This Eggplant Casserole is my very favorite way to cook eggplant. It is a Baked Eggplant Parmesan that is stacked in a deep casserole dish. The cooking is all done in the oven, so the recipe is not greasy at all.
The Parmesan eggplant casserole is fabulous served as a vegetarian main course, buffet item or makes a great side dish for a big Italian meal. This casserole is my favorite way to eat eggplant parmesan!
Eggplant Casserole
While I enjoy regular Eggplant Parmesan, preparing fresh eggplant as a casserole in delicate stacks of many eggplant layers with homemade tomato sauce is one of my very favorite comfort foods. The dish is perfect for sharing with family and friends. It is a big and filling recipe, so even with guests there are sure to be lots of leftovers. This cheesy eggplant casserole dish also reheats very well (though I've been know to eat it cold straight out of the fridge).
A small slice of this dish will be satisfying for most people, but they will be likely to want a container to take home for later. Due to the reduced fat in this vegetarian casserole, and how filling it is, I've deemed it a light recipe.
TIP: For the best eggplant taste and texture select firm eggplants. They tend to be less bitter and seedy. You also want larger eggplants. Do not get Japanese eggplants for this recipe.
Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Though I love Eggplant Casserole, many times it is far too greasy or the eggplant is tough and chewy or too dry. The ingredients to make the casserole are inexpensive, but it can be quite costly to buy ready made. For both reasons, I prefer to make it at home, despite how time consuming this baked eggplant parmesan casserole can be to make. I completely think it is worth the extra effort, and although it takes some time, the eggplant casserole isn't difficult to make at all.
How to Make Eggplant Casserole
A visual guide to making the baked eggplant parmesan recipe. While there are quite a few steps, the recipe is actually easy to make, just time consuming. Baking the eggplant slices makes burning or loss of coating far less likely. Full printable casserole recipe below.
The cheesy eggplant casserole recipe makes 12 servings.
Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook Time: 1 hour | Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
Equipment needed:
- large baking dish such as a lasagna pan
- oil mister or basting brush
- sheet pans
- large sauce pot
Ingredients for Eggplant Casserole:
- 2 large eggplants or 3-4 medium eggplants
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 4 large eggs
- ⅔ cup milk
- 4 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup olive oil 2 tablespoons per sheet pan and some for misting or basting
- 8 ounces sliced provolone
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese blend
For Sauce
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1½ cups sweet onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 56 oz Crushed Tomatoes (2 large cans)
- 12 oz Tomato Paste (2 small cans)
- generous handful of fresh basil coarsely chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Yes, you can use a couple jars of a thick marinara sauce instead if you like, but I encourage you to make this simple sauce.
Instructions for Eggplant Casserole
To start: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Prep Eggplant Slices
Cut off the top & bottom of each eggplant, and slice lengthwise into ¼ -⅓ inch slabs.
Set up for a 3 bowl station for breading the eggplant: Place the flour in 1st bowl, beat eggs and milk together in the second bowl, and pour the bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese third bowl and mix together.
Dredge each slice of eggplant in flour, then egg wash, and finally dip in the bread crumbs to coat.
Pro Tip: Pay attention to dedicating one hand to keep dry, while the other gets wet. It will make the process so much easier and less messy. (Keep a towel handy, as this is rarely a perfect process).
Pour 2 tablespoons of oil onto each large baking sheet and spread out. A basting brush is handy for this. (you will probably need to do 3-4 sheets, so I do it in 2 batches)
Place the breaded eggplant on the baking sheets. Stack any that won't fit on a plate, to bake in a second round. Mist or baste the sheeted eggplant slices with olive oil.
Place in preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes, then flip and bake another 8 minutes. (if you need to do a second set, wipe the sheets pans down re-oil and repeat the rest of the process.
While eggplant is baking start sauce. Saute onion and garlic over medium heat until lightly caramelized. Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste, cook until the marinara sauce starts to make bubbles, reduce to low and allow to simmer for 8-10 minutes, then shut off burner and stir in freshly chopped basil and salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the baked eggplant slices from oven and reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.
Coat baking dish with cooking spray. Using a prepared baking dish will reduce clean-up and make removing slices a little easier (optional).
Cover the bottom of a 2 quart lasagna pan or casserole with 1 ½ cups of sauce.
Arrange a layer of the cooked eggplant slices over the tomato sauce, overlap a little if you need to to ensure gaps are filled, top with more sauce, then ½ the provolone. Top with eggplant then sauce then provolone again. Final layer is remaining eggplant and a generous layer of sauce, but no cheese when it goes in the oven.
