This Eggplant Parmesan recipe has layers of crispy, breaded eggplant slices nestled in marinara sauce and melted mozzarella cheese with directions for each fried and baked eggplant.

After years of exactly predicting my mother’s order when consuming out for Italian, she’s thrown us all for a loop by skipping over her beloved Linguine and Clams and Shrimp Scampi Pasta. She has now declared Eggplant Parmesan is her Italian dish of selection. That’s the rationalization I obtained all the best way right down to make her a do-it-yourself model that rivals her favourite Olive Yard eggplant Parmesan—to which I say success is mine. Dipping sliced globe eggplant in flour, then egg, then a combination of Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs with Parmesan cheese creates a crisp (nonetheless not heavy) coating for the eggplant rounds. You most likely can bake or fry your eggplant (I want fried nonetheless share each strategies under) to create luscious layers of creamy eggplant baked in my do-it-yourself marinara sauce with melty mozzarella cheese. Simple to prep with an easy meeting line model, this eggplant Parmesan is an Italian basic you’ll need to make time and time as quickly as additional.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Eggplant Parmesan is a unbelievable vegetarian foremost that even meat eaters will love
• Every fried or baked eggplant works appropriately on this recipe (and I give directions for each)
• An easy dredging combination of flour, egg, and breadcrumbs with Parmesan cheese creates a crisp nonetheless mild coating that provides the proper distinction in texture to the marinara and melted cheese

Eggplant Parmesan Substances Pointers

• Eggplant—Select globe eggplants which is prone to be firm with easy, shiny pores and pores and pores and skin.
• Kosher salt—Kosher salt’s bigger crystals are largest for salting the eggplant and gained’t dissolve as shortly as widespread desk salt.
• Canned full peeled San Marzano tomatoes—Use your fingers to crush the tomatoes into the purée. Or, use crushed San Marzano tomatoes if in the marketplace.
• Extra virgin olive oil—Olive oil imparts a LOT of favor on this recipe so select among the many most interesting additional virgin olive oil you most likely can afford. I want olive oils with a clear vogue that’s clear, fruity, and shiny.
• Garlic cloves—Smash the cloves ahead of along with to the sauce so that they merely launch their flavorful oils.
• Tomato paste—Tomato paste is solely concentrated tomato and provides depth to this sauce. For lots a lot much less waste, I profit from it from the tube in its place of the can.
• Newest basil—Full basil leaves soften into the sauce because of it cooks. Save further for serving.
• All-purpose flour—Eggplant slices are first dipped in flour to create a dry layer the egg can cling to.
• Eggs—Egg-dipped slices are the glue for the breadcrumbs to stay to.
• Italian seasoned breadcrumbs—Select a high-quality breadcrumb newest from the shop. Or, use panko breadcrumbs or make your non-public (merely guarantee they’re finely floor.)
• Grated Parmesan cheese—Frequently use freshly grated Parmesan cheese (finely floor works largest correct proper right here) and ditch the inexperienced canned stuff.
• Mozzarella cheese—Any cozy melting white cheese works appropriately. Strive provolone or fontina in its place.
• Impartial, flavorless oil for frying—I profit from canola oil or sunflower oil on account of their excessive smoke diploma. Vegetable oil works too. Olive oil doesn’t have as excessive a smoke diploma and will impart further type to fried meals.

Uncover the complete recipe with measurements under.

Methods to Make Eggplant Parmesan

• Put collectively my do-it-yourself marinara sauce recipe to simmer whereas preparing the eggplant.
• Slice the eggplant in rounds merely shy of ½-inch thick. That is essential due to if the eggplant is reduce too skinny it gained’t protect up all through the sauce. 24 slices of eggplant will match a 9×13-inch baking dish.
• Salt the eggplant and place the rounds in even layers divided by paper towels on a sheet pan. Relaxation for half-hour to 1 hour. This step helps launch some water content material materials supplies so the dish isn’t soggy and removes any bitter vogue. Wipe the salt from the eggplant and pat dry.
  TIP : As an alternative of salting the eggplant, dry the slices out by microwaving them for 3-4 minutes. Or, submerge in salted water for 20 minutes, rinse, and pat dry.

