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Eggplant Parmesan

February 20, 2013 by Mary 10 Comments

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The perfect eggplant parmesan recipe including crispy eggplant, bold seasonings and gooey cheese. Your whole family will love this recipe!

Stand out seasoning, Italian inspired flavors, gooey melted cheese, and a tangy red sauce. Despite all of the steps in this recipe it’s actually a pretty easy to create if you have the time.

My husband loves eggplant but I was never too fond of it, until I created this recipe. The secret to my success is in sweating the eggplant before breading it as well as the bold seasoning that gives the dish a lot of flavor.

You can pair this dish with a salad, pasta, garlic bread or roasted vegetables, however it does great as a stand alone, one dish meal. If you need the dish to extend for more guests, then you’ll absolutely want to serve some additional sides. Luckily the flavors work well with a wide variety of side dishes.

Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients

  • 1 medium to large eggplant
  • salt
  • oil for frying
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup panko
  • 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 3 tbsp parsley flakes
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • spaghetti sauce
  • mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • parmesan cheese

Prep the Eggplant

The perfect eggplant parmesan recipe including crispy eggplant, bold seasonings and gooey cheese. Your whole family will love this recipe!

Slice the eggplant into approximately 1/4 inch slices and dispose of the ends, or use them in another recipe. It’s up to you if you want to peel your eggplant or not. We keep the peel on for the extra nutrients, but some people prefer it peeled.

The perfect eggplant parmesan recipe including crispy eggplant, bold seasonings and gooey cheese. Your whole family will love this recipe!

Now sweat the eggplant. Salt both sides of each eggplant slice generously and place in a colander to drain. I put the colander over another bowl to catch the liquid. Don’t worry about adding a lot of salt in this step, you’ll wash it off when you’re done. The salt is drawing out moisture in the eggplant which will keep the eggplant from getting soggy while it cooks. It improves the texture and it will reduce the bitter flavor the eggplant might have. Leave the eggplant in the colander to sweat for approximately 30 minutes. While you wait prep the rest of your eggplant parmesan steps. Start by heating the oil in a large skillet on medium to medium high heat, heat up the spaghetti sauce, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and get your breading bowls ready.

The perfect eggplant parmesan recipe including crispy eggplant, bold seasonings and gooey cheese. Your whole family will love this recipe!Above is a picture of the eggplant sweating.  You can see moisture droplets forming.  After 30 min rinse each slice under water to remove excess salt then pat dry with a paper towel. Don’t skip the drying step because you don’t want extra moisture making your final dish soggy.

Fry the Eggplant

The perfect eggplant parmesan recipe including crispy eggplant, bold seasonings and gooey cheese. Your whole family will love this recipe!

After the eggplant slices are dried start the breading process. First dredge them in flour. Next dip the slices in egg. Finally bread each slice with the breadcrumb mixture.  This breading mixture is bread crumbs, panko, Italian seasoning, parsley, salt and pepper mixed together.  Make sure you cover each slice completely with the breading.

The perfect eggplant parmesan recipe including crispy eggplant, bold seasonings and gooey cheese. Your whole family will love this recipe!

Next fry each eggplant slice for approximately 2 to 3 minutes on each side.  I only do a few at a time so I don’t crowd the skillet.

The perfect eggplant parmesan recipe including crispy eggplant, bold seasonings and gooey cheese. Your whole family will love this recipe!

When they are done frying place them back in the colander set in a bowl to allow the excess oil drain off. I also place them on a cooling rack. Either method will work and keep the eggplant crisp. If you place them on a paper towel to cool or soak up the grease it will leave your eggplant soggy.

Bake Eggplant Parmesan

The perfect eggplant parmesan recipe including crispy eggplant, bold seasonings and gooey cheese. Your whole family will love this recipe!

It’s time to layer the eggplant parmesan in an 8×8 inch baking dish. First put a thin layer of sauce on the bottom, then layer the eggplant overlapping it, top it with more sauce, shredded cheese and parmesan.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and starting to brown. Sauce will probably be bubbling up the sides. Take it out of the oven and let it set for about 5 min before cutting.  In a square baking dish I cut this into 9 slices, but you can make servings bigger or smaller to suit your family.

