The whole family will love this classic eggplant parmesan! Slices of tender eggplant coated in homemade breadcrumbs, and then layered with melted cheeses & rich marinara! Whether you’d like to bake or fry the eggplant, this recipe has a method for both.
Growing up, I adored eggplant parm! No matter how laborious the cooking process was, it was always worth it in the end.
If you’ve never had it, eggplant parmesan is an Italian dish made up of slices of eggplant coated in flour and breadcrumbs, then baked in layers of rich marinara and melted cheese! It’s a must-try for any Italian food lovers.
It’s just like chicken parmigiana – but made vegetarian with eggplant instead of chicken!
I used a simple homemade breadcrumb recipe versus store-bought breadcrumbs for this recipe. This is a small change that really elevated the flavor and texture of the whole dish!
There are also two methods to make this dish – fried or baked. Frying the eggplant will mean using quite a bit of oil to brown the breaded eggplant. Baking the breaded eggplant on a tray in the oven requires a lot less oil, and is a little bit lighter and healthier! Either way you go, the dish will be exceptionally delicious.
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Ingredients You Need
Below you’ll find a photo of the ingredients and the information for each ingredient listed to help assist you in your cooking.
Use the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients and measurements.
Eggplant – also known in some countries as aubergine, is a purple fruit that is slightly firm on the outside but spongey on the inside. When baked, it becomes soft with a rich and meaty flavor. You’ll need two large eggplants – the bigger the eggplant, the bigger your serving of eggplant parmesan will be.
Breadcrumbs – are used to bread the eggplant and give it a nice crust. We like to use homemade breadcrumbs to give the best texture and taste, this also allows you to use any bread you like. Learn how to make breadcrumbs with our recipe!
Parmigianno Reggiano – is used to flavor the breadcrumb mixture and sprinkle throughout the dish. Since this dish has parmesan in the title, it’s the key ingredient for flavor! Use authentic, freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano for best results.
Marinara – for spreading on the bottom of the dish, as well as layering throughout to bring moisture and beautiful tomato flavor to the recipe! We like to use our San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh tomato sauce, or our favorite store-bought sauce.
Mozzarella – fresh slices of mozzarella are layered in the eggplant parmesan, as well as on top. Fresh cheese will melt beautifully versus pre-shredded cheese.
Eggs – to help the breading mixture stick to the eggplant. For a vegan option, some readers have used almond milk with success.
Flour – to coat the eggplant before adding the breading. This helps the breadcrumbs stick to the eggplant better! Use all-purpose, white whole wheat, or your favorite gluten-free flour blend.
Garlic powder – for seasoning the breadcrumb mixture.
Italian herbs – this dry blend of herbs brings herbaceous flavor to the breadcrumb mixture.
Fresh basil & oregano – to sprinkle on the finished dish once it’s ready! This will add a bright, herby flavor.
How to Make Eggplant Parmesan – Step by Step
Salt + “sweat” excess moisture from the eggplant.
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Salt the eggplant. After slicing the eggplant into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick cuts, sprinkle with coarse salt and let the salt sit for 10 minutes. This helps release excess moisture from the eggplant.
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Pat the eggplant dry. Then use paper towels to pat the eggplant dry, wiping off the additional salt as well.
Bread the eggplant. Assemble three bowls with flour, whisked eggs, and breadcrumb mixture.
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Dip in flour. First, coat the eggplant with flour on both sides and along the skin-side.
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Dip in egg-mixture. Then transfer to the whisked eggs, and coat on both sides.
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Coat in breadcrumbs. Transfer to the breadcrumb bowl and lightly pack the breadcrumbs using your hands. Shake off excess crumbs and arrange on a sheet pan. (if you are baking the eggplant and not frying it, make sure the sheet pan is brushed with oil ahead of time).
Two ways to brown the eggplant
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Baking method: Preheat the oven to 350F, and arrange the breaded eggplant slices on a sheet pan brushed with olive oil. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
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Pan fry method: in a skillet with 1-2 Tablespoons of oil at a time, brown breaded eggplant for 2-3 minutes on each side. Repeat until all of the eggplant is finished. Place on paper towels after browning to absorb the extra oils.
Assemble in a baking dish
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Layer a baking dish with sauce. In a large baking dish, spread a layer of marinara on the bottom.
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Add browned eggplant slices. Then on top of the sauce, add a layer of breaded and browned eggplant slices that were either baked or fried.
Layer with cheese and sauce. Then bake!
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Layer with mozzarella. Top each of the browned eggplant slices with mozzarella cheese.
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Layer with sauce. Top with a spoonful of marinara sauce.
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Top with parmesan, then bake. Then sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Repeat the layers: eggplant, mozzarella, sauce, then parmesan. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 400F. Top with fresh basil and oregano before serving.
Types of sauce to use – I recommend serving this dish with quality marinara sauce! I love using our San Marzano tomato sauce for a homemade sauce or using our favorite store-bought marinara. You can also spice up the dish and use our homemade arrabbiata sauce.
