Eggplant Parmesan
There’s something about breaded and fried food that is deeply satisfying, especially when it is homemade. Eggplant Parmesan is one of those dishes for me. It always brings a smile to my family’s faces. Crunchy, coated, meaty eggplant that is slathered with rich tomato sauce, then topped with melty mozzarella and parmesan cheeses is comfort food for sure. Although it is filling, it doesn’t leaving me feeling like I need a nap, as if I just had a holiday meal. Know what I mean?
For years, I made Chicken Parmesan. Also amazingly delicious! Before being diagnosed with celiac disease, I used all-purpose flour and conventional breadcrumbs. Fortunately, it was an easy transition to make it gluten free by using Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free Baking Flour and gluten free bread crumbs. Then more and more of my family and friends stopped eating meat. This prompted me to develop an easy recipe that I could use to make both Eggplant Parmesan and Chicken Parmesan. So if you prefer chicken over eggplant, you can use the same process and ingredients to make both! You will likely need to cook the chicken a bit longer though, depending on its thickness. Other than that, the recipe is the same.
Dust, Dip & Coat
The crispy fried breading is everyone’s favorite part, am I right??? Fortunately this step is easy, although it will take a few minutes. Start by creating 3 dredging pans. One with flour, one with beaten egg and the third with the bread crumb mixture. Have a large sheet pan handy to lay the eggplant pieces on once they are breaded. Then begin by cutting the eggplant into ½” rounds. Dust them on all sides with flour, then dip them into the beaten egg. Finally, coat them with the bread crumb mixture evenly on all sides. Place them on the baking tray while you get ready to fry them.
One note about preparing the eggplant. A kind viewer, Jimmy, wrote to me after seeing this recipe and brought something to my attention. Salting the eggplant prior to breading it yields a better texture and more flavor. This is an extra step that I left out to save time, but after reading his email, I realized that it was absolutely worth mentioning! It will also help the breading adhere to the eggplant because it has more moisture for the dry ingredients to stick to.
So what do you do to salt it? After slicing it, simply sprinkle it with salt on both sides. Let it sit on a paper towel lined baking sheet for an hour or so. Beads of moisture will appear, the color of the eggplant may change some and it may become a little thinner. Wipe the salt off with paper towels or rinse the eggplant and pat dry with paper towels. Then proceed with breading the eggplant as the recipe states. If you have the extra time and want to give it a shot, great! If you are short on time, I promise that it won’t ruin the dish if you don’t.
Fry, Top & Bake
Heat a large frying pan with a generous coating of olive oil over medium high heat. Once the oil has heated up, place as many pieces of breaded eggplant in the pan as you can, leaving enough room to flip them. Cook in batches, allowing them to brown on each side then transferring them to a greased or lined baking tray. Once all pieces are fried, spread a few spoonfuls of marinara sauce on top of each piece. Cover with a generous mound of mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Finally, the tray goes in the oven and the Eggplant Parmesan bakes until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.
On the Side
Fettuccine Alfredo, Pesto Zoodles, Roasted Gourmet Potatoes, Buratta Salad and Italian Style Quinoa Casserole would all be fantastic side dishes for Eggplant Parmesan. If meat or fish is in your meal plan, Italian Wedding Soup, Perfect Thyme Chicken, Broiled Salmon with Creamy Basil Sauce or Italian Style Meatballs would be fantastic as well.
Eggplant Parmesan
Click Stars to Rate Recipe:Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants
- 1 cup Gluten Free flour blend (I use Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free Baking Flour)
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups unseasoned gluten free bread crumbs
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp kosher or sea salt
- ½ tsp ground pepper
- olive oil (for coating the pan)
- 2 cups marinara sauce (jarred or homemade)
- 16 oz shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese
- 8 oz shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- In a shallow dish, combine gluten free bread crumbs, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. In 2 other separate shallow dishes, place beaten eggs and gluten free flour.
- Slice the ends off of the eggplants, then slice each eggplant into ½” rounds. Dust each piece with flour, then dip into beaten egg, then coat with the bread crumb mixture. Set these aside on a baking tray while heating a large skillet or griddle generously coated with olive oil.
- Fry each piece of breaded eggplant until golden brown on each side. You may need to cook these in batches and add more oil between batches.
- When all pieces have been fried nicely, place the cooked eggplant in a single layer on a greased or lined baking tray. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of marinara on top of each piece of eggplant, then generously top with shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and as browned as you like it.
