Cozy eggplant Parmesan is one of our favorite recipes of all time, not to mention one of the world’s best meatless comfort foods. So we thought: why not try a plant-based rendition, just for fun? Why we love this recipe: Turns out, vegan Eggplant Parmesan can have all the flavor of the real deal and be plant-based! Tender eggplant slices are dipped and breaded, then baked until crispy and smothered in a tangy marinara sauce. Top it with your favorite brand of dairy-free cheese. This is a vegan dinner everyone loves in our house (we love watching our kids devour it).
Ingredients in vegan eggplant Parmesan
Eggplant Parmesan (aka eggplant Parmigiana) is a classic Italian dish made with layers of breaded eggplant, cheese, and tomato sauce. It’s known as parmigiana di melanzane in Italian, and comes from the Southern regions of Calabria and Sicily. For a vegan eggplant Parmesan, you’ll need to replace eggs, Parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese to vegan versions. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
Eggplant: Use a medium sized eggplant for the best size of rounds. Large eggplant rounds don’t look quite as nice in the dish because the rounds are so big. All-purpose flour, oat milk, cornstarch, vegan Parmesan cheese, plain panko, and oregano: These ingredients make the breading for the eggplant. Fire roasted crushed tomatoes, garlic, basil and olive oil: Simmer these together to make a quick sauce. It’s loads better than purchased marinara! Vegan shredded mozzarella cheese: There are several brands on the market; we used Violife. You can also use homemade!
Frequently asked questions
This recipe would also work well with homemade vegan Parmesan. We have not tested it with homemade vegan mozzarella, but that should work as well. You can also substitute dollops of cashew cream for the vegan mozzarella!
Place salt on the eggplant for just 10 minutes. Many recipes require you to salt the eggplant for 1 hour, but this is not necessary. Cooks used to do this to remove bitter flavor, but today’s eggplants are bred to be less bitter. Salting does allow the eggplant to release moisture, but that’s not as important with this baked method as with frying! Dredge the eggplant in flour, oat milk with cornstarch, and breadcrumbs. Oat milk with cornstarch replaces the eggs that are in standard eggplant Parmesan. Bake the eggplant for 20 minutes at 425°F. The hot oven makes them crispy and golden brown: like frying but with no extra oil! Layer the eggplant with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese in a baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.
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. You can also 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°F 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°F.)
Try vegan mac and cheese or vegan lasagna. Mix up vegan crab cakes with vegan tartar sauce, or veggie nuggets. Make a crispy tofu bowl or tofu fried rice, or give marinated tempeh a try. Whip up tofu broccoli stir fry or vegan broccoli soup. Browse our top 50 Easy Vegan Recipes.
5 from 1 review **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.
