Next week for Meatless Monday, try this Healthy Oven-Baked Eggplant Parmesan!
Everyone is always looking for ways to cut out some calories. Lord knows David and I sure need to! The other day we had a meal on a Thursday also! I bought a beautiful eggplant from the farmers’ market the weekend before and decided to make Eggplant Parmesan, but this time I decided not to fry the sliced eggplant. Instead, I decided that I would make a healthy oven-baked version.
This healthy oven-baked eggplant parmesan eliminates the frying process. Which takes away the saturated fat from the traditional recipe. The delicate eggplant slices are lightly breaded and baked until crispy, then nestled in a tangy tomato sauce, layered with gooey mozzarella and browned parmesan cheese.
Oven-Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Salt the eggplant:
Wash eggplant, slice and sprinkle the slices heavily with salt. Place in a strainer for 30 to 45 minutes. After the salting, rinse the eggplant well and blot the eggplant slices off with a paper towel.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush a 13 x 9-inch baking sheet with olive oil; set aside.
Prepare a breading station:
You’ll need three plates or shallow bowls.
- Dish One: Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, oregano, basil, and cayenne, and mix well
- Dish Two: Crack the eggs and lightly beat.
- Dish Three: Add flour.
Bread the Eggplant:
Coat each eggplant slice in the flour, shaking off any excess flour. Next, dip each slice into the egg and then into the bread crumb mixture. Add the eggplant to the prepared sheet pan.
Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Carefully flip the eggplant slices over and return to the oven for 10 more minutes.
Remove from oven, leaving the oven on and allow the slices to cool a few minutes.
With a ladle, spread out enough tomato sauce onto the bottom of a clean baking dish for each eggplant slice to lay on top of.
Place each slice onto the sauce.
Top each eggplant slice with a little more sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
Bake in a 375 degrees oven for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.
I usually speed up the cheese browning, by turning on the broiler for the last few minutes, until that mozzarella is golden.
We couldn’t even tell it wasn’t fried. In fact, I think the oven-baked eggplant parmesan was even better than if I had fried it. Yum!
Healthy Oven-Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Ingredients
- 2 pounds eggplant sliced into ¼ – ½ inch slices
- salt
- 1 ½ cups breadcrumbs plain
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated + extra for grating on top
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- extra virgin olive oil for greasing pan
- 2 cups prepared tomato sauce
- 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Wash eggplant, slice and sprinkle the slices heavily with salt. Place in a strainer for 30 to 45 minutes. After the salting, rinse well and blot the eggplant slices off with a paper towel.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 9×12 baking sheet with olive oil; set aside.
- Meanwhile, make a breading station for the eggplant. You’ll need three plates or shallow bowls.
Dish One: Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, oregano, basil, and cayenne, and mix well.Dish Two: Crack the eggs and lightly beat.Dish Three: Add flour. - Coat each eggplant slice in the flour, shaking off any excess flour. Dip each slice into the egg and then into the bread crumb mixture. Add the eggplant slices to the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Carefully flip the eggplant slices over and return to the oven for 10 more minutes. Remove from oven, leaving the oven on and allow the slices to cool a few minutes.
- With a ladle, spread out enough tomato sauce onto the bottom of a clean baking dish for each eggplant slice to lay on top of. Place each slice onto the sauce.
- Top each eggplant slice with a little more sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
- Bake in a 375 degrees oven for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.
Andria A says
This is a great idea! I made traditional eggplant parm earlier this summer and it was great but so fattening from the frying that I would feel terribly guilty making it again. This is a great alternative! Bring on the eggplants!
Debbie Spivey says
Thanks Andria!
It turned out great! I may never fry them again. I am such a believer in salting them before using them. It really makes the texture better. Do you salt your eggplant? Just curious… I like to know what other people do. 🙂
"Cheffie Cooks" says
Yep, baking is the better option Debbie! I am not a fan of cooking in oil! Bravo great job! Cheryl
Debbie Spivey says
Thanks, Cheryl! 🙂
Liz says
They look delicious. I could have this for breakfast right now!
Debbie Spivey says
Thanks Liz. They were very good and would be wonderful for breakfast too 😉
Karen says
People would give up eating meat any day for a serving of your eggplant parmesan.
Debbie Spivey says
I know I could, Karen! Hope you are doing well! 🙂
Natalie Tamara says
Yum! This looks so delicious and I love the fact it is baked rather than fried. Will be pinning this so I don’t forget to try it out sometime soon 🙂
Debbie Spivey says
Natalie, you will not be able to tell the difference! Please let me know how it turns out for you!
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