Healthy Baked Eggplant Parmigiana

5 from 1 vote

This healthy baked eggplant parmesan or eggplant parmigiana made from crispy eggplant slices is better than Olive Garden eggplant parmesan.

Baked eggplant slices are layered with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese making this a delicious meal that is also nutritious and a vegetarian eggplant parmigiana.

Prep Time1

Cook Time1

Additional Time10

Total Time2 10

Course: Main Entrées

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Eggplant Parmigiana, Healthy Baked Eggplant Parmesan, Vegetarian Eggplant Parmesan

Servings:

Calories: 599kcal

Author: AmyG

Ingredients

Eggplant

3 Eggplants peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon salt
1 ½ cups bread crumbs for a gluten free option use coconut flour or almond flour
¾ cups parmesan cheese
2 eggs
Fresh Basil leaves
¼ cup olive oil and 1 TBSP of Olive Oil, separated
1 garlic clove
½ cup water or broth optional
2 cups mozzarella shredded

Sauce

3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dried oregano
750 ml tomato puree
1 tbsp salt
½ tsp ground pepper
2 garlic clove

Instructions

Making the Eggplant Slices

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
Peel, slice and salt your eggplant generously.
Lay the eggplant on a baking sheet or in a colander. Let sit for an hour.
Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spray or brush parchment paper with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Pat dry the eggplant slices, dip in egg wash, then cover with breadcrumbs. Press the bread crumbs down into the eggplant.
Transfer the eggplant to a baking tray covered with parchment paper
Bake for 30 minutes, flipping the eggplant on their other side half way through.
Make sauce while you wait for the eggplant to cook.
Prepare a baking dish for the eggplant layers to go into.
The eggplant will need extra liquid to cook, so you may need to add 1 cup of water/broth to your sauce. Add the remaining olive oil as well (¼ cup).
Take a couple of tablespoons of the sauce mixture and cover the bottom of the baking dish with it.
Take the cooked eggplant slices and begin to layer them on top of the sauce.
Once you have the first layer, cover with more sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan.
Continue to layer eggplant slices onto of the sauce cheese mixture, making sure that you are layering the eggplant in the opposite direction as the first layer (criss crossing pattern).
Cut the eggplant to fit wherever needed. Alternate layers with sauce and cheese until you have used up all of the eggplant.
Top with sauce, mozzarella and fresh basil.
Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered.
Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Making the Sauce

Heat up oil. Sauté garlic until fragrant.
Add tomato puree. Add water if too thick. If the tomato puree is to thin, add tomato paste.
Add herbs and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.
If sauce is tarte or acidic, add ½ teaspoon (more or less) of sugar. Let simmer for another 20 minutes. Taste to adjust seasoning as needed.

Nutrition