Grandma's Baked Eggplant Parmesan is a delicious twist on a classic family favorite. You've never had eggplant parm like this!
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Now this is not your typical eggplant parmesan. You know what I'm talking about. The kind of eggplant parmesan recipe that involves breaking and deep frying. Sure, it's delicious. But it's not this and that's ok. They both have their place.
Now the place for my Grandma Rose's baked eggplant is on a family dinner table along with a big bowl of pasta, extra sauce and perhaps some meatballs. A table with adults and children and friends and family that is full of love and lots of laughter.
This eggplant parm recipe is not breaded. In addition to absence of bread crumbs, it also does not get deep fried, although there is a bit of frying on your part. That's probably the most labor intensive part of this recipe, but it really isn't too bad at all.
So instead of fried, crispy, thick slices of eggplant, you get delightfully thin slices of peeled eggplant. You dip them into flour and then egg which creates a light coating that doesn't leave your feeling heavy and weighed down the way deep fried foods do. The slices are then pan fried until they are golden, drained on a paper towel-lined plate and layered in a 9" x 13" pan
with sauce and cheese to create a sort of eggplant lasagna.
So I'm going to show you how to make eggplant parmesan my Grandma's way.
FAQ's about Grandma's Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Can this be made ahead? Yes. To an extent. I actually fried off my eggplant slices the night before, made the sauce in advance and assembled it just before baking. The real work is in the frying of the slices anyway, the rest is super quick and easy.
Is eggplant parmesan good for you? This is kind of a loaded question, because everyone has a different idea of what "good for you" means. I'd say it's a little bit healthier than your typical restaurant eggplant parm, since it's not breaded and deep fried. But I wouldn't necessarily refer to this as "healthy."
What do you serve with eggplant parmesan? I like it with a big pot of pasta and some meatballs and pork. Just like Grandma did.
What kind of sauce do you use for this? I use this crazy easy marinara sauce recipe but meat sauce is also amazing if you have the time and energy to go for the gold.
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Grandma’s Baked Eggplant Parmesan Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants peeled and sliced very thin (around ¼ inch max.)
- 5-6 large eggs you may need more
- 1 cup flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil
- 3 cups marinara sauce
- ½ cup grated Romano cheese or Parmesan
- 1 ¼ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Place the flour into a wide, shallow bowl and add salt and pepper to taste, mixing well.
- Place the eggs into another wide, shallow bowl and whisk to mix the yolks and whites.
- Begin heating a couple Tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat in the pan (I use two pans to make it go quicker).
- While the oil heats, begin by dredging each slice of eggplant in the flour.
- Tap off the excess flour and then soak it for a moment in egg so that all sides are fully covered.
- Tap off the excess egg and fry each slice of egg plant in the pan until golden on each side, around a few minutes of each side. make sure to adjust the heat as needed and add more oil to the pan as needed (these tend to suck up the oil pretty quickly so you will need more).
- Once each side is golden, drain the eggplant slices on a paper towel lined plate.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Ladle a thin layer of marinara sauce on the bottom of the baking pan.
- Add a layer of egg plant.
- Top it with a thin layer of sauce.
- Sprinkle some of the Romano cheese on top.
- Reheat these layers 3-4 times until you're out of eggplant slices.
- Sprinkle this with shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 30-45 minutes or until bubbly. Serve immediately.
Another great recipe from my grandma is this one:
I also love this recipe from my Grandma:
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