Our breaded eggplant recipe is baked for crispy results with fewer calories.
This healthy eggplant Parmesan was originally developed by our Test Kitchen in 1995 and updated for our 30th anniversary.
Coat 2 baking sheets and a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist Julia Bayless
Whisk eggs and water in a shallow bowl.
Mix breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan and Italian seasoning in another shallow dish.
Dip eggplant in the egg mixture, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture, gently pressing to adhere.
Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist Julia Bayless
Arrange the eggplant in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets.
Generously spray both sides of the eggplant with cooking spray.
Season with salt and pepper.
Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist Julia Bayless
Meanwhile, mix tomato sauce, basil, garlic and crushed red pepper in a medium bowl.
Arrange half the eggplant slices over the sauce.
Spoon 1 cup sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan and 1/2 cup mozzarella.
Photographer: Jen Causey, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer
Top with the remaining eggplant, sauce and cheese.
Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the top is golden, 20 to 30 minutes.
Let cool for 5 minutes.
Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist Julia Bayless
Sprinkle with more basil before serving, if desired.
Frequently Asked Questions
Eggplant is part of the nightshade familyof vegetables.
As far as nutrition goes, eggplant provides some plant protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist Julia Bayless
While cheese does have saturated fat, it may not be as harmful as other types of saturated fat.
That crispy crust on the eggplant is usually the result of breading and frying eggplant slices in oil.
We love that crispy crust, and we take a different approach to achieve the same results.
This gets the breading nice and crispy, but slashes fat and calories.
Jazz up the tomato sauce.
(Check out moreways to slash sodium in your diethere.)
Use a combination of flavorful cheeses.
Mozzarella gives eggplant Parmesan that ooey-gooey melted cheese factor.
We use part-skim mozzarella cheese instead of whole-milk mozzarella.
It provides a silky, texture but keeps saturated fat to a minimum.
Parmesan adds salt where it counts, providing a rich and savory flavor throughout.
- Daily Values (DVs) are the recommended amounts of nutrients to consume each day.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient.