Eggplant Parmesan

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium to large eggplant
  • salt
  • oil for frying
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup panko
  • 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 3 tbsp parsley flakes
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • spaghetti sauce
  • mozzarella cheese shredded
  • parmesan cheese

Instructions
 

  • Slice eggplant into approximately 1/4 inch slices, discarding the ends. You can leave the peel on or discard it, it's your choice.
  • Sweat the eggplant slices in a colander by generously salting both sides of each eggplant slice and letting the liquid it releases drain into a bowl. This takes approximately 30 minutes. Rinse excess liquid and salt off of each slice and pat dry.
  • In a bowl place approximately 1/2 cup to 1 cup of flour, set aside. In another bowl whisk three eggs, set aside. In a third bowl mix the bread crumbs, panko, Italian Seasoning, parsley, salt and pepper. These three bowls will be used to bread the eggplant slices.
  • Heat vegetable oil to a medium high temperature. It is ready when oil shimmers.
  • Dredge each slice of eggplant in flour, then dip in the egg wash and finally coat with the breading mixture.
  • Fry breaded eggplant in hot oil for approximately 2 to 5 minutes on first side. I watch for the edges of the breading to start turning a golden brown before flipping it to the other side and frying it for roughly as long as you did the first side.
  • Remove fried eggplant from oil and set in a colander or on a baking cooling rack to cool and drip off excess oil. Do not place on a paper towel. The eggplant will lose it's crispness and become soggy.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Once eggplant has cooled it's time to assemble the eggplant parmesan bake. Spread a small amount of sauce on the bottom of an 8x8 inch casserole dish. Layer the eggplant on top, overlapping it, then top with more sauce and 4 to 8 oz of shredded mozzarella cheese. Finally sprinkle approximately 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
  • Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and slightly browned.
  • Serve and enjoy!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Serve it up and enjoy. We serve ours with a side of spaghetti for the kids, some garlic roll ups, and sauteed mushrooms. This would also be delicious with a garden salad and a light vinaigrette dressing. This dish will be a hit with the entire family, even the kids! It’s a great recipe even for someone who doesn’t care for eggplant.

How do you like to enjoy eggplant? Share your favorite recipe ideas in the comments below.

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Previous Post: « Simple Spaghetti Sauce
Next Post: Easy Cheesy Garlic Roll Ups »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dana (@DragynAlly)

    February 20, 2013 at

    This looks SO yummy! I will probably be dying to try it soon.

    Reply
  2. Nicoyle

    February 20, 2013 at

    If I only ate eggplant, I would really try this recipe out. It does look yummy though.

    Reply
    • Mary

      February 20, 2013 at

      Nicoyle, I’m not a huge eggplant fan either and this is delicious!! If you ever get the urge to try something new, I highly suggest this! There are a lot of veggies I thought I hated until I realized I just hadn’t found the right recipe. With that said, there are still veggies I can’t stand, even after trying them a variety of ways…beets being one of them.

      Reply
  3. Rhonda - A Born Unique Mom

    February 20, 2013 at

    Up until now I thought that I could only order eggplant when eating at my favorite Italian restaurant! You make it look so easy and yummy that I can’t wait to try it at home. Thanks for sharing and enjoy your meal… 🙂

    Reply
    • Mary

      February 20, 2013 at

      Rhonda, if you do try it out let me know how it works for you! Tips, you don’t have to use a lot of sauce. I forgot to add that in the post. Also, you can add more or lighten up the cheese, it’s not a specific measurement, just whatever sounds/looks good to you. I hope it turns out great for you too!

      Reply
  4. Jen @ BigBinder

    February 21, 2013 at

    Holy cow. Pinning, adding to meal planner…etc. My family becomes significantly less devout as Lent moves forward and I think meatless meals are the primary cause. This looks amazing!

    Reply
    • Mary

      February 21, 2013 at

      I wasn’t even thinking of Lent when I made this, lol. I just had an eggplant and asked myself what I should make with it! I hope your family enjoys it as much as my family did!

      Reply
  5. Jacqui Odell

    February 21, 2013 at

    This looks pretty good and easy to do. I should try it sometime.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Easy, Cheesy Garlic Roll Ups - Living a Sunshine Life says:
    October 1, 2016 at

    […] perfect to pair with spaghetti, eggplant parmesan or even lasagna. Don’t forget the always popular pairing of garlic bread and pizza either. […]

    Reply
  2. Green Bean Almondine - Side Dish Favorite - Living a Sunshine Life says:
    October 7, 2021 at

    […] Eggplant Parmesan […]

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Mary (she/her). Positive inspiration lifestyle blogger living in Nebraska. Check out the blog, get to know us, and find a little inspiration along the way. Please comment on the blog posts or shoot me an email if you have anything to share. We'd love to get to know you too! You can send an email to Mary@livingasunshinelife.com

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