An oven-fry method creates this crispy Baked Eggplant Parmesan that rivals any fried version. An easy, updated take on the classic Italian dish.
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This post was originally published on September 11, 2011. It has been updated with new photos and an instructional video.
Aaahhh, cheesy Baked Eggplant Parmesan. One of my husband’s favorites. I remember making it for the first time ages ago and wondering how my kids would perceive it. I mean, there’s no meat in it! Not necessarily an easy selling point to four teenage boys.
Because it resembles lasagna they dove right in without even asking what it was… and it was love at first bite. So, there you go!
I find this method is easier to prepare than the traditional fried version and it’s definitely a little easier on the waistline without forfeiting any of the delicious flavor or texture. Try it and you’ll see.
A FEW NOTES ABOUT EGGPLANT:
Don’t sweat the small stuff…. but definitely sweat your eggplant! Eggplant can have bitterness to it and this process of “sweating” helps eliminate that. Not all of them will have that bitter element, but to me it’s not worth the risk so I always take this extra step.
Sweating is the process of salting your eggplant slices and allowing them to rest for about an hour or more. The salt will pull some of the potentially bitter liquid from the eggplant. Less moisture in the eggplant slices also helps them to crisp up nicely in the “oven-fry” method in this recipe. Once they’ve sweat, just be sure to rinse them well with cool water to remove the excess salt and blot them dry before breading them.
To see the process in action, watch the quick video at the end of this post.
Whether you peel them is personal preference. It isn’t necessary and I love the deep purple color not to mention that there are vitamins and additional flavor in the skin. I’ve done it both ways but took the easy way out here and left the skin on.
You could mix things up by using different varieties of Italian cheese but for this recipe I always go with sliced fresh mozzarella and a little Parmesan. The fresh mozz has such a luscious, creamy quality and layers nicely on the eggplant stacks.
This is one of our favorite Italian-inspired meals in this house. I’ve made it countless times and it remains at the top of the list!
BAKED EGGPLANT PARMESAN
More fabulous ways to use eggplant:
Julia Child’s Eggplant Pizzas | Kayln’s Kitchen
Eggplant Fries with Marinara Sauce | A Family Feast
Garlic and Roasted Eggplant Hummus | Melanie Makes
Stuffed Eggplant | The Little Kitchen
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Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Ingredients
- 3 eggplant, sliced 1/4
- salt, as needed
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 8 ounces Italian seasoned panko bread crumbs
- 1 (26 ounce) jar marinara sauce, divided
- 1 (16 ounce) package fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thinly
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil, divided
- non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Sprinkle both sides of eggplant with salt. Layer the slices in a colander and place the colander in your sink. Place a heavy dish or pan over the top to weight them down. Allow to sweat for 45 to 60 minutes. Rinse well with cold water to remove salt and blot dry with paper towels.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet generously with non-stick cooking spray. Dip both sides of eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs, pressing crumbs down with fingers if needed to cover evenly. Place in a single layer on baking sheet and lightly spray tops of breaded eggplant with additional cooking spray. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes then carefully flip each slice and cook an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Pour 1 cup of marinara into a 13" x 9" inch baking dish and spread out evenly to cover the bottom of the dish. Place a layer of breaded eggplant slices in the sauce. Cover each slice with a spoonful of remaining marinara, a slice or two of mozzarella, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and top with half of the basil. Repeat with one more layer of eggplant, sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan (reserve remaining basil for later). Pour any leftover marinara and around edges of eggplant slices.
- Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until it is warmed through and cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with remaining basil before serving.
- Slightly adapted from Allrecipes.com
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What a great idea for eggplant. Will use this tip for other dishes as well. We lived at Morgan Hill for for 16 months back in 2001-2002. We miss the great freinds we met there. God bless you and thanks for your blog. David
Thanks for stopping by David. We were just in Morgan Hill over the weekend! Small world. Enjoy 🙂
This sounds great, we’ll try it soon. Your blog is wonderful.
Thanks Bill 🙂 Have a great weekend!
At what temp do you bake the assembled dish?
When you remove the breaded eggplant slices from the oven, you will reduce the oven temp down to 350. Then the assembled dish goes back into the oven and bakes at 350 degrees. Good catch Laura! Thank you and enjoy!
Valerie … just discovered your wonderful blog through a friend, and can’t tell you how much I enjoyed the eggplant recipe and cannot wait to try it. However, if at all possible, could you PLEASE include nutirtional values for those of us who are diabetic??? Thank you so very much and God Bless !!!
Thank you so much Mildred. I hope that you enjoy the Eggplant Parm. I have not looked into what is involved in providing nutritional break downs of my recipes and it is definitely something worth looking into. Thank you for the suggestion 🙂
Hi Valerie! What a simple and delicious recipe for one of my favorites! I also like that they retain a better individual serving portion that most “layered” methods. Thanks for a pretty and yummy new non meat entree! =)
Yes, I like to bake mine too! Much healthier that way! Great post and pics!
Making this for a friend tonight, looks delicious, can’t wait to try it..
It looks super yummy! I am a huge eggplant fan but hearing that your kids liked it entices me even more to make it. I have a very, very picky ten year old daughter who is not fond of many vegetables. Luckily, she loves just about anything that has a tomato sauce so I will definitely try this. I’m always on the lookout to boost her vegetable consumption! Did your children realize that it was a vegetable they were eating? Thanks again for the recipe!
this looks really yummy and how i am looking to make it. thanks for sharing!
How come in my oven the eggplant takes forever to turn brown , i had in in there longer than 25 min and it did not turn brown almost at all. Finally i took it out because it took too long. I did everything like in the recepie.
