This Eggplant Parmesan is a classic comforting Italian dish makes great use of the wonderful purple vegetable. Gooey cheese on top of a delicious homemade tomato sauce with eggplant (aubergine) halves as the base. A great dish to boost your veggie intake, and fancy enough to wow guests too. No breading, no frying, just healthy comfort food!
Whether you call them eggplants or aubergines, they are delicious and there is so much that you can do with them. We love their meaty texture and although they are usually great for bulking out a meal, they are the star of the show here. A delicious tomato pasta sauce layered on top and covered in melty cheese. Comfort food perfection!
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Why should you try it?
- Healthy Italian comfort food
- A delicious new way to enjoy aubergines
- You can easily add some extra veggies to it
- Perfect for a dinner party
- It can be a starter or a main
What you will need
- Aubergines (eggplant) - The star of this dish! Look for aubergines with smooth, shiny skin that are all the same colour and heavy for their size. To test for ripeness, lightly press a finger against the skin. If it leaves an imprint, the aubergine is ripe. Choose smaller aubergines, as they tend to be sweeter, less bitter, have thinner skin and less seeds.
- Pasta sauce - We have included the recipe for our easy homemade tomato sauce, however you can use a store bought one. Try to use the best quality you can buy, as you really will be able to taste the difference.
- Basil - A little fresh basil before serving will really lighten up the whole dish.
- Parmesan and Mozzarella - We used a a mixture of cheese, as it makes it deliciously creamy.
Step by step
One: Slice the aubergines in half length ways and make diagonal scores across the insides.
Two: Top with the Easy Tomato Pasta Sauce.
Three: Add the cheese.
Four: Put in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for 40 minutes, until the aubergine is cooked through. Top with fresh basil to serve.
Is it healthy?
Traditionally this recipe has a tonne of cheese and is then topped with breadcrumbs. We used less cheese, and reduced fat, and skipped the breadcrumbs.
You could also bulk it out with loads of extra vegetables, because, why not?! Spinach is easy to chop in to the tomato sauce and although it is a bit of a random addition to it and I am sure any Italians reading this are screaming at their computer screen, it totally works.
Also, aubergine is a good source of fibre, vitamins B1, B6 and K and also potassium. So, even more reason to make this delicious dish.
How to stop aubergine being bitter
What I love about this dish is how easy it is to put together, however, if you usually find aubergine dishes too bitter, then you might want to add an extra step to this recipe.
To remove some of the bitterness from aubergine, simply sprinkle the halves with a LOT of salt, put them on some sheets of paper towel and leave them there for about an hour. You will start to see little bits of liquid, almost like beads of sweat, appear on the outside of the eggplant as the salt starts to pull all the moisture out. Once the hour is done, rinse the salt off the eggplant and pat it dry and then follow the recipe as normal.
What to serve it with
Well, it is a classic Italian dish, so pasta or gnocchi is always a great choice. But you could just serve it with some protein like grilled chicken or salmon. It's a pretty rich and filling dish, so we usually just have it with a big green salad and some fresh bread.
FAQs
Yes, you can freeze this recipe, which makes it great for batch cooking. I would suggest freezing it in little foil trays, so you can just pop them in the oven once defrosted and brought to room temperature.
This is a really easy dish to make vegetarian (as Parmesan isn't always vegetarian), or even vegan. Simply swap the cheese for your favourite vegetarian or vegan alternative and follow the rest of the instructions as they are.
Yes, this is an easy dish to make ahead of time. Just layer it all up and then put it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it. If you are adding breadcrumbs to yours, I would recommend leaving that until just before you put it in the oven, as they might go a bit soggy if put on in advance.
If you are going to use salt to pull some of the moisture out first, I would definitely suggest doing that in advance, as it takes a while.
Make sure you bring the dish to room temperature before putting it in the oven though, as it will change the cooking time and the dish might crack.
Extra tips
- If you want to make this really crispy, then add some breadcrumbs (panko work really well) on top of the cheese. It will change the nutritional information though.
- Give this dish a veggie boost by chopping up some spinach and mixing it in to the tomato sauce.
- If you wanted to make smaller versions of this, instead of using eggplant halves, you could slice it into rounds and put in a baking dish (with a little sauce at the bottom). This makes it great to serve up as a starter.
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Recipe
Eggplant Parmesan
Ingredients
- 2 large aubergines (eggplants)
- 8 tablespoon Easy Tomato Pasta Sauce
- 10 g fresh basil chopped
- 50 g vegetarian parmesan grated
- 50 g reduced fat mozzarella grated
Instructions
- Slice the aubergines in half length-ways and make diagonal scores across the insides.
- Top with the easy tomato pasta sauce.
- Add the cheese
- Put in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for 40 minutes until the aubergine is cooked through.
- Top with fresh basil.
Notes
- If you want to make this really crispy, then add some breadcrumbs (panko work really well) on top of the cheese. It will change the nutritional information though.
- Give this dish a veggie boost by chopping up some spinach and mixing it in to the tomato sauce.
- If you wanted to make smaller versions of this, instead of using eggplant halves, you could slice it into rounds and put in a baking dish (with a little sauce at the bottom). This makes it great to serve up as a starter.
- Weight Watchers SmartPoints: 2
Charla @ That Girl Cooks Healthy
I'm really one dimensional when it comes to eggplant so looking forward to exploring this recipe when I get hold of some more eggplant. Thank you!
Eraj Siddiqui
I'm definitely try this out ! so good , thanks for sharing :)
Toni
I really love how easy this is to make!! Love that you can make it ahead of time.
Erika
This looks awesome. A great low-carb dinner idea!
Marie-Charlotte Chatelain
I can make this comfort food feast using five ingredients only? That sounds AMAAAAAAZING!
Katie
This looks great! Can't wait to try it.
Jessica Formicola
My family loves eggplant parmesan! This recipe looks amazing and I can't wait to make it for dinner tonight!
Kavey
I adore aubergines, and the are so versatile. Aubergine parmigiana is one of my favourites, this healthier version looks much lighter and more summery, really nice.
karrie @ Tasty Ever After
Eggplant is one of my favorite veggies to cook for vegetarian main meals. It totally satisfies my meat craving. Also, if you get that job eating babaganoush all day every day, please let me know because I want one of those too! lol!
Anosa
I love eggplants and have them as often as I can, I will need to try this recipe when I return from my holidays. Thanks for sharing
Laura Hartley
I've never thought of aubergines as a good 'filler' in vegetarian dishes but I imagine it would bulk them out quite a bit! Am still experimenting with veggie dishes so will try adding some aubergines in :)
WhatLauraLoves
I love aubergine so would definitely love to try this out. It looks really homely xxx
krish recipes
I love egg plants. Surely will give a try of this recipe
Alice Langley
This is hands down my all time favourite dish