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A Lighter Weeknight Eggplant Parm

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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 6
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups tomato sauce or marinara sauce
  • 2-3 large globe eggplants sliced lengthwise into ½” rings
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella
  • 4 oz grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)
  • 3 tablespoons fresh basil roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
  • ¼ cup dry italian seasoned panko breadcrumbs

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 400F. Leaving the skin on, trim and slice the eggplants into ½” thick slices. Season eggplant slices with salt and pepper. In a large pan, heat 3 tbsp of the olive oil over medium high. Working in batches, cook the eggplant, turning once, until golden and seared on each side. Add more olive oil to the pan between batches. The eggplant will absorb the oil, so ration the ½ cup with how many batches you’ll need with your pan - don’t be afraid to let them char in the pan a little without oil.
  2. Spread 1 ½ cups of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Arrange half the slices in the baking dish. Top evenly with half the mozzarella, torn into chunks, sprinkle ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1 tablespoon basil, and ½ tsp crushed red pepper. Repeat these layers with the remaining tomato sauce, eggplant, mozzarella, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, basil, and crushed red pepper. Cover the top layer with breadcrumbs. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until the top of the eggplant is golden, breadcrumbs are toasted, and sauce is bubbling. Let it stand for 10min before serving. Garnish with whole fresh basil leaves if you want it to look pretty.

Notes

I had homemade tomato sauce on hand for this, but a store bought jarred sauce would work fine too. Pick something more tomato forward like a marinara, less funky flavored (basil, garlic, mushroom, cheese, etc).
 
For a quick homemade tomato sauce, sautee 2 garlic cloves and half a chopped onion in a small pot with some olive oil until everything's softened and fragrant (add a pinch of crushed red pepper if you want it a little spicy). Add 2 28oz cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes, blend with an immersion blender until smooth, and let everything simmer for 10-20min.