A Healthy Eggplant Parmesan Starts with Your Oven
A classic eggplant parmesan might just be a last meal meal for me, to be honest. I absolute love the stuff and used to make a pretty killer version of it a few times a year, always to great cheer from my family. Gooey cheese. Saucy saucy tomatoes. Hella garlic. Tender eggplant. Salty parmesan all layered up into a stratified behemoth of a casserole that is better than most things. But alas, it takes a long time to make said behemoth and it also involves a ton of greasy frying oil, which makes for a pretty caloric, heavy eating experience. In this Healthy Eggplant Parmesan, we’re going to both lighten things up AND reduce the cook time of a typical eggplant parmesan. So, a true win-win if there ever was one, me thinks.
Since this is, in fact, a roasted eggplant parmesan and not a fried one, we’ll be putting fine use to our our ovens here. Don’t get me wrong, I love the end results of pan-frying the batches of individually breaded eggplant slices, draining them, and then layering them all up in the dish. It’s nothing but delicious, sure. But it’s also very time consuming. It’s frankly a more labor intensive commitment than I’d ever feel good about signing up for on a weeknight. But this Healthy Eggplant Parmesan is a different story entirely.
Kitchen Little Essentials
For this recipe, you’ll need:
The Skinny on This Roasted Eggplant Parmesan
To create this much simpler, much lighter version of eggplant parmigiana, we’ll begin by slicing our eggplant and layering those slices on baking sheets. A generous slick of oil goes on both sides of each eggplant slice to ensure that they get tender and wonderfully flavorful as they roast away in the oven. Sprinkle on a little dried oregano or Italian seasoning if you happen to have something like that living in your spice drawers, a little S & P, and send the pans into the oven so the eggplant can do its thing.
Meanwhile, we’ll make a simple (yet utterly delicious) breadcrumb topping to help mimic that fried breadcrumb coating of a traditional eggplant parmesan. If I’m being totally honest, the bread pictured in these photos is Rye, which is weird and not at all what I’d probably recommend, but I needed to use some up. But, it was really really good and just proves that you can use about any bread you like.
So. Throw your bread of choice into a food processor and whirl it up to create crumbs. Add some garlic and basil then a drizzle of oil and mix a little more. This mixture will toast up real nice in the oven, creating a truly delicious topping for this roasted eggplant parmesan that just might be my favorite part.
Here is a ready made pin for you! Simply save it to your “Healthy Meals” or “Vegetarian Recipes” boards and you’ll be all set when the craving strikes.
A Healthy Eggplant Parmesan
A much lighter, faster preparation of a classic Eggplant Parmesan, (adapted from an Ina Garten recipe) this Healthy Eggplant Parmesan comes together fast and involves ZERO FRYING. Phew. It feels good to say that. By roasting your eggplant instead, you get a hands-off cook that is less greasy but just as enjoyable.Â
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
2.5 lbs. eggplant, unpeeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced ¼ to 1/3 inch thick
¾ cup olive oil
1 TBSP dried oregano or Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper, to taste
24-ounce jar marinara sauce
½ cup chopped/shredded fresh basilÂ
1 lb. fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
8 oz. garlic and herb cheese spread (such as Alouette or Boursin)
1 ¾ cups grated parmesanÂ
FOR THE TOPPING
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1 ½ cups fresh bread crumbs, see note (from any bread you like or have, really)
4 garlic cloves, minced or grated
¼ chopped fresh basil or parsley
1/3 cup olive oil
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Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Space your three racks evenly.
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Lay the eggplant evenly in one layer on two or three sheet pans (depends on the size of your pans), and brush both sides with oil, using up all of the ¾ cup. Sprinkle with oregano and then a good amount of salt and pepper (about 1.5 TBSP of salt and 1.5 tsp pepper). Roast for 15 minutes. Flip the slices, rotate your pans in the oven, bake for 10 more minutes. We’re just looking for nice tender eggplant here.Â
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In a large baking dish, spread 1/3 of the marinara. Evenly arrange 1/3 of the eggplant on top, followed by 1/3 of the basil, 1/3 of the mozzarella, 1/3 of the garlic and herb cheese spread, and then 1/3 of the parm. Repeat twice, ending with a layer of parmesan.Â
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To create the breadcrumb topping, place the breadcrumbs, garlic, and basil in a food processor and pulse to mix them up. Add ¼ cup olive oil (up to 1/3 cup if needed) and a bit of salt. Evenly sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the dish.
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Roast your eggplant parmesan for about 45 to 50 minutes, or until bubbling and golden brown on top. Allow it to rest at room temp for at least 10 minutes before serving.Â
Notes
NOTE: to make fresh breadcrumbs, simply throw some fresh bread into your food processor and process until you get crumbs. Simple as that.Â
Keywords: A Healthy Eggplant Parmesan
