Why Eggplant Parmesan?
I used to love eating lasagna, and I didn’t want to give that up completely on my road to eating a more eco-friendly and sustainable diet. For so long I craved cheesy, meaty lasagna until I found out that you can make a version of meat-free lasagna that’s even better than the real thing! Eggplant parmesan has all the good parts about lasagna. It has the layers, the textures, the cheesiness, all without meat and with a few easy tweaks, without any animal products at all!
I have seen many variations of eggplant parmesan across the internet. From zucchini parmesan, to vegetarian bean lasagna, but from all the recipes I’ve tried, this has proved to be the easiest and tastiest! Even my brother, a devout meat-eater absolutely loved this dish! And he even used to tell me that there would never be a good alternative to lasagna.
Move out of the way Lasagna, here comes Eggplant Parmesan!
Another great thing about this recipe is that it’s fantastic to do throughout late-summer and early fall when eggplant is in season. Eggplant picking season may change from place to place, but on the west coast of the US, eggplants are right in the middle of their prime season! If eggplants are in season, try to bike over (if possible) to a local farmers market and look around for eggplants. When you buy at a farmers market, it’ll lower the carbon footprint of your food and help you support local farmers, all in one! If this isn’t possible for you, then it’s totally okay to buy the ingredients from the grocery store. My only suggestion is that you try to avoid the plastic produce bags they have in most grocery stores.
I find eggplant parmesan oh-so-comforting, and it’s perfect to enjoy as the weather starts to become colder. Usually when I make this for dinner, I like to enjoy it with an arugula salad, but it’ll go great with lots of things. Let me know down below in the comments how this recipe turned out for you!
Eggplant Parmesan
Equipment
- baking sheet
- Approx. 9 x 13in baking sheet
Ingredients
- 3 eggplants
- 2 eggs or 1/4 cup water
- 2 cups panko bread crumbs
- 6 cups tomato or spaghetti sauce
- 1 16 oz bag mozzarella cheese or vegan alternative shredded
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp dried basil
Instructions
- First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- To prepare the eggplants, cut them into rounds of about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thickness and set them aside. Prepare a bowl with the water or eggs in it, and another bowl with the panko bread crumbs in it. Dip each slice of eggplant into the water and then into the panko until it is fully covered by bread crumbs. Line up the coated slices on your baking sheet in one layer and once all the eggplant is coated, go ahead and put this in the oven for 5 minutes. Once those five minutes are over, take the eggplant out, flip them using kitchen tongs or your hands, and put. them back in the oven for another 5 minutes. The eggplant should be tender once baked.
- In the 9 x13 in dish, start by spreading about 1/3 of the spaghetti or tomato sauce mixture on the bottom of the dish. Spread it across the dish using a spoon or spatula and place a layer of the cooked eggplant slices on top of that. Coat the eggplant with 1/3 of the mozzarella and parmesan cheese, and then continue this process of layering until all your ingredients are gone. I recommend to finish off with the cheese as the top layer and then you can sprinkle on the dried basil and leftover panko crumbs on top.
- Place the dish into the oven for 35 min or until the top is golden brown and the cheese is completely melted all throughout. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes and the enjoy!
Notes
- Just a quick tip for the panko bread crumbs: if you have any stale bread lying around or just don’t have bread crumbs, go ahead and make them yourself by grinding bread up in a food processor.
- To check the doneness for the eggplant, insert a fork into one the fattest slices of eggplant on the baking sheet towards the center of the sheet. The fork should slide easily into and out of the eggplant if it is fully cooked and tender.
If you’re looking for some other eco-friendly recipes, check out my other post on The Absolute Best Sautéed MushroomThe Absolute Best Sautéed Mushroom Recipe! recipe! Or, if you’re looking to learn more about what it means to eat sustainably, I highly suggest you read my post on The #1 Documentary to help you Eat More Sustainably.
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