Easy Eggplant Parmesan

We love this easy eggplant parmesan recipe with roasted eggplant slices, tomato sauce, parmesan cheese, mozzarella, and a crunchy bread crumb topping. No salting or breading required. This eggplant parm is easy to make and is perfect for making in advance.

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We Love This Lighter, Easier Eggplant Parmesan

In more traditional eggplant parmesan, breaded and fried eggplant is layered with tomato sauce and cheese, and then baked until bubbly. This is very similar to traditional chicken parmesan. In our slightly modified version, we skip breading the eggplant and roast it instead.

Then the perfectly cooked eggplant is layered with parmesan, mozzarella, tomato sauce, and finished with crunchy breadcrumbs. This easier eggplant parmesan tastes just as delicious, but there’s no messy breading to contend with and it’s a little lighter on the calories.

We aren’t against the more authentic way to make eggplant parm, but this method is the one we go to the most. It’s quicker, easier, tastes amazing, and requires less clean up. Let me walk you through how we make it!

Here are more eggplant recipes we love: Our family’s favorite roasted eggplant and this amazing roasted eggplant dip (baba ganoush)

Eggplant Parmesan Recipe Ingredients

As I mentioned above, this isn’t exactly authentic, but all the traditional elements are there. Here’s what you’ll need for the recipe:

Eggplant slices — Instead of salting, breading and frying, we roast thick slices of eggplant in a hot oven until golden brown and perfectly cooked in the middle. We love roasting eggplant since it develops so much flavor.

Tomato sauce — You can use store-bought tomato sauce, a homemade marinara sauce or try our tomato and pepper sauce shown in the video and the recipe below. If you do make our homemade sauce, it won’t add too much extra time, in fact, it can be made in the time it takes to roast the eggplant.

Cheese — Parmesan is a must and I prefer the taste of Parmigiano Reggiano that I’ve grated myself. We also add some mozzarella to the casserole before baking, but this is optional. If you are dairy-free or vegan, try a sprinkling of nutritional yeast between the layers instead.

Bread crumbs — Instead of breading the eggplant, we scatter breadcrumbs over the top of the casserole dish before baking. As the eggplant parmesan bakes in the oven, the breadcrumbs crisp up and turn golden. Store-bought breadcrumbs work well for this, but if you want to add a bit more texture and flavor, try these homemade bread crumbs instead. For gluten-free or eggplant without bread crumbs, simply leave them off.

How to Make Baked Eggplant Parmesan

The video above walks you through every step of the recipe. It’s not a difficult recipe to make and it tastes incredible in the end. Here are a few photos to show you some of the main steps:

First, roast slices of eggplant. It’s incredibly simple to do and ensures a deeply flavorful, creamy slice of eggplant when it’s done. Some recipes for eggplant parm require you to salt and set aside your eggplant slices for 30 minutes or more before breading and frying, but since we are roasting our eggplant, this step isn’t necessary. (A major time savor!)

I like using a hot oven, somewhere between 400 degrees and 450 degrees Fahrenheit. If your oven tends to run hot, stick to the lower end of the range so that you don’t burn the eggplant slices. When cut into 1/2-inch slices, the eggplant should take 35 to 45 minutes to roast with one flip in the middle. These can also be roasted in advance. Roasted eggplant slices should be kept in an airtight container and stored in the fridge. You might also enjoy our family’s favorite recipe for roasted eggplant.

For the sauce, you can use store-bought or homemade. When I have access to fresh tomatoes and bell peppers, I love the flavor of this ultra simple sauce.

Basically, throw sliced garlic, chopped tomato and peppers into a pan with some salt, and then simmer until they release their juices and the liquid in the pan has cooked down. Once this happens (after 25 minutes or so), transfer everything to a food processor or blender and blend with some olive oil and fresh basil. The sauce tastes fresh and works beautifully with the roasted eggplant.

Just like the roasted eggplant slices, this sauce can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to use it. This easy red pasta sauce would also be delicious in this recipe.

Assembling Eggplant Parmesan

Assembling is simple and can be done in less than five minutes. Here’s how we do it:

1. Spread a third of the sauce over the bottom of a 13-inch by 9-inch (or use another shaped baking dish that’s on the larger side).
2. Layer half of the roasted eggplant slices on top of the sauce.
3. Scatter with a third of the parmesan and half of the mozzarella cheese.
4. Drizzle another third of the sauce — watch the video for how we do it. I like to just drizzle the sauce in places and not completely cover the sliced eggplant.
5. Layer the remaining eggplant slices, another third of the parmsan and the remaining mozzarella cheese.
6. Drizzle the top with the rest of the sauce.
7. Finish by scattering the remaining parmesan cheese on top as well as some bread crumbs.

When assembled, bake until the sauce and cheese are bubbly. Serve with pasta, veggies, or make eggplant parmesan sandwiches!

Make Ahead Tips

Making and assembling a day in advance — All of the eggplant parmesan components, with the exception of the bread crumbs, can be assembled the day before you plan to bake it. Tightly wrap the casserole dish and refrigerate overnight. When you are ready to bake it, unwrap the dish, sprinkle over the bread crumbs and bake until the sauce and cheese are bubbly.

Making a few days in advance — Roasted eggplant slices and the homemade sauce can both be made 3 to 4 days in advance. Store them separately in airtight containers in the fridge. (If you make your own bread crumbs, they can also be made in advance. See our bread crumbs recipe for our tips.)

Making more than a few days in advance — Roasted eggplant slices freeze well. Place a piece of wax paper or parchment paper between the slices and store in an airtight bag or container. The eggplant will last in the freezer for 3 to 4 months. Homemade tomato sauce also freezes well. Let it cool completely, and then place into freezer-safe containers. The sauce will last in the freezer for 3 to 4 months.

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