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An oven-fry method creates this crispy Baked Eggplant Parmesan that rivals any fried version. An easy, updated take on the classic Italian dish.
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 oven-fry 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.
How to Sweat 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 when I make this Baked Eggplant Parmesan.
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.
Should I Peel the Eggplant?
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 with this Baked Eggplant Parmesan recipe 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!
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
Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Ingredients
- 3 eggplant sliced ¼-inch thick (you'll need 12 slices)
- salt
- 3 eggs beaten
- 8 ounce box Italian seasoned panko bread crumbs
- 26 ounce jar marinara sauce
- 16 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese thinly sliced
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Sprinkle some salt on both sides of each slice of eggplant. Layer the slices in a colander and place the colander in your sink. Place a heavy dish or pan over the top to press them down. Allow to sweat for 30 to 45 minutes. Rinse well with cold water to remove salt and blot dry with paper towels.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet generously with cooking spray. Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs, pressing crumbs down with fingers if needed to cover evenly. Place in a single layer on oiled baking sheet and lightly spray tops of breaded eggplant with 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.
- In a 9- x13-inch baking dish, spread just enough marinara to cover bottom of dish. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Cover each slice with a spoon full of marinara, a slice or two of mozzarella, and then sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Repeat with one more layer. Pour any leftover marinara and around edges of eggplant slices and top with any cheese that is left. Sprinkle basil on top.
- Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Nutrition
Slightly adapted from Allrecipes.com
Vanessa says
Hi Valerie,
What brand of marinara sauce do you use?
Valerie says
I most frequently use Mezzetta brand. All of their sauces are great and we really like the Spicy Marinara for a kick.
Anna says
OMG, thanks ?? this receipt had so many blessings in it. Didn’t follow your receipt but the advise of salt and sweating the eggplant ? was so lovely and the dish came out awesome. I used my family sauce for the dish… your kindness and help today is so appreciated!
Alf
Charlotte V says
I won’t make this again. What I saved in time did not offset the cost of the ingredients. I never did the salt process but thought I’d try it. I over salted since it said to be generous and I was too generous. I hate to waste food śo I’m forcing myself to eat it but am not enjoying it.
Valerie says
Sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you, Charlotte. The salt should be rinsed off the eggplant before proceeding with the recipe but you could also skip the step of salting the eggplant entirely if you aren’t concerned about a potentially bitter result.
Lisa C. says
I have spent years the old school frying way! Never again! This was perfect!
Thank you !
Karen D says
This is my second time making this eggplant parm. It’s definitely a keeper, it’s just delicious. Thank you Valerie.
Valerie says
So glad to hear it, Karen! 🙂
Danielle says
Loved the flavor of this recipe!! It may just be me, but I found 3 eggplants to be too much for the amount required and 2 did just fine. Definitely will make again!
Julia says
Valerie, absolutely loved this! Made a few tweaks, as I literally never follow a recipe 100%, but this was so yummy I will actually make it again! Thank you!
Kris says
I’ve used this recipe a few times. Always turns out well!
I recently switched to gluten free cooking, and although I had to season my breadcrumbs myself (dried parsley & basil, onion powder, garlic powder & salt!) and bake the eggplant slices a little longer and with a little more oil sprayed on, it was fantastic.
Thanks again
Hortence Hidalgo says
This recipe was a little work but the end result looks amazing and tastes awesome as a lenten meal with zuchini noodles and salad!
Olga says
VALERIE, this eggplant looks amazing! I can’t wait to make it!
Paul Napoli says
Today is Sunday. I am having guests on Thursday evening. I work during the day and want to know if I can prepare the entire tray today and freeze it? Thaw it out Wednesday night and bake it Thursday night.
Second question:
I just finished breading and frying the eggplant slices. They are ready to be layered. Can I freeze these and thaw them the day before then prepare the tray for baking the night the guest come over. My main concern with everything above is will this make the eggplant too mushy when being baked?
Valerie says
I haven’t tried freezing it, Paul, so I’m afraid I can’t say for sure. I’ve heard from others that have tried it that it worked out well for them.
BabsKent25 says
I made this recipe and it tastes great! But I don’t understand why you needed 3 eggplants. If you are slicing them 1/4” thick and need 12 slices, then 12 X 1/4 = 12/4 = 3 inches. In other words, you would supposedly only need 3 inches of the eggplant, which could easily be fulfilled by 1 eggplant. Are you only using a few inches from the center of each eggplant and not using the rest so that they will all be the same size? I cut up one moderate sized eggplant into 1/4” slices and got enough slices to need 2 pans to bake them all. True, I had to cut up some of the smaller ones and arrange them on the bottom layer to make similar sized layers, but that seems preferable to only taking the centers from 3 different eggplants and wasting the rest. If I had cut up 3 whole eggplants I probably would have had 5 or 6 baking sheets of 1/4 inch slices!
I also raised the initial temp to 425° because that’s where I roast most veggies and it worked great! Overall, a wonderfully flavorful and easy meal! We have one restaurant we go to in town because it is the only one that makes a good, crispy Eggplant Parmesan. We all agreed this recipe was even better than that!
Also, I’ve made Eggplant Parmesan before by frying the slices on the stovetop. That was a good recipe too, but frying all those slices a few at a time was such a messy, tedious affair that I never made it again. This recipe was so simple that I will be able to make it all the time now. Thanks from my vegetarian husband!