ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Easy Eggplant Parmesan

Updated on August 26, 2012
Delicious eggplant Parmesan
Delicious eggplant Parmesan | Source
Cast your vote for Eggplant Parmesan

This eggplant Parmesan recipe is so easy to make at home. I make sure that I have a couple of eggplants growing in my garden just so that I can make this dish every year. I also use my own garden tomatoes, they are always in abundance at the end of summer. You can make this dish easier on yourself if you use prepared spaghetti sauce or marinara. However, I prefer my own tomato sauce, so I make it from scratch. It is very easy to make the sauce at home, and I think it tastes better because I am using fresh veggies.

The toughest part of making tomato sauce is removing the skins, and that is really not hard to do at all. What you need to do ahead of time is have a pan of boiling water ready, drop the tomatoes in for about 30 seconds to a minute, and then quickly remove them into a bowl of ice water (or the kitchen sink filled with cold water). Their skins should literally start pulling off. If the skin does not break when you do this, just pierce it with a fork and it will come off. That's the hardest part of the whole recipe. I hope you try this out with fresh tomatoes for the best flavor.

Italian bread crumbs, eggplant, and Parmesan cheese
Italian bread crumbs, eggplant, and Parmesan cheese | Source
remove the peel and slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick pieces
remove the peel and slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick pieces | Source
dunk the eggplant in milk, then the breadcrumbs
dunk the eggplant in milk, then the breadcrumbs | Source
fry the eggplant in olive oil
fry the eggplant in olive oil | Source
layer sauce first, then cheese, then eggplant, repeat three or four times until you use it all
layer sauce first, then cheese, then eggplant, repeat three or four times until you use it all | Source
ready for the oven
ready for the oven | Source

Cook Time

Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Ready in: 1 hour 15 min
Yields: serves 8

Ingredients

  • 1 medium - large eggplant
  • 3 large tomatoes, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning, for sauce
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese, fresh
  • 1 tsp basil, fresh

Putting it all together

  1. Peel the eggplant and slice it into about 1/8 - 1/4 inch slices.
  2. Set up two bowls, one for dipping the eggplant slices into the milk and another one for dredging them through the breadcrumbs.
  3. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat (I always use cast iron except for a few non-stick saucepans). Use enough oil (a few tablespoons) to cover the bottom of the pan.
  4. Dip the eggplant pieces into milk and then dredge them through the breadcrumbs to coat evenly on both sides.
  5. Once the oil is hot, fry each piece of eggplant in the skillet until golden brown, about 2 or 3 minutes per side.
  6. After the pieces finish frying, let them drip dry on a paper towel, this removes some of the grease for you from the finished dish.
  7. For the tomato sauce, cook your diced tomatoes (skin removed), garlic and Italian seasoning ahead of time. This lets the sauce thicken up a bit. I cooked my tomato sauce about an hour before beginning to fry the eggplant. You can also used any prepared spaghetti or marinara sauce that you like if you do not want to make your own.
  8. In a lightly greased 8 x 8 baking dish, place a layer of your tomato sauce and sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese. Then add a single layer of fried eggplant down. Pour a layer of tomato sauce over the eggplant, then more Parmesan cheese. Repeat layering until all the eggplant has been used.
  9. Place the 8 x 8 dish in the oven, preheated to 350°, for about 20 minutes. Pull out dish and add mozzarella cheese and fresh basil to the top, cook another 5-10 minutes. Let stand for about 10 minutes, then serve with garlic or Italian bread. Enjoy!
eggplant Parmesan topped with mozzarella and fresh basil
eggplant Parmesan topped with mozzarella and fresh basil | Source

Have you ever made eggplant Parmesan at home before?

See results
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)