How to avoid soggy eggplant parmesan – one of the biggest reasons eggplant parm comes out “soggy” is because it’s covered in sauce. You can always serve this dish with extra sauce on the side! But I recommend only spooning enough to cover the top of the eggplant so that the crispiness from the breading can be preserved while it bakes.
Types of flours for dredging – I recommend I finely ground flour for dredging the eggplant such as all-purpose, white whole wheat, gluten-free flour blend, or oat flour.
Make it gluten-free – use a gluten-free flour blend for dredging eggplant and either store-bought gluten-free breadcrumbs or make homemade breadcrumbs with your favorite gluten-free bread.
How to avoid “tough” eggplant – in some cases, the eggplant parm can come out tough in texture, meaning it’s underdone/undercooked. To avoid this, make sure eggplant cuts are no thicker than 1/2 inch. Shoot between 1/4 to 1/2 inch in thickness to ensure they’re fully cooked!
Types of bread to use for homemade breadcrumbs – this recipe includes a homemade breadcrumb recipe that is super easy to make! The types of bread you can use are endless. You can make it with healthier grain bread, white bread, your favorite gluten-free brand, or Ezekiel bread. For this recipe, I used this specific grain bread.
Do I have to peel the eggplant before cooking? Eggplant skin is completely edible and gives the vegetables a “meatier” texture when cooked. But this comes down to preference, if you prefer no skin you can peel it.
How to Freeze & Store Leftovers
Keep leftovers fresh: refrigerate them in an airtight container for 3-5 days if you’re not freezing leftovers. Reheat in the oven at 350F until warm or microwave.
How to Freeze (three ways)
Freeze fried/baked eggplant: if you have extra breaded & cooked eggplant leftover, you can store it flat in freezer-friendly bags (layered with parchment paper) and freeze for up to 1-2 months to make at another time.
Freeze before baking: Assemble eggplant parmesan as the recipe instructs, but don’t bake it. Cover with plastic wrap, then cover with foil and freeze for up to 1 month. Then thaw at room temperature and bake when ready to eat!
Freeze leftovers: Assemble eggplant parmesan as the recipe instructs and bake it. Store leftovers in airtight containers and freeze for up to 1 month – thaw at room temperature and reheat in the oven at 400F until warm.
What to Serve it With
There are many things to serve eggplant parmesan alongside, but here are some of our favorite pairings.
Pasta. Noodles of any shape are a classic pairing with eggplant parmesan! We love serving this with whole wheat or regular pasta such as rigatoni, radiatori, fusilli, rotini, penne, or spaghetti. You can also use gluten-free noodles too!
Salad. We always love pairing eggplant parmesan with a Mediterranean or Italian-style salad, such as our Tuscan artichoke salad, chickpea Greek salad, or our Tuscan Panzanella salad. For a pasta & salad combo, you can pair it with our Italian pasta salad!
Bread. A crusty Italian bread, french banquette, or homemade sourdough loaf makes for the perfect vessel for scooping up any tomato sauce that gets left behind!
Vegetables. To add some color, we love to serve this with roasted, sauteed, or grilled vegetables! Whether sauteed Brussels sprouts, zucchini, roasted asparagus, or a medley of your favorite seasonal vegetables.
More Italian Eggplant Recipes
- Baked Eggplant Rollatini
- Eggplant Lasagna
- 6 Ingredient Roasted Eggplant Pasta
- Roasted Eggplant Meatballs
Classic Eggplant Parmesan
Ingredients
Eggplant
- 2 medium to large eggplants
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (see notes)
- 3 eggs
- 1/4 cup olive oil (for fried eggplant method)
Homemade Breadcrumbs
- 6 bread slices (about 1 1/2 cups – see notes) for more info use our homemade breadcrumb recipe.
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 2 teaspoons Italian herb blend
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (each) salt & black pepper
Toppings
- 1 1/2 cups marinara if you like a lot of sauce you can aim for 2 to 2 1/2 cups of sauce
- 1 lb mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 1-2 Tablespoons fresh basil chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano chopped
Instructions
- Slice eggplant: remove stem from eggplant then slice into 1/4-1/2 inch thick slices.
- Sweat eggplant: arrange slices on a pan and sprinkle with a pinch of coarse salt on both sides. Let sit and "sweat" excess moisture for 10 minutes. Pat firmly with paper towels to dry eggplant thoroughly (wipe off salt as well).
- Breadcrumbs: toast slices of bread. Then chop in food processor until consistency is crumbs. Mix breadcrumbs in a bowl with garlic powder, salt & pepper, Italian herbs, and shredded parmesan cheese. Tip: If you are not making your own breadcrumbs, use 1 1/2 cups of store-bought breadcrumbs instead.
