Baked Eggplant Parmesan
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Published Sep 16, 2019, Updated Sep 02, 2022
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Make a healthy baked eggplant parmesan with crispy almond flour-coated eggplant slices that are baked — no frying or bread crumbs needed!
Isaac loves eggplant parmesan. His love inspired me to create a healthier homemade version that isn’t fried or loaded down with oil. I decided take things a step further and make this dish grain-free and gluten-free as well by using almond flour instead of bread crumbs. If you have a nut allergy or don’t have almond flour on hand, don’t fret! I tested this recipe with almond flour and bread crumbs and both versions turned out perfectly so you can use whichever you prefer!
Obviously we love the final result, but I also have to mention how tasty the baked eggplant is on it’s own! It’s almond flour parmesan coating makes it crispy and so tasty. It would honestly be an awesome appetizer on it’s own, served with a side of tomato sauce for dipping.
Ingredients in Healthy Eggplant Parmesan
Before making eggplant parmesan myself at home I thought it was much harder and required more ingredients than it actually does. Turns out, the process is pretty simple and you need less than 10 ingredients to whip it up. Here’s what you need for this healthier baked version:
- eggplants
- eggs
- almond flour – if you don’t want to use almond flour you can also use bread crumbs
- cheese – we’re using two different types of cheese, parmesan and mozzarella
- seasonings – Italian seasoning, salt and pepper
- marinara sauce – you can certainly make your own, but I used jarred sauce for mine
- fresh basil – don’t skip the fresh basil. It takes this eggplant parm to another level
How to Make Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Like I mentioned before, the process of making eggplant parm is way easier than I thought! And to keep things really easy, healthier and less messy, we’re baking the eggplant instead of frying it.
First things first, preheat your oven. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray. Next, prep an assembly line for the baked eggplant. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the almond flour, parmesan, Italian seasoning and sea salt. In another shallow bowl whisk the eggs with water, salt and pepper.
Dip the eggplant slices into the egg wash and let the excess liquid drip away. Then sprinkle a little of the almond flour parmesan mixture on each side. I highly recommend sprinkling it rather than dredging the wet eggplant slices into the almond flour mixture. This keeps the dry mixture from getting too wet, which results in a clumpy mixture that won’t stick to the eggplant!
Place the coated eggplant slices onto the baking sheet and spray tops lightly with cooking spray (which helps with browning!). Bake until the eggplant slices are soft on the inside and golden and crispy on the outside, about 30 minutes, flipping around the 15 minute mark.
When the eggplant slices are done baking, it’s time to layer! Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce to the bottom of a large baking dish. Add an even layer of baked eggplant slices. Add another 1 cup of sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Top with another layer of baked eggplant slices and another cup of sauce. The final layer will be the mozzarella and parmesan cheese and the rest of the fresh basil. Phew! So many delicious layers. Bake the eggplant parmesan dish uncovered until the top is bubbly and golden.
That’s it! Remove the eggplant parmesan from the oven, cut, serve and enjoy.
Want to Make This Dairy-Free?
If you don’t eat dairy I recommend finding a dairy-free shredded mozzarella. There are quite a few brands on the market now, including Daiya Foods. And for the parmesan, you can try my vegan parmesan made with hemp seeds.
Like This Recipe? Here Are More Casserole Recipes You Might Enjoy!
- Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa Casserole
- Confetti Chicken Casserole
- Cheesy Mexican Quinoa Casserole
- Tuna Noodle Casserole
More Pasta Recipes to Try
- Spaghetti Squash Baked Feta Pasta
- One-Skillet Enchilada Pasta
- Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Creamy Walnut Pasta Sauce with Spaghetti Squash Noodles
- Roasted Butternut Squash Pasta with Tahini Sauce
- Lightened-Up Penne alla Vodka
- Creamy Pumpkin Pasta
Be sure to check out the full collection of dinner recipes on EBF!
Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant or 2 small/medium eggplants, sliced into 1/2″ thick rounds
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup almond flour*
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan, divided*
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ground black pepper
- 1 24 ounce jar marinara sauce, (about 3 cups)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella*
- ⅓ cups thinly sliced basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray. In a shallow bowl, whisk together almond flour, ½ cup Parmesan, Italian seasoning and ½ teaspoon sea salt.
