No Fry Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

It's almost springtime, which means cookouts and picnics galore! I don't know about you, but when it comes to bringing a dish to share, I love choosing something that is both easy AND tasty. This Easy No-fry eggplant Parmesan recipe definitely fits the bill. Not only does it require just a handful of ingredients, but there's no frying or breading required either – score!

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This healthier version is perfect for those who are watching their waistlines. So if you're looking for an easy yet impressive dish to bring to your next potluck or gathering, then be sure to give this recipe a try. You won't regret it!

This Parmigiana di Melanzane or No Fry Eggplant Parmesan is definitely part of our top 5 decadent Italian dishes. If you haven’t tried it before, your time has come.

Living here in Italy helped us learn how to make a Perfect Eggplant Parmesan from scratch and enjoy its simplicity. Makes a perfect special occasion starter or main course. Try it out for Valentine's dinner!

It is like an eggplant lasagna, without the pasta sheets, which are replaced with delicious eggplant layers. This makes it a great dish for people following a low-carb diet.

If you are trying to keep the carbs away, are on a keto diet but not worrying much about the calories, and want a healthier version, this is for you.

In Italy, this eggplant recipe is usually served as a primi piatti or appetizer, followed by the main dish. We like it so much that we just have a big piece and make it our main dish.

This recipe is made from scratch, but it’s easy to prepare. First, we’ll roast the eggplant slices instead of using fried eggplant. Then we’ll assemble the dish and bake it.

You can it this no fry parm any time of the year but we love it, especially during the fall season with cold weather, and during the springtime when eggplants and asparagus are at their peak.

Ingredients

• Fresh Eggplant
• Vegan mozzarella cheese
• Vegan Parmesan Cheese
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Coarse sea salt
• Marinara Sauce (or make a tomato sauce with garlic and tomato purée).
• Fresh basil leaves

See quantities and full instructions in the recipe card.

Optional and strongly suggested: fresh basil!

Use Fresh mozzarella cheese and 30-months aged parmesan romano cheese if you are vegetarian and want something closer to the traditional eggplant parmigiana, skipping the frying.

Instructions

How to Make an Eggplant Parmesan (Parmigiana di Melanzane)?

Prepare the eggplant slices

To make your baked eggplant parmigiana first look for firm Eggplants. You need to make thin slices so using firm eggplant really helps. You want to make sure you have fresh tight eggplants.

Make ⅛"-1/16 (1.5 mm - 3 mm) slices. The thinner the better to make a really silky and soft eggplant parm recipe. If your slices are too thick you may encounter tough slices on the final dish.

I suggest you use a mandoline if you have one, if not, use a very sharp knife and very carefully slice the eggplants.

Baking the eggplant. Prepare a baking dish (optionally with baking sheets, or parchment paper). Make slices and sprinkle coarse salt on top.

Then, place a sheet of parchment paper and place it on top.

Put some heavyweight such as cooking books on top, to increase the pressure. Leave them like "sweating" for 30-60 minutes.

I like to leave the baking sheet slightly reclined, so the water that comes out drains freely.

Note: this step is optional but I strongly suggest you do so because it will help to reduce eggplant's natural bitterness, to the minimum.

Dry the eggplants with a tablecloth or paper towels. Slightly oil a large baking sheet and place the slices on it with a drizzle of extra virgin oil, and bake them in a preheated oven at 400 ºF (200 ºC), until golden brown.

Tip: if you have two baking sheets, it will be better to accommodate the slices.

Make the tomato sauce

Note that this is optional, as you can use store-bought marinara sauce.

Prepare your own simple tomato sauce by chopping the onion and garlic finely. Stir fry them in olive oil and then add pasta sauce (Italian tomato passata), or use crushed tomatoes. Add a teaspoon of organic sugar, to balance the fresh tomatoes' acidity.

Let the tomato sauce simmer for 30 minutes until thick (I like placing a lid on top since even at very low heat, tomato sauce sprinkles a lot and can make a mess). Make sure you stir it occasionally.

Just like making a marinara sauce. You can skip the onion if you don't have it as it is not 100% necessary.

Optionally add a bunch of fresh herbs or Italian seasoning to the sauce.

Remove the extra coarse salt (this is important, otherwise the parmigiana may end up being too salty).

Assemble

Place a layer of the marinara sauce, followed by a layer of baked layered eggplant, then fresh mozzarella and grated parm cheese, until you run out of ingredients.

Place any remaining eggplant slices on top with tomato puree and grated parmesan cheese. Top with this 5 Minutes Vegan Parmesan

Bake until the vegan cheese is melted and let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy with garlic bread or a piece of homemade focaccia bread, for a full Italian Food feast!

It is not the easiest dish to make, but it is easy enough to take it on for any given day dinner when you have more than one hour and want to make something extra special.

Hints

It is like making lasagna but with fewer ingredients. The Lasagna sheets will be replaced by the baked eggplant sheets, which need a little treatment before achieving the desired consistency.

You need your baked eggplant sheets, your tomato sauce, and your vegan cheeses (you can use regular mozzarella and parmesan if Vegetarian), both Vegan and Vegetarian versions work well. Then you assemble it and put it in the oven. Here is our 5-minutes Vegan Parmesan Recipe, or this version of vegan parm, made with sunflower seeds.

Although we love eating the eggplant parm, out of the oven, our favorite Sunday decadent treat, is room-temperature eggplant parmesan!

If you are asking yourself, what happened with the breading?

Italian Parmesan is not breaded (no bread crumbs!). Breaded eggplant is an American creation, and it adds a step and doesn't add flavor here.

This No-fry Eggplant parmesan recipe is healthier than most American eggplant Parmesans and is delicious and traditional. We live in Italy and have had our fair share of Eggplant Parmesans. The only non-traditional aspects here are: skipping the frying step, and if you choose the vegan cheeses option, that would be a second one.

You usually make the standard version of frying the eggplant sheets, but I am super happy with a healthier one where I grill them.

Variations

Cheese - we love eggplant parm and find that using vegan mozzarella cheese and our homemade vegan parmesan cheese gives excellent results. But we don't make our own vegan mozzarella cheese (yet) and have found that if you don't have the right one, it can be daunting.

Some people use even fresh vegan ricotta cheese. We haven't tried it, but it can be a good sub for mozzarella cheese.

Veggies - we think the best eggplant parmesan just needs eggplants, but if you feel playful, adding sliced mushrooms and green peppers, as you roast your eggplants, can work. The end result will taste more like vegetarian lasagna.

More Italian recipes inspiration

• 5 Minutes Vegan Pesto
• Rosemary Focaccia Bread
• Saffron Risotto (Risotto alla Milanese)
• Cacio e Peppe Spaghetti

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don't forget to tag a photo #ourplantbasedworld on Instagram. Cheers!

Recipe

Food safety

We sometimes take for granted that we have years (or decades) of cooking experience that the average visitor may not. Add to, or remove from, the list below with health and safety tips.

• Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat
• Wash hands after touching raw meat
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Use oils with high smoking points to avoid harmful compounds
• Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice. See our full Nutritional Disclosure here.

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