Greatest Baked Eggplant Parmesan

When you’re on the lookout for a scrumptious meatless most important dish, you’ve acquired to do this baked eggplant parmesan. Not like many different recipes, we bake the eggplant slices to perfection with a crispy coating, avoiding the additional oil from frying. The eggplant seems tender on the within and completely crispy on the skin. Belief me, this dish is so good, that even the meat lovers in your life will probably be asking for seconds.

For one more scrumptious approach to make use of eggplant, give our Oven Roasted Baba Ganoush a attempt!

This dish appears to be like and tastes like one thing you’d order at a elaborate Italian restaurant. Eggplant has a really gentle taste, like spaghetti squash. As a result of it has such a light taste, it’s simply utilized in recipes which have daring flavors. With layers of wealthy marinara sauce, recent mozzarella, and freshly grated parmesan cheese, each chew is filled with gooey, tacky deliciousness.

Ingredient Notes

• Eggplant: Select agency, medium-sized eggplants with easy, shiny pores and skin. They need to really feel heavy for his or her measurement. Slice them into 1/4-inch rounds for even cooking.
• All-Function Flour: Offers the preliminary coating that helps the egg combination and breadcrumbs keep on with the eggplant slices.
• Eggs: Acts because the binding agent for the breadcrumbs to stick to the eggplant slices.
• Panko: Provides further crunch to the coating. You’ll find these within the baking aisle or close to the common breadcrumbs.
• Italian Model Bread Crumbs: These are pre-seasoned with Italian seasoning.
• Marinara Sauce: Use your favourite store-bought model or home made marinara sauce. This provides a wealthy tomato taste to the dish.
• Recent Mozzarella: Sliced recent mozzarella melts the most effective for gooeyness. If utilizing shredded mozzarella, use the identical quantity (8 ounces) and sprinkle evenly.
• Recent Basil: Greatest taste when utilizing recent. If utilizing dried basil, substitute 1 teaspoon dried basil for 1/4 cup recent basil.
• Parmesan: Grating your individual parmesan ensures the freshest taste and ideal melting. Use half within the breadcrumb combination and half for sprinkling on high.

To Peel or To not Peel

The peel of an eggplant is totally edible. Nonetheless, because the eggplant grows larger and matures, the peel might develop into robust and bitter. Folks typically want to peel bigger eggplants due to this, however smaller eggplants just do effective unpeeled. It finally ends up being a matter of non-public desire.

Salting Eggplant

Salting your eggplant slices earlier than cooking is an important step on this recipe. This course of helps draw out extra moisture from the eggplant, which may make it soggy if not eliminated. Moreover, salting helps to take away any potential bitterness, particularly from bigger eggplants. By drawing out the moisture and bitterness, you make sure that your eggplant slices bake up tender on the within and completely crispy on the skin, giving your eggplant parmesan the absolute best texture and taste.

Ideas for Breading

Set Up an Meeting Line: Put together your breading stations prematurely. Have your flour combination, overwhelmed eggs, and breadcrumb combination in separate shallow dishes. This makes the method environment friendly and fewer messy.

Dry the Slices: Make sure that your eggplant slices are well-patted dry after salting. Extra moisture can stop the breading from sticking correctly.

Even Coating: Dredge every eggplant slice within the flour combination first, making certain it’s evenly coated. Shake off any extra flour earlier than dipping it into the overwhelmed eggs. Let any extra egg drip off earlier than shifting on to the breadcrumbs.

Press the Breadcrumbs: When coating the eggplant slices within the breadcrumb combination, press the crumbs gently onto the floor to make sure they adhere effectively. This helps create a thicker, crispier crust.

Watch the video under the place Rachel will stroll you thru each step of this recipe. Typically it helps to have a visible, and we’ve at all times acquired you lined with our cooking present. You’ll find the entire assortment of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or proper right here on our web site with their corresponding recipes.