. Also, don’t forget to lightly brush oil on the base of the dish to prevent the eggplant parmigiana from sticking to it.

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe | Mushroom Spinach Lasagna Spaghetti Bolognese | Mushroom Bolognese Arrabiata Pasta Spaghetti Aglio e Olio Recipe This Eggplant Parmesan recipe from the archives, originally published in May 2015 has been updated and republished on January 2023.

title: “Eggplant Parmesan Eggplant Parmigiana” ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-25” author: “Barbara Alicea”

About Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Eggplant also known as aubergine is one of my favorite vegetables! Since my family are not as fond of this veggie as me I tend to eat most of the eggplant based dishes by myself. To be honest I’m not complaining because this means more for me! My favorite eggplant dish has to be eggplant pasta which was introduced to me by a work colleague. The Eggplant Parmigiana recipe is simple and easy to follow. Most of your time will be spent preparing and assembling layers of the ingredients. Traditionally, parmesan cheese is used however here in the recipe I have used mozzarella cheese as when living in one city, it was difficult to source vegetarian parmesan. But now since I can source vegetarian parmesan cheese, I make this eggplant dish with it. Though feel free to use the cheese you can find easily. You can also use cheddar cheese, cottage cheese or any of your preferred melty cheese. You could also use a combination of various kinds of cheese. Eggplant Parmesan is a great way to use up the eggplants you have in your kitchen. I love this dish for its simplicity and easiness. If you have canned Italian tomato sauce, the cooking goes more faster. If you like eggplant dishes, then you will absoloutley love this cheesy tangy and succulent aubergine recipe!

How to Make Eggplant Parmesan

Prep and Fry Eggplants

1. Rinse and slice one large eggplant (as shown in the photo below) lengthwise in 3 to 4 mm thick slices. Sprinkle some salt all over them, toss as well and mix the salt with the slices. Set them aside on a plate for 15 to 20 minutes. Alternatively soak the eggplants in salted water for 15 minutes. Salt removes the bitter juices if any from the eggplant and also prevents from discoloration. Make use of eggplants that are added to make Baba Ganoush. Generally large sized eggplants with dark purple color works best for such recipes. 2. Rinse the eggplants in water and dry them completely with a kitchen cotton towel or paper towel.
2. Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a pan and pan-fry the eggplant slices in batches until they are golden. Make sure that the oil is hot enough and the eggplants touch the oil. If the oil is not hot, then the eggplants will become too oily after being fried. Alternatively, you can grill or bake them if you do not want to pan-fry.
3. Drain eggplants on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Make Tomato Sauce

5. Add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil to the same pan in which the eggplants were fried. Add ⅓ cup finely chop onions and ½ teaspoon finely chopped garlic. Sauté both on low to medium-low heat until the onions are softened.
6. Then add 2 cups of finely chopped tomatoes and sauté on medium-low to medium heat until the tomatoes soften and become pulpy.
7. Add 1 teaspoon white wine (or red wine), salt and pepper as required. Sauté for one minute on low heat. Skip the wine if you are making this dish for kids.
8. Next add ½ teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil and sauté for one minute. You can also use dried basil instead of fresh basil. Switch off the heat and set the tomato sauce aside.

Bake Eggplant Parmesan

9. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C/390 degree F for 10 minutes. Brush a baking pan lightly with olive oil and add half a portion of the tomato-herb sauce for the first layer.
10. Then arrange 3 to 4 fried eggplant slices on the top and add some grated vegetarian parmesan cheese. Make sure the cheese is spread evenly. You can opt to use mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese or a mix of these cheese types. Feel free to add more quantity of cheese in each layers if you prefer. 12. Repeat the last two steps again. That is of add the remaining tomato herb sauce, placing the eggplants and topping with the grated cheese. Make sure to spread the grated cheese evenly all over the eggplants covering them. You can also sprinkle breadcrumbs on top of the cheese for some extra crunch.
11. In a preheated oven bake the eggplant parmigiana for 8 to 10 minutes at 200 degrees C/390 degree F or until the cheese melts and becomes golden. Serve the Eggplant Parmigiana hot or warm.

Expert Tips

Eggplant: It is really important to prepare the eggplants correctly. Before frying and baking, slice eggplants, mix salt and leave them to sit for 15 to 20 minutes to remove the bitter taste from the eggplants. Once this is done rinse them and pat them dry. This will prevent the eggplants from becoming soggy when frying.Cheese: Parmigiano is not vegetarian as it is made using animal rennet so it is not suitable for this vegetarian dish. If you can find vegetarian parmesan then feel free to use it, but if not, you can replace parmesan with mozzarella or cheddar and the dish will still taste just as delicious!Frying: To achieve the best results fry the eggplants in hot oil. If you want a less oily dish then bake or grill the eggplants instead. Once they are grilled or baked, assemble the sliced eggplants in the same way to make the eggplant parmigiana. Assembling: When assembling the eggplant parmigiana in the oven proof dish make sure that each layer of the ingredients are evenly spread in the dish. Also, don’t forget to lightly brush oil on the base of the dish to prevent the eggplant parmigiana from sticking to it.

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe | Mushroom Spinach Lasagna Spaghetti Bolognese | Mushroom Bolognese Arrabiata Pasta Spaghetti Aglio e Olio Recipe This Eggplant Parmesan recipe from the archives, originally published in May 2015 has been updated and republished on January 2023.