Place the lasagna pan on a large baking sheet (just wipe on of the ones you used down) and bake for 30 minutes. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake 10 more minutes.
Allow the eggplant casserole a few minutes to cool before slicing to serve.
Tips for Preparing Eggplant Casserole
Two things make this hearty Eggplant Parmesan Casserole recipe a foolproof success:
- Baking rather than frying the breaded eggplant slices, allows you to easily time and temperature during the cooking process. This avoids burning. It also keeps your finished dish from being greasy.
- A very simple thick sauce featuring crushed tomatoes & paste, keeps the eggplant casserole from getting soggy and guarantees plenty of tomato flavor.
***Kitchen Tip: Get one of these Oil Misters! Save money, use healthy oils, no unnatural propellants & less waste. I LOVE mine & have used it for years. ***
Misto Brushed Aluminum Olive Oil Sprayer
Top this eggplant parmesan casserole with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and if you like spice, a pinch of red pepper flakes. You are sure to have a stack of clean plates at the end of the meal. One of my friends ate 4 servings!
Storing Eggplant Casserole
First make sure to cool the cheesy eggplant casserole to at least close to room temperature before placing in the fridge, while not leaving it out for longer than 2 hours for food safety. Cutting up the casserole and removing from baking dish allows it to cool faster.
You can then cover the whole baking dish snugly with plastic wrap or foil. I prefer cutting up the leftovers and storing in each piece in an airtight container.
The leftover eggplant casserole will last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator and be good for about 3 months in the freezer. (reference USDA)
I hope you enjoy this hearty vegetarian eggplant casserole. Try my Vegetarian Stuffed Shells or my Broccoli Cheese Casserole recipe, both are fabulous meatless comfort food casseroles.
Eggplant Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants or 3-4 medium eggplants
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 4 large eggs
- ⅔ cup milk
- 4 cups seasoned breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup olive oil 2 tablespoons per sheet pan and some for misting or basting
- 8 oz. sliced provolone
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese blend
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1½ cups sweet onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 56 oz Crushed Tomatoes (2 large cans)
- 12 oz Tomato Paste (2 small cans)
- generous handful of fresh basil coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut off the top & bottom of each eggplant, and slice lengthwise into ¼-1/3 inch slabs.
- Pour 2 tablespoons of oil onto baking sheets (you will probably need to do 3-4 sheets, so I do it in 2 batches)
- Set up for breading the eggplant: Place flour in 1st bowl, beat eggs and milk in second bowl, and the crumbs with Parmesan cheese are mixed in the 3rd bowl.
- Dredge each slice in flour, the egg wash , then crumbs, paying attention to keep one hand dry, while the other gets wet. (Keep a towel handy, as this is rarely a perfect process).
- Place the slabs on baking sheets. Stack any that won't fit on a plate, to bake in a second round. Mist or baste the sheeted slabs with oil.
- Bake for 12 minutes, then flip and bake another 8 minutes. (if you need to do a second set, wipe the sheets pans down re-oil and repeat the rest of the process.
- While eggplant is baking start sauce. Saute onion and garlic over med-high heat until caramelized. Add the crushed tomatoes and paste, cook until the sauce starts to bubbles, reduce to low and allow to simmer for 8-10 minutes, then shut off burner and stir in the basil.
- Remove the baked eggplant slices from oven and reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.
- Cover the bottom of a 2 quart lasagna pan with 1 ½ cups of sauce. Then arrange a layer of eggplant, overlap a little if you need to to ensure gaps are filled, top with more sauce, then ½ the provolone. Top with eggplant then sauce then provolone again. Final layer is remaining eggplant and a generous layer of sauce, but no cheese when it goes in the oven.
- Place the lasagna pan on a baking sheet (just wipe on of the ones you used down) and bake for 30 minutes. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake 10 more minutes.
- Allow to cool a few minutes before serving.
Nutrition
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Vanessa: thequeenofswag says
I had no idea this was a Casserole when I first saw it. It looks like lasagna. Looks delish. Must try it!
Robin Gagnon says
Actually lasagna is a casserole. Many people would expect ricotta or bechamel in a lasagna, so I just stuck with calling it a casserole.
courtney says
I wish I didn't see this.. because now I want eggplant casserole haha.. Dinner is soup 🙁
Marcie W. says
I am a big eggplant parm fan, especially if it's my mommy's, but her recipe isn't skinny and I'm really trying to continue on my clean, healthy eating routine. This looks outstanding!