- Bread eggplant: arrange three bowls containing whisked eggs, flour, and breadcrumb mixture. First, coat eggplant in flour on both sides, then dip into eggs, and then dip into breadcrumbs – pack onto eggplant and then gently shake off excess crumbs. Wipe hands with paper towel then repeat. Tip: if baking eggplant instead of frying, brush a sheet pan with 1-2 Tablespoons of oil and arrange breaded eggplant onto pan as you coat them.
- Pan frying method: in a skillet pan, add 1-2 Tablespoons of oil at a time, and cook breaded eggplant for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Lay on paper towels to soak up excess oil. Repeat until all eggplant has been fried.Baking method: instead of pan frying you can also bake the eggplant to use less oil. Preheat oven to 350F and arrange breaded slices onto sheet pan that is brushed with 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Bake for 25 minutes until golden.
- Assemble: in a large casserole dish, spread a generous layer of marinara on the bottom. Then layer: eggplant slices, mozzarella, a spoonful of marinara, and shredded parmesan. Repeat an additional layer (breaded eggplant, mozzarella, marinara, and shredded parmesan).
- Bake: Then bake at 400F uncovered for 30 minutes until cheese is browned and melted. Top with chopped fresh basil & oregano, and serve!
Video
Fantastic! I’m a pretty good cook but have never made Eggplant Parmesan. It was a huge hit. And easy.
I didn’t try the bake method for the eggplant slices, but the pan fried will always be my choice, I think. That texture really adds to the dish.
Also, those tips for the marinara was a game changer for me.
So happy to hear that, Carol. Thank you so much for sharing!
I’m not real daring – so zero modifications. I made this following the recipe and instructions exactly – including making my own bread crumbs because I had bread that needed to be used and I also did do the fry method. I should also say I’ve never commented on a recipe but had to this time. This was the best eggplant plant Parmesan that I’ve ever eaten – including ordering it at numerous restaurants!! Thank you for the recipe. I will be making this again. I have left overs – I hope they warm up as delicious.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share – thrilled you enjoyed the recipe so much! Homemade breadcrumbs are a small addition but they make such a delicious difference in this recipe. Thanks so much for the kind words!
Loved this recipe!
Question! If I made extra eggplant and breaded/fried it. What’s the best way to eat? Should I thaw or put in the oven directly?
Hi Reese, so happy you enjoyed it! I’m assuming the breaded eggplant is frozen? If that’s the case, I like to thaw it just a little so it’s not frozen solid, then heat it in the oven (layered with sauce and cheese) until hot. If you find at all the frozen eggplant is taking longer, you can cover it for a little of the cook time to trap the moisture and speed up the cooking process. Hope this helps!
Made this yesterday. Loved it. Definitely will make again. This is perfect for a household who has vegetarians and non vegetarians sharing meals.
Love to hear it, Endre! Thanks so much for sharing:)
Such a great recipe!
However, I ended up burning the sauce at the bottom of the dish. It was still delicious. How can I stop from burning the sauce the next time I make this? Maybe add olive oil before the marinara sauce or cook at a lower temp for a little longer?
Hi Jay, you can add more sauce and also you could lower the temperature to 350-375F and cook it longer like you suggested. That should help it! Every oven is going to cook differently. My new ovens cook dishes a lot quicker then the precious ovens I used. So, you can make those changes and that should help!
Planning on making for Christmas I see a comment that you can make in advance and freeze. Do you fully assemble before freezing? Can it be done if using the baking method vs frying method?
Hi Karen, Yes you can fully assemble everything and then freeze, thaw it then bake it completely. And this can be done with both the baking or frying method! Hope this helps 🙂
Very good work. especially egg recipe which is very interesting and delicious . I shall try it at home keep it up. Mushrooms also have Good Mushrooms you can also write on it
This is the perfect recipe. In the past month I have made it 3 times. My husband and I just love it! Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that, Lisa! Thanks so much for sharing.
Currently making this for the second time. Absolutely loved it the first time. I used panko bread crumbs. The first time I used preshredded Parmesan cheese and felt like it didn’t melt as good as I wanted. This time I shredded my own cheese and anticipate it to be even better!
So happy to hear you loved it, Zarah! Fresh parmesan definitely melts better. I hope you enjoy it the second time around 🙂
I halved the recipe for a 9×9 casserole and it was DELICIOUS! I baked the eggplant pre Parmesan to save on stovetop splatter. I should have turned the slices about 15 minutes into baking time for more even golden breading but still nothing short of amazing! Will make again!!
Thank you so much for sharing, Rebecca! So happy to hear you enjoyed it 🙂
Hi!
I want to prep this in advance for dinner! I was wondering if I pan fry the eggplant, then assemble with cheese, then put it covered in fridge to bake for later!
So excited ti try!
Hi Ilene, you can definitely do that! It might take away from of the crisp from the breaded eggplant, but that works just fine! 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!
I have made this numerous times and my younger son who is picky evens loves this eggplant parmesean. I’m making this again tomorrow night. Yum!
I’m so glad this recipe was enjoyed by your family, Anne! Thanks so much for sharing!