Eggplant Parmesan is one of my all-time favorite dishes. I like to make the sauce the night before so it has time to cool down, which helps with keeping all the ingredients from falling apart. Feel free to use your favorite tomato sauce and seasoned Italian breadcrumbs (we’ll share our tomato sauce and breadcrumbs recipes with you soon). And for those of you who are more health conscious, you can substitute the deep frying instructions below with an air fryer or baked eggplant method. Whatever method you prefer, make sure to cook the eggplant thoroughly before layering it all together.
Ingredients
- 2 (24-36 ounce) jars of your favorite tomato sauce
- 3 cups Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- 2 large eggplants (cut in 1/4 inch slices)
- 1 block mozzarella cheese (cut into 1/8 inch slices)
- 1 cup parmesan cheese (grated)
- 3/4 cup of all purpose flour (season with 1 tsp salt & 1 tsp Pepper)
- 4-5 beaten eggs
- 5 cups vegetable oil & 1 cup olive oil
- 1 cup of basil leaves
Directions
- Prepare 3 separate shallow containers/pans – 1 with flour, 1 with eggs, and 1 with breadcrumbs. Dip each eggplant slice into the flour, then into the eggs, and immediately into the breadcrumbs.
- Shallow Deep Fy – In a large frying pan, heat up the oils to 375F degrees. Place no more than 3 slices in at one time so they don’t overcrowd – cook for 1 to 2 min per side or until golden brown. Remove from oil and let them cool before moving forward to step 3.
- In a 13″ x 9″ x 2″ deep oven safe pan, pour a light layer of sauce (room temp or from the fridge). Place the eggplant on the sauce in one direction – cut them into pieces to make sure you have a fully covered layer. Place more sauce on the eggplant, a tbsp of grated cheese on top, a few slices of mozzarella, and basil leaves. Begin another layer with eggplant going in the opposite direction and repeat to your preferred thickness (3 layers is ideal). Cover and refrigerate until dinner.
- Place in the oven at 400F for 40–45 min. Take off the foil and cook for another 10-15 min. Remove from oven and let it sit for 10 min. Serve and enjoy!
You can easily turn this dish from vegetarian to vegan by switching from dairy cheeses to nut cheeses, which I’ve found to be just as delicious. Buon Appetito!
