Eggplant Parmesan

This tasty Eggplant Parmesan is baked, not fried, but full of flavor and texture! It's a veggie-packed dish perfect for the whole family.Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card.

Prep time: PT70M

Cook time: PT60M

Total time: PT130M

Rating

5 stars (14 reviews)

Keywords

Eggplant Recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs medium eggplant ($2.84*)
1 Tbsp salt ($0.05)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (40g, $0.11)
3 large eggs ($1.49)
2 cups breadcrumbs (216g, $0.65**)
1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
1 tsp parsley flakes ($0.05)
1/2 cup grated parmesan (50g, $0.74)
3 cups homemade marinara (1/2 batch, 24 oz. $1.90***)
2 cups shredded mozzarella (112g, $1.97)
non-stick spray (as needed, $0.15)

Cuisine

American
Italian

Steps

Wash the eggplant and slice into 1/2 inch thick rounds. Place slices into a colander, add salt, toss to coat and let sit for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, give the colander a shake to let extra water drip out the bottom (it will look brown).
Press the eggplant slices between a few sheets of paper towel (or a clean, lint-free cloth) to absorb excess water. There's no need to wash off the salt as most of it gets diluted and drains away with the liquid from the eggplant.
Place the slices in a ziplock bag with the all-purpose flour. Toss the bag so that the slices become coated with the flour.
Then, lightly beat eggs in a bowl. In another bowl combine the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder and parsley flakes. Dip each slice into the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture (coating each side). Set aside.
Position your oven racks so there's at least 6 inches between them for air to flow. Preheat your oven to 425℉. Place two baking sheets in the oven (one on each rack) as it preheats so they can preheat too.
Once preheated, carefully remove the baking sheets and cover them with a layer of parchment paper and a coating of non-stick spray. Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer and spray with another coat of non-stick spray. Place the sheets back in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Switch the position of the baking sheets half way through (the top rack is often hotter and browns faster than the bottom).
Once baked, reduce the oven to 350℉. Spray a 9x13'' casserole dish with non-stick spray. Place 1 cup of marinara sauce in the bottom of the dish. Arrange eggplant slices in a single layer over the marinara.
Top with a second cup of marinara and one cup of mozzarella. Arrange the remaining eggplant slices on top and cover with a third cup of marinara and a second cup of mozzarella. The layers should be sauce, eggplant, sauce, cheese, eggplant, sauce, cheese.
Bake the casserole for about 30 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and bubbly. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 Serving
Calories: 301.62 kcal
Carbohydrates: 35.52 g
Protein: 14.07 g
Fat: 10.41 g
Sodium: 1376.1 mg

Reviews

Rachel Mohr-Richards on 2025-07-03 (5 stars):
This was excellent. I made it exactly as written and I wouldn’t change a thing. My family and I loved it! It even tasted good reheated!
Kevin on 2025-04-21 (5 stars):
This along with the homemade marinara is fantastic, worth the three hours it took me!
Tori on 2024-08-11 (5 stars):
Loved it. Definitely a labour of love and needed a snack partway through the process, but it turned out great and I’m looking forward to the leftovers for lunch this week. I halved the recipe since nine servings was too many for me, and it all halved pretty cleanly — I used one egg and about a tablespoon of milk to make the coating mixture.
June Campbell on 2024-05-26 (5 stars):
My baking dish was too small for two layers of eggplant, so I did three layers. I used Rao’s Arrabiata sauce, as suggested by others which added some heat. To supplement the sauce for the last layer, I added some ratatouille I had previously made. I added Italian seasoning to the breadcrumbs. I usually make my own bread crumbs from stale bread and store it in the freezer in a Ziplock bag. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly and it came out perfectly. A great vegetarian main course. Thanks for another great recipe!
Kathleen Deates on 2023-03-02 (5 stars):
Love it!
Peggy on 2023-02-15 (5 stars):
I love to cook.I can't wait to try your recipes. I collect recipe books
Laura on 2021-08-15 (5 stars):
This is absolutely amazing. I had some homemade marinara in my freezer and used it to make this. It’s definitely not a quick, week night meal but it is so worth all of the steps. It’s warm and comforting and cheesy and delicious and I don’t think it will last long in my house at all. I intended to serve it was some broccoli but ended up having it with plain noodles for my sauce-hating children 😂 thank you for sharing this gem of a recipe!!
Allison on 2020-12-07 (5 stars):
Made this the other night, and it was fantastic! My toddler son loved it too! He's allergic to eggs though, so for the breading I used plain greek yogurt thinned out with milk in place of the beaten eggs. Worked out great! Just wanted to share that tweak in case anybody else out there is avoiding eggs.
Jess K on 2020-04-08 (5 stars):
Made this for dinner last night, and it was delicious. I somehow made the initial eggplant bake work with the one pan and one oven rack done in batches. My roommate wanted me to substitute a few mozzarella balls instead of the shredded mozz, but I misunderstood and bought mozzarella pearls... still came out really well! I didn't have the strength to make my own marinara sauce, so I used Rao's sensitive marinara, and I wish I had more than one jar to use, but again, the dish turned out lovely. We paired it with a rosemary-garlic focaccia bread my roommate made. Will definitely be making this again!
Kay Leigh on 2020-03-23 (5 stars):
Made this with your homemade marinara- has to make some subs due to COVID. It was DELICIOUS!! For some reason, my eggplant was tough- any recommendations for more tender slices next time? I cut them about 1/2 inch thick.