• Dredge the eggplant in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs blended with Parmesan cheese. I profit from Italian seasoned breadcrumbs nonetheless it’s advisable use panko or plain breadcrumbs and season your self.
• Swap the coated eggplant to a sheet pan fitted with a drying rack and permit it to sit down down for about quarter-hour so the breaded floor dries out.

Methods to Fry Eggplant for Eggplant Parmesan

• Warmth ¼-inch oil in a large forged iron skillet or heavy backside skillet over medium-high to 350°F.
• Working in batches, place the eggplant in a single layer all through the skillet.
• Put collectively dinner the eggplant for 3-4 minutes then flip and repeat on the opposite facet.
• Swap to a paper towel-lined sheet pan and repeat with the remaining eggplant.
• Add further oil to the skillet as wanted.

Baked Eggplant for Eggplant Parmesan

• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Place the bread crumb-coated eggplant on a sheet pan sprayed with cooking spray or calmly brushed with oil.
• Spray the perfect facet of the eggplant rounds with cooking spray or calmly brush with oil.
• Bake for quarter-hour or till the bottoms of the eggplants begin to flip golden, flip, then cook dinner dinner dinner for one more quarter-hour.

Methods to Put collectively dinner Eggplant with out Breading

Cookbook creator Mark Bittman prefers frying uncoated eggplant in his minimalist eggplant Parmesan recipe. Doing so infuses the oil into the eggplant slices. I attempted his methodology and agree it’s a scrumptious methodology to study from the dish in the event you don’t need to go to the issue of breading the eggplant.

I don’t advocate baking bare eggplant for eggplant parmesan. The result’s too bland and the feel was off.

Methods to Layer Eggplant Parmesan

• Unfold 1 cup marinara sauce over the underside of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
• Layer 12 slices of fried eggplant, overlapping the slices if wanted.
• Unfold 1 cup of the sauce over the fried or baked eggplant (I want to divide that quantity between every row, occurring the middle of the rounds so the perimeters of the eggplant aren’t sauced and maintain crisped).
• Sprinkle with half of the shredded mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
• Add one totally different layer of fried eggplant, prime with the remainder of the sauce, and the remainder of the cheese.
• Cowl the dish with foil and bake at 400°F for half-hour till the cheese is melted and the sauce is effervescent. Cool for 10 minutes ahead of serving.

FAQ and Recipe Suggestions

• Do you enable the pores and pores and pores and skin on eggplant for eggplant Parmesan? I preserve the pores and pores and pores and skin on eggplant for this recipe. You most likely can peel the eggplant exterior in strips in the event you want.
• Why do you salt eggplant ahead of cooking? Salting the eggplant removes some water content material materials supplies so it doesn’t take in as a lot oil, removes bitterness, and tenderizes the eggplant rounds.
• What’s among the many most interesting strategies to chop eggplant for eggplant Parmesan? In creating this recipe I discovered among the many most interesting strategies to chop eggplant for eggplant Parm is slicing into rounds which is prone to be merely shy of ½-inch thick. I discovered that to be the proper thickness that holds as so much as a result of the sauce and retains texture, with out being too thick. This measurement furthermore labored appropriately for layering.
• An easy do-it-yourself sauce is a game-changer. My easy marinara sauce takes little effort and is perfumed with garlic and basil which makes this dish. Nonetheless, a top quality store-bought model is okay.
• Use panko breadcrumbs or finely floor newest breadcrumbs blended with Parmesan cheese in its place of seasoned Italian breadcrumbs.
• Don’t oversauce the eggplant or the dish could get soggy. Due to the breading softens beneath the sauce, I want to hold loads of the eggplant edges uncovered to largest revenue from the mild and crispy coating.

Storage and Freezer Suggestions

• Eggplant Parmesan is prone to be assembled and refrigerated 1-2 days ahead of baking.
• Leftovers reheat appropriately and is prone to be refrigerated for 3-4 days.
• Eggplant parmesan is prone to be frozen baked or unbaked for two months. Bake straight from frozen (don’t thaw) lined with foil in a 400°F oven for 50-60 minutes.

What Goes with Eggplant Parmesan

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