Angela says
We love having casseroles around here, and this eggplant casserole recipe was a big hit with everyone in the family!
Wendy says
Hi there! I am super excited to make this tomorrow. May I ask about how many servings this yields? I apologize if that info. is included somewhere.
Thanks!!!
Robin Gagnon says
It filled a 3qt casserole pan right to the top. I would say 8-12 servings.
Janet Butler says
I am 74 years old, and love Eggplant Parmesan... I am going to cook this today and divide it in 1/2 because it will the right amount for one old lady to eat on for a few days. It is also more diet friendly without taking away any of the rich flavors that this dish offers. I plan to add some provolone even though I have never used in an Italian dish, so may learn how it goes with it. It may offer a richer taste... Thank you for the recipe. I will let you know how it turns out.
Robin Gagnon says
Please do. It is one of my favorites.
Jenna says
This was a hit! I didn't tell my grampa (who refuses to eat meals without meat) that this was veg, and he didn't even notice ☺️! People who rarely get seconds were grabbing seconds. I used a smaller variety of eggplant--some were even getting a bit squidgy and it was still great! Was short on eggplant so I flattened and baked the flour/egg/breadcrumb mixture that got stuck to my hands and used that to fill in!
Kirsten says
Robin,
Thanks for this recipe! I've added it to the Farm Fresh Feasts Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me who love to eat from the farm share.
I appreciate your help in making this index better!
Linda says
can I make this ahead and freeze it till ready to use? I have a lot of eggplant from my garden and I don't want to throw any way.
Robin Gagnon says
I would think if package well to avoid frost, it would be fine.
Camille Prejean says
My friends and I made this eggplant parmesan tonight and it was absolutely AMAZING. Restaurant quality for sure! We made a couple of alterations: we put fresh basil in the marinara sauce and throughout the casserole layers and also added fresh mozzarella cheese on top. We also used a panko and italian breadcrumb mixture. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a hearty and delicious Italian meal 🙂
Melissa says
How do you know what goes in the sauce? I did not see the ingredients for the sauce. Maybe I am just missing them? I would love to make this tomorrow, it looks delicious!
Robin Gagnon says
Ugh. Looks like the sauce part of recipe disappeared. The recipe software must have glitched. It has been a long time since I made this. I know the sauce was quite simple (sauted onions, garlic, olive oil, basil & canned tomatoes), but I don't remember the exact amounts. Looks like I will have to make it again soon to figure it out.
Lisa says
Sauce ingredients and amounts are missing???
Robin Gagnon says
I finally hunted down that portion of the recipe & it is now fixed. It had been wiped out of my database.
Lena says
It doesn't have the whole recipe. I've made this before and it had the whole ingredients list but it doesn't anymore. I don't know how much sauce
Robin Gagnon says
Lena,
That part of the ingredients list is now back. Found it with the internet Wayback Machine since it was completely wiped out of my database (I pretty much remembered it, but didn't have a hardcopy). So glad I found it. This has been haunting me.
Leilani says
You know, I have never tried eggplant before. I was convinced I wouldn't like it because of its texture. This was good though.
April Decheine says
I served this eggplant lasagna with pasta on Sunday and even the non vegetarian family members loved it!
Tiff says
This is now one of my favorite eggplant recipes. I added some fried and drained ground beef with Italian seasoning to the sauce to make a Bolognese last time. My family loved it!
Donna says
My Italian grandmother ate a big slice of this eggplant casserole. Need I say more. This recipe is delicious!
Mickey C says
I hadn't made eggplant in so long, but this casserole was so good! I'll be making it again soon!
Liz says
The casserole came out fabulous, just like the Italian deli that closed recently.
James Redding says
We got a bunch of eggplant at the farmer's market and this eggplant casserole recipe was the perfect way to prepare them. It's my favorite way to make eggplant now.
Lisa says
Seriously the best eggplant recipe! It took me longer to assemble than the estimated time, but the effort was well worth it. I followed the recipe almost exactly as written. The only “change” was that I added a little wine to the sauce. Not because I thought I was improving anything - I just had some extra wine I was going to throw out and I poured in a little for the heck of it. My husband loved it as well and the leftovers tasted even better today. Thank you!
Robin Gagnon says
Adding a little wine, is rarely a bad thing 😉