Hello Jowita. In my oven, 20 minutes at 425 degrees is plenty to brown the breaded eggplant slices. Your oven may be different. You can try increasing the oven temp a little or leaving it in longer.
Thank you for this great recipe! I love eggplant but hate all the frying (it’s messy and takes forever). Why did I never think of baking them with the breadcrumbs? I will definitely try this recipe. You just made my day!
Thanks Carol! I hope it works well for you. I love the baking method.
Thank you for the recipe! I have been experimenting with baked eggplant and so far I have not nailed it. This version is inspiring. Let’s see how I do! 🙂
I’m glad you’ll be trying it, Fernanda! Be sure to come back and let me know how it works out for you 🙂
Valerie,
Looking for a good baked eggplant recipe, this one looks great! Am trying this tonight, will get back to you after, but it sounds really delicious. Will probably use homemade breadcrumbs, I have fresh tomatoes from the neighbor and an eggplant from her garden, I will probably use a little fresh oregano from my garden.
RWH
Sounds wonderful! Enjoy 🙂
This looks so amazing that it is on my list to try out on my family next week.
can i add hamburger meat to it
Absolutely. I think it would be wonderful with a meat sauce.
Nice recipe. I’ve never heard of sweating eggplant before breading it, I’m interested to try this out to see how it affects the final product. My only word of advice would be to throw on the fresh basil after it’s come out the oven. I can’t imagine those bits of burnt leaf would taste very good! Also, if you stack four or five basil leaves, roll them up and slice them thinly, you get nice little basil ribbons that are good for garnish and easier to eat 🙂 It’s a technique with a fancy french name that’s fun to say; chiffonade!
Hello Jack. Thanks for the helpful comments. I’ve not had a problem with the basil burning but you can absolutely add it after it bakes if you prefer. And, yes, chiffonade is absolutely the most effective and efficient method of slicing basil. Enjoy!
WHOA this looks SOOOO good… definitely pinned this recipe, wow. I can’t even look at it anymore, it’s making me too hungry! Your site is great and your pictures are amazing! Very impressive, I’m glad I found you, I’ll be coming back!
Great recipe can you please post the stats for the calories , carbs, proteins etc for an average serving size.
Hi Melody. I don’t provide nutritional breakdowns but I know there are many tools available online that will do that for you. If you do a search for “recipe nutrition calculator” or something similar, you will find several choices.
Hi Valerie,
Can you make this ahead? I have a big dinner party planned and a tiny kitchen, so I would like to prepare in advance if possible. How would you do this?
Thanks J
Hi Jade. This recipe is not the best choice for a make-ahead dish. Because the eggplant is breaded, the result is best if it is cooked and served right away. A pasta dish would be a far better choice.
Hi v..from EVE in ISRAEL… this is eggplant country …. called”HATZILEEM” in HEBREW + so popular her in any + every form . Love it but hates the way it soaks up oil like a sponge…My less oily way tp prepare it is to spareingly BRUSH the thin even slices w oil ( with out the pre salting ) +add seasonings and lay them closely in one layer on the toasting screen of my OLD toaster oven ( yes it makes a mess) I put on the highest heat + they get broiled from both sides takes 20 min. they loose moisture and shrink so u end up with much less than u started with.. +then u do the next batch + the next This does take longer than frying but I hate all that oil, the smell+ cleanup so it’s o k . I NEVER peel . The peel adds great taste Instead i pull a sharp fork lengthwise through the peel which looks llike stripes over the entire egplant. after that I slice.
Once u have “toasted” them like this u ca n do what ever u want but HIDE THEM so
the family wont “steal “+ eat before u get to the next step because the HATZEEL is very tasty just lIke this SHALOM from the HOLYLAND ISRAEL, EVIE
Oh my, does that ever look good! I am a big eggplant fan. Thanks for the shout-out for my eggplant pizzas!
Thanks so much, Kalyn. Those pizzas look incredible!
Looking forward to trying this. Yummy
Bravo to you for coming up with an easier way to prepare this delicious dish! To those people who do not like this vegetable, the salting process takes out a lot of the bitterness. Also if you choose younger eggplants they will not have a lot of the seeds in them. i have added many of your recipes to my rotation. Keep on cookin girl cause your good at it.
Hi Sally. You make a good point. I’ve heard smaller eggplant have less seeds and tend to have less bitterness. The salting really does do the trick though so I throw caution to the wind and just look for the size I want.I actually seek out decent sized eggplants for this recipe so that I can get good sized discs for layering. I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes! Thanks so much for your comment 🙂
I hardly saw anyone that had made this dish, so there really weren’t any reviews, and any time I have done anything with egg plant, it was so much work, that I quit, but I love egg plant, why not have reviews of people that have made this recipe??
Hi Doris. I’m always thrilled when people come back to leave a review after they’ve made one of my recipes but obviously, I have no control over that.
We did a girls night last night at my galpal Lindsey’s house. We get older, life gets crazier, and before you know it you haven’t seen some of your friends in months. Lindsey made this recipe, modified with gluten free bread crumbs (for me😊). This was phenomenal🙌🏼. She passed the recipe on so I could recreate it at home and I am so glad you went into such detail about salting the eggplant to remove the bitterness. Many moons ago, my first time cooking eggplant at my own place… Was a disaster. I didn’t know I had to ‘cure’ it in a sense, and was left so disappointed.
I can not WAIT to make this, and get my very picky eater husband to try!
So delicious, thank you!!
Fantastic! I’m so glad to hear that you all enjoyed the recipe. Thanks so much, Anastasiya 🙂