This Easy Eggplant Parmesan is a deliciously cheesy vegetarian meal idea made with fresh eggplants, savoury parmesan and mozzarella cheese, and an easy homemade tomato sauce! 
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There’s nothing like a good comfort food meal – especially when it’s Italian! This Easy Eggplant Parmesan is such a delicious dish that’s packed with veggies, delicious cheese, and tons of flavour. Trust me, you’re going to LOVE it!
This year for Christmas my husband signed me up for one of Jamie Oliver’s online cooking classes. It was a super fun activity for this food-loving home chef, and this Easy Eggplant Parmesan is my simplified version of the recipe I learned to make that day! It’s pretty easy to make and the flavour payoff is absolutely incredible! 
How to Make Eggplant Parmesan
- Fry the eggplant slices first. Frying the eggplant slices in a small amount of olive oil before layering with the cheese and sauce ensures the eggplant doesn’t give off too much moisture while baking. It also adds flavour!
- Cook down the sauce. Let the sauce cook down until it’s almost a jam-like consistency. This will prevent your eggplant parmesan from becoming too watery as it bakes.
- Add lots of cheese! Cheese is the star of the show in this dish – add lots of parmesan and mozzarella!
- Bake to perfection. Layer and bake until the cheese on the top is a beautiful golden brown, and if the cheese browns too fast simply cover it with a bit of foil until the eggplant parmesan is cooked through.
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I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite vegetarian meal idea? I’d love to know!
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Looking for MORE vegetarian meal ideas? You’ll love these!
- Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas
- Creamy Mushroom Pasta
- Easy Mushroom Risotto
- Marinated Tofu Veggie Skewers
- Vegetarian Pot Pie
- Cauliflower Soup with Roasted Red Peppers
- Carrot Ginger Soup
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Easy Eggplant Parmesan
Recipe: Ingredients
For the tomato sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 3 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
- a few pinches each of salt and pepper
For the eggplant:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 medium eggplants cut into slices approximately 1 centimetre thick
For assembly:
- 18 ounces fresh mozzarella
- 1 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
- fresh basil leaves for serving (optional)
Recipe: Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a large 9-inch by 13-inch pan (or equivalent) by greasing it with a little bit of olive oil or cooking spray. Set aside.
- Heat a large pot over medium high heat and add the olive oil and butter.
- When the pan is heated and the butter has melted add the onion, garlic and spices, cooking until the onion is soft and translucent (about 3-4 minutes).
- Add the tomato paste and the wine and continue to stir, cooking until most of the liquid from the wine cooks off.
- Add the diced tomatoes and salt and pepper, and stir well. Let the sauce cook well over medium high heat (stirring often) for about 20 minutes until it reaches a jam-like consistency. If your canned diced tomatoes are very watery it's a good idea to strain them a little bit before adding to the pot.
- While the sauce cooks down, heat a large skillet over high heat.
- Brush the eggplant slices with olive oil on both sides and fry them in the hot skillet for about one minute or so per side, until they darken in colour. Remove them to a plate after frying and set aside.
Assembly and Baking:
- Once the sauce has cooked down and the eggplant slices have been fried, layer some of the eggplant slices in the bottom of the prepared baking dish and top with a layer of sauce, then some mozzarella and parmesan cheese. You'll have enough for about 4 layers (depending on the size and dimensions of your baking dish), so use 1/4 of each component in each layer. Layer the ingredients in this order: eggplant slices, then sauce, then cheese, etc.
- Top the final layer of sauce with the remaining cheese.
- Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 35-40 minutes until the cheese on top is golden brown and the sauce is bubbly.
- Let sit for about 5-7 minutes before slicing and serving.
Recipe: Notes
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This turned out great! Wonderful flavour and texture.
So glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
I have seen 2 different types of eggplants, the long skinny ones and the fat ones. Which one is good for this recipe?
The only difference that would make is the size of the eggplant slices, so use whichever you can get easily in your local grocery store. I usually use the ones with a fatter end, because that’s what’s readily available where I live. But they should perform the same way in this recipe. Happy cooking!