Lightened Up Eggplant Parmesan

I recently had an extravagantly saucy eggplant parmesan at a restaurant, and when I learned that all the elements were baked instead of fried, I thought it was revelatory. After all, frying eggplant slices one by one, only to layer them and then bake them never made sense to me. By baking from the start, you get a lighter eggplant parmesan with the same delicious, cheese-pull-y (if that’s a phrase?), result. So a lightened up eggplant parmesan is what I wanted, and a lighter eggplant parm is where we are going!!

This ebbs and flows between a traditional recipe and a slightly modern one. It works best with either fairy tale eggplant or Chinese eggplant, so feel free to use either. If you are having trouble deciding between eggplant parmesan or meatballs, this recipe might be the one for you.

What ingredients will you need for a lighter eggplant parmesan?

This recipe feeds many people, but it’s still easy because the ingredient list is light! This is all you will need:

• 2 ½ pound of fairytale eggplant or Chinese eggplant, stems removed
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, 4.2 ounces / 120 grams
• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 5 large eggs, beaten
• 4 cups dried sourdough breadcrumbs, 12 ounces / 330 grams
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese, 2 ounces / 56 grams
• 3 24- ounce jars of Rao’s Homemade Classic Marinara Sauce, or your favorite sauce!
• 16 ounces pearl mozzarella, or regular mozzarella
• Fresh basil, for garnishing

How I make this classic recipe a bit easier

I call this “lightened up” because it’s lighter on work AND it’s a recipe that won’t eat as heavy. Trust me, I love a classic eggplant parmesan, but frying individual pieces of eggplant feels a bit like too much work for me.

I love this recipe because the dredging is the hardest part. You have to dip each eggplant piece in flour, then eggs, then seasoned breadcrumbs. But after that you just pop them in the oven to crisp up, which both minimizes your time and your effort, plus it makes this a much lighter recipe. The sauce makes up for that though, giving you all this amazing, bubbly flavor as the cheese melts into the crispy eggplant counterparts.

FAQ for this lightened up eggplant parmesan

And that is it for this lighter, but still delicious eggplant parmesan!

If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3

Lightened Up Eggplant Parmesan

I usually hate using the term "lightened up" but here it really does speak volumes. This baked eggplant parmesan eats a little lighter, AND it is lighter on work. You still get all the delicious flavor and texture of a breaded and fried eggplant, but we're skipping the frying for a fast baking method, then adding everything to the oven to get all bubbly and melty. Half traditional, half easy, and fully delicious.

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Prep Time:30 minutes mins

Cook Time:1 hour hr

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Fusion, Italian

Keyword: eggplant, eggplant parmesan, mozzarella

Servings: 8 servings

Equipment

• 1 chef's knife
• 2 half sheet pans
• 1 rasp-style grater
• 1 9 by 13-inch porcelain baking dish or any deep baking dish will do

Ingredients

• 2 ½ pound of fairy tale eggplant or Chinese eggplant stems removed
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 4.2 ounces / 120 grams
• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 5 large eggs beaten
• 4 cups dried sourdough breadcrumbs 12 ounces / 330 grams
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese 2 ounces / 56 grams
• 3 24-ounce jars of Rao’s Homemade Classic Marinara Sauce or whatever sauce you love!
• 16 ounces pearl mozzarella or regular mozzarella
• Fresh basil for garnishing

Instructions

• If using fairy tale eggplant, halve them length wise. If using Chinese eggplant, cut them in alternating diagonals into bite-sized chunks.
• Add the eggplant pieces to a large bowl. Season them with a few big pinches of salt and toss.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Prepare a dredging station with 1 cup of flour and 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt in one bowl, 5 beaten eggs in another, and 4 cups of dried bread crumbs in the last. Season the bread crumbs with 1 teaspoon of dried oregano and 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes.
• The eggplant should have released some moisture from sitting in the salt. This will help the breading stick.
• Toss the eggplant in the flour, then the eggs, then toss in the breadcrumbs to coat.
• Add the eggplant to two half sheet pans and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast until the eggplant is soft and the bread crumb coatings are golden, about 15-20 minutes.
• Grate 2 ounces of parmesan cheese into the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Reserve only a bit for the top.
• When the eggplant is ready, layer it down, then add mozzarella, then pour in one jar of Rao's, and repeat until the dish is full.
• Bake again for 28-32 minutes or until bubbling. Grate the remaining parmesan over top in a flurry, and top with basil. Scoop and enjoy the cheese pull!