It’s got bubbly cheese, garlicky tomato sauce, and savory, meaty breaded eggplant: it’s Eggplant Parmesan! This Italian classic dish is hearty, filling, and pleases just about everyone. Most restaurants use fried eggplant, but for a homemade version it’s much simpler to bake. This best baked Eggplant Parmesan recipe is faster and easier to make at home than most recipes and full of incredible flavor. Even our vegetable-averse 6 year old adores this vegetarian dinner!
Ingredients in this Eggplant Parmesan recipe
Eggplant Parmesan (eggplant Parmigiana) is a classic Italian dish made with layers of breaded eggplant, cheese, and tomato sauce, then baked until bubbly. Known as parmigiana di melanzane in Italian, it comes from the Southern regions of Calabria and Sicily but is now served all over the world. The eggplant is fried in restaurant-style versions, but it’s easiest to make baked eggplant when making it in your home kitchen. Here’s what you’ll need for homemade eggplant Parmesan:
Eggplant Flour (or almond flour for gluten-free) Eggs Grated Parmesan cheese Plain panko (or breadcrumbs; use gluten-free panko for gluten-free) Dried oregano Fire roasted crushed tomatoes Garlic Fresh basil Olive oil Shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese
A few ingredient notes
As with any Italian dish, the success of this Eggplant Parmesan recipe depends on the quality of ingredients! Here’s what to look for when you’re shopping:
Look for medium eggplants. Size matters here: massive eggplant rounds don’t look quite as nice in the dish. But sometimes the grocery only has large eggplants, so use what you can find! The key is using 2 pounds of eggplant, and you’ll get about 18 to 20 sliced rounds. Use fire roasted tomatoes. Fire roasted tomatoes make the best flavor: they taste sweet and smoky right out of the can. If you can’t find them, substitute best quality tomatoes with 1 teaspoon sugar and ½ teaspoon smoked paprika. Or, use 1 ½ cups best quality marinara sauce. Whole milk mozzarella cheese makes a difference. It melts much better than part skim and has a richer flavor. It also melts better when reheating.
How to make Eggplant Parmesan: some tips
This baked Eggplant Parmesan recipe is faster and easier than most recipes, but it still takes about 1 hour to make and bake. Keep this in mind in your meal prepping (and review the notes below on make ahead tips). Here are a few notes about the process:
Place salt on the eggplant for just 10 minutes. This seasons them prior to baking. Many recipes require you to salt the eggplant for 1 hour, but this is not necessary. In the past, people would do this to remove a bitter flavor, but today’s eggplants are bred to be less bitter. Salting also allows the eggplant to release moisture, but that’s not as important with this baked method as with frying. Dredge the eggplant in flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Doing this provides the crunchy outer coating for the eggplant rounds. Bake the eggplant for 20 minutes at 425°F, flipping once. The hot oven makes them crispy and golden brown: like frying but with no extra oil! Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Mix crushed tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil and olive oil. Layer the eggplant with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese in a baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.
Leftover storage and make ahead tips
This Eggplant Parmesan recipe takes about 1 hour to make, making it difficult to whip up for a quick weeknight dinner. We usually make this one for entertaining or on weekends, but you can also meal prep some of the components. This recipe also freezes well, which makes it great for a quick leftover dinner. Here are a few ideas for make ahead and storage:
Bake the eggplant slices in advance. This saves about 40 minutes off the timing of the recipe. Refrigerate the slices, then layer the dish and bake the day of making. Leftovers store refrigerated for up to 3 days. You can make the entire dish in advance and refrigerate, but it’s so good freshly baked that we recommend the above option for make-ahead. Leftovers store well. Freeze leftovers in a sealed container for up to 3 months. Place on the counter or in the refrigerator to thaw, or you can place it right into a 375 degree oven and reheat until warmed through and the cheese is melted. (If it’s room temperature, you can reheat at a higher temperature, like 425.)
What to serve with Eggplant Parmesan
Traditionally, Eggplant Parmigiana is served with pasta. But you can also serve with salads, sauteed veggies and more. It makes a hearty, crowd-pleasing vegetarian dinner that’s great for parties and impressing a crowd. Here are a few ideas:
Easy Angel Hair Pasta Chopped Salad Kale Caesar Salad Arugula Salad Garlic Bread Green Beans Almondine or Garlic Green Beans Sauteed Broccolini or Roasted Broccolini Sauteed Mixed Vegetables Sauteed Rainbow Chard Sauteed Kale or Sauteed Spinach
More eggplant recipes
Love working with this tasty vegetable? Here are a few more eggplant recipes you’ll love:
Bake up stunning Eggplant Lasagna or Eggplant Rollatini Try Best-Ever Eggplant Meatballs Go for incredible Perfect Roasted Eggplant or Sauteed Eggplant Opt for Eggplant Caponata Try Japanese Eggplant with Garlic & Ginger Grab Roasted Eggplant Pasta
This baked Eggplant Parmesan recipe is…
Vegetarian. For gluten-free, use almond flour and gluten-free breadcrumbs or go to Gluten Free Eggplant Parmesan. For vegan, to to Vegan Eggplant Parmesan. 4.9 from 14 reviews **Fire roasted tomatoes make the best flavor: they taste sweet and smoky right out of the can. If you can’t find them, substitute best quality tomatoes with 1 teaspoon sugar and ½ teaspoon smoked paprika. Or, use 1 ½ cups best quality marinara sauce. ***Whole milk mozzarella cheese melts much better than part skim mozzarella, and has a richer flavor. It also melts better when reheating leftovers.
