An oven-fry method creates this crispy Baked Eggplant Parmesan that rivals any fried version. This is an easy, updated take on the classic Italian dish.
More wholesome recipes we love include my Italian Stuffed Zucchini Boats and Italian Stuffed Peppers.
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.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Eggplant – You’ll need a couple of good sized eggplant with a total weight of about 2¼ pounds.
- Salt – For sweating the eggplant.
- Eggs – Three large eggs, beaten.
- Italian seasoned panko bread crumbs – Buying pre-seasoned bread crumbs is a great way to limit the number of ingredients and steps needed.
- Marinara sauce – A 24 to 26 ounce jar of your favorite store-bought marinara sauce.
- Cheese – 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. Fresh mozzarella has such a luscious, creamy quality and layers nicely on the eggplant stacks.
- Basil – Garnish the Baked Eggplant Parmesan with some sliced fresh basil. If you don’t have any on hand, just sprinkle the top with a little dried basil.
Should I Peel the Eggplant?
Whether you peel eggplant is a personal preference. I love the deep purple color not to mention that there are vitamins and additional flavor in the skin so I prefer unpeeled eggplant for this recipe.
I’ve made this Baked Eggplant Parmesan recipe with both peeled and unpeeled eggplant with a good result.
Do I Need to Sweat Eggplant?
Don’t sweat the small stuff, but definitely sweat your eggplant! 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.
How to Sweat Eggplant
- Sprinkle some salt on both sides of each slice of eggplant.
- Layer the slices in a colander and place the colander in your sink. Set a heavy dish or pan over the top to weigh them down.
- Allow the eggplant to sweat for 30 to 45 minutes.
- Rinse the slices well with cold water to remove any excess salt and blot them dry with paper towels.
How to Make Baked Eggplant Parmesan
- Bread the eggplant: Lightly whisk the eggs in a shallow dish, like a pie plate. Add the bread crumbs to another shallow dish. Dip the eggplant slices in egg, then in the bread crumbs, pressing the crumbs down with fingers to cover them evenly. Place them in a single layer on the greased baking sheet and lightly spray the tops of the breaded eggplant with nonstick cooking spray.
- Oven-fry the eggplant: Bake at 425 degree F for 10 minutes then carefully flip each slice over and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Assemble and bake: – In a 9- x 13-inch baking dish, spread just enough marinara to cover the bottom of the dish. Place a layer of breaded eggplant slices over the sauce. Cover each slice with a spoon full of marinara, a slice or two of mozzarella, and then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (reserve half of the cheeses for top layer). Repeat layering one more time, ending with the remaining cheese. If using dried basil, sprinkle it evenly over the top. If using fresh basil, reserve it for later. Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil (f using) before serving.
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 Eggplant Recipes You’ll Love
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
Video
Ingredients
- 2 eggplant (about 2¼ pounds), sliced ¼-inch thick (you'll need 12 slices)
- salt, as needed
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 8 ounces Italian seasoned panko bread crumbs
- 24 ounces marinara sauce
- 16 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup torn 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 the eggplant to sweat for 30 to 45 minutes. Rinse the slices well with cold water to remove salt and blot them dry with paper towels.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet generously with nonstick cooking spray.
- Dip the eggplant slices in egg, then in the bread crumbs, pressing the crumbs down with fingers to cover them evenly. Place them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and lightly spray the tops of the breaded eggplant with nonstick cooking spray. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes then carefully flip each slice over and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- In a 9- x 13-inch baking dish, spread just enough marinara to cover the bottom of the dish. Place a layer of eggplant slices over the sauce. Cover each slice with a spoon full of marinara, a slice or two of mozzarella, and then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (reserve half of the cheeses for top layer). Layer the remaining eggplant slices over the top and add another spoon full of marinara on top of each. Spoon any remaining marinara around the edges of the eggplant stacks then top each stack with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. If using dried basil, sprinkle it evenly over the top. If using fresh basil, reserve it for later.
- Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and garnish with fresh basil, if using.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More Italian Recipes
Slightly adapted from Allrecipes.com
This post was originally published on September 11, 2011. It has been updated with new photos and an instructional video.
Hi Valerie,
What brand of marinara sauce do you use?
I most frequently use Mezzetta brand. All of their sauces are great and we really like the Spicy Marinara for a kick.
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
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.
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.
I have spent years the old school frying way! Never again! This was perfect!
Thank you !
This is my second time making this eggplant parm. It’s definitely a keeper, it’s just delicious. Thank you Valerie.
So glad to hear it, Karen! 🙂
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!
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!
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
This recipe was a little work but the end result looks amazing and tastes awesome as a lenten meal with zuchini noodles and salad!
VALERIE, this eggplant looks amazing! I can’t wait to make it!
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?
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.
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!