- In another shallow bowl, whisk eggs with 2 Tablespoons water and sprinkle on a little salt and pepper.
- Dip an eggplant slice into the egg wash and let any excess drip off. Then sprinkle the almond flour parmesan mixture over each side of the eggplant slice. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat to coat all eggplant slices. NOTE: Be sure to sprinkle the mixture on rather than dredging the wet eggplant slices into the almond flour mixture. This keeps the dry mixture from getting too wet, which results in a clumpy mixture that won't stick to the eggplant!
- Spray tops lightly with cooking spray.
- Bake until soft inside, and golden and crisp on the outside, about 30 minutes, flipping around the 15 minute mark.
- In a large baking dish (I used 9×11), add 1 cup of marinara and spread evenly. Add an even layer of baked eggplant slices. If needed, you can cut some of the slices in half to fill the baking dish. Add another 1 cup of sauce and spread evenly over eggplant slices. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella, ¼ cup of the remaining Parmesan and 1/4 cup fresh basil. Top with another layer of baked eggplant slices and spread on 1 cup of sauce. Top with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, ¼ cup parmesan and remaining fresh basil.
- Bake, uncovered, until top is bubbly and golden, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Video
Notes
- If you have a nut allergy, feel free to use 1 cup of bread crumbs instead of the almond flour.
- If you want to keep this dairy-free, use dairy-free cheese options.
- Inspired by Eating Well Magazine.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is on a regular rotation with my family!! All 5 of us love it!
Yay! I am so glad that you and the family are loving this recipe, Katie. Thank you so much for sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
This came out amazing. Easy to make and my entire family loved it.
WOO! I am so excited to hear that you and your family are loving this recipe, Molly. Thank you for your review + star rating, I really means a lot to me!
We all loved the eggplant parmesan. Ended up using Michaels of Brooklyn jarred marinara sauce, since that was what the store carried that was GF. It literally tasted like it was made from scratch. Haven’t made this since having AI problems and it was really delightful!
YAY! I love that this recipe was a hit, Susan! Thank you for your review + star rating, I so appreciate it.
Owsome recipe I tried it. My all family members is love this recipe thank you so much for wonder ful recipe
Excellent, I am so happy to hear that this recipe is a hit, Mahesh. Thank you for your review & star rating, I so appreciate it.
We have eggplant in our garden and my husband wanted eggplant parm! Needed a healthy version and this hit all the marks!! Thank you for an excellent recipe! Will definitely make it again!! Loved the almond flour sprinkle.
Oh YUM! Having fresh eggplant from the garden is a bonus! I am very happy to hear that this recipe is a hit, Lisa. Thank you for for your review + star rating, I so appreciate you being here!
I just recently had eggplant parm at a restaurant for the first time and liked it, so I knew I had to try your recipe!! It’s seriously so good and really simple too!!
Ahh yay!! So glad you loved this recipe, Ali. Thanks for making it and for the review. I so appreciate it!
Excellent recipe kept simple 5 stars for sure
Yay! I am so happy that you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for coming back and leaving your review + star rating, I appreciate it very much!
I’ve made the baked eggplant Parmesan recipe many times and it always comes out absolutely delicious. It’s healthy too. I’m making it during Passover as almond flour is acceptable to use rather than flour or Pablo crumbs. I use Bellwether Farms Ricotta cheese and Stefano burrata cheese to make it even more delectable. My family loves this recipe!
Thank you!
I am so, so glad to hear that you and your family love this recipe, Helaine! Thank you so much for sharing, I really appreciate it 🙂
Just made the eggplant parmigiana…. So so delicious! I did make my own marinara sauce as well. My husband is totally getting hooked on anything i make from eatingbirdfood.com 😍😍😍
Woo! Love to hear that, Berangere!! Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review, it really means so much to me! 🙂
Wonderful! Love that this is baked and not fried and the use of almond flour was a great substitute! Family-friendly and enjoyed by everyone! I know so many love Rao’s as a prepared sauce, so a tip that an Italian cook shared with me-blend it first for dishes like this or lasagna-it’s smooth and tasty.
Yay! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed this, Ava. Thank you for sharing the tip on blending Rao’s first, I’ll have to try it!