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Traditionally, eggplant slices are heavily breaded and fried in Eggplant Parmesan. This recipe was trimmed down considerably by lightly breading the eggplant slices and baking them in the oven before constructing the Eggplant Parmesan casserole.
The breaded and baked eggplant slices were layered with marinara and topped with grated Romano and fat free mozzarella. The casserole was baked until it was hot and bubbly and the mozzarella was melted.
A nice size piece of this Eggplant Parmesan is a satisfying meal when served with a side salad or a piece of garlic bread or a diner roll. It also makes a nice side dish and pairs well with Italian chicken sausage, meatballs, or grilled chicken breasts.
While this dish can be enjoyed year round, I tend to make it more often in the summer when eggplants are readily available. In my area, finding decent eggplants out of season is doable but challenging.
Please see the recipe card below for exact amounts and directions.
Ingredient Round Up
- Eggplants
- Seasoned bread crumbs – I make my own from low carb bread crumbs.
- Egg whites
- Marinara
- Grated Romano cheese
- Fat free shredded mozzarella
- Garlic powder
- Salt & pepper
- Pam or olive oil spray
Sodium Alert: The sodium content of the Prego I used was 920 mg per 1 cup. If sodium is an issue for you, you can use Francesco Rinaldi no salt marina that has 80 mg of sodium per 1 cup or Victoria low sodium marinara that has 240 mg sodium per 1 cup. You can further reduce sodium by switching to Good & Gather reduced salt and fat mozzarella (although it is higher in saturated fat, see note in Recipe Card Notes). Links to these products can be found in the ‘Low Sodium/No Salt’ product list under ‘Resources’ in the top menu bar.
Making the Eggplant Parmesan
- Slice the eggplant. Place the slices in a bowl in layers. Liberally sprinkle salt on each layer as you go.
- Fill the bowl with water. Place a plate on top of the bowl and place a water filled vessel on top of the plate to keep the eggplant submerged and let sit for 30 min. This will remove the bitterness from the eggplant slices.
- Remove the eggplant slices from the water, rinse them off and lay them out on a paper towel. Use a clean paper towel to blot the water off of the surface of the slices.
- Set up a egg white wash and bread crumb dredging station. Dip each slice in egg white and them in bread crumbs.
- Place the breaded slices on a baking tray that has been sprayed with Pam or olive oil spray.
- Place the tray in the oven and bake. Halfway through baking turn the slices over. Remove from the oven when done and set aside.
- Continue this process until all the slices are breaded and baked.
- Spread some marinara on the bottom of a casserole dish. Start to lay down your first layer of eggplant slices.
- When the layer is completed put a dollop of marinara on each slice and spread it around.
- Put down your second layer and top with marinara. Continue this process until all the eggplant slices are used.
- After topping the final layer of eggplant slices with marinara, sprinkle grated Romano cheese over the top.
- Then top with shredded fat free mozzarella. Place in the oven to bake.
- Remove from the oven when done and let sit briefly to set the melted cheese. Slice and serve. Refrigerate the leftovers.
Serving Ideas
- Eggplant Parmesan can be served as a main dish or as a side dish with a protein.
- It pairs well with garlic bread or a dinner roll.
- A plain green salad, caprese salad or panzanella salad is a perfect accompaniment to Eggplant Parmesan.
- A side of meatballs, Italian chicken sausage or pasta is a great way to round out the meal.
- A pan of Eggplant Parmesan is a great take along to a barbecue or a potluck dinner.
WW 4 pt for 1/4 of casserole ( main dish); 2 pt for 1/6 of casserole (side dish)
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 216.4kcal
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Chef knife
- large bowl
- plate
- measuring spoons and cup
- small bowl
- 10" x 10" square casserole dish
- several large cookie trays
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplants
- 4 egg whites
- 1 c homemade seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 c no sugar added Prego or your favorite marinara
- ⅔ c shredded fat free mozzarella
- 1½ tbsp grated Romano cheese - Parmesan can be substituted
- salt to taste, I did not add any salt to the bread crumbs.
- black pepper to taste, I added a pinch of pepper to the bread crumbs.
- garlic powder to taste, I added a couple of pinches of garlic powder to the bread crumbs.
- Pam or olive oil spray
Instructions
Prepping the Eggplant
- Slice the eggplants. Place a layer of eggplant slice on the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle them liberally with salt. Putdown another layer of slices and salt them. Continue this process until all the eggplant slices are layered in the mixing bowl and salted.
- Fill the bowl with water. Place a plate on top of the eggplant slices in the bowl. Put another bowl filled with water on top of the plate to weigh it down and keep the eggplant slices submerged. Let sit for 30 min.
Breading and Baking the Eggplant Slices
- Preheat the oven to 400℉.
- Prepare a dredging station. Place the egg whites in a pie plate (glass if you have one). Add 1 tbsp of water and beat them all together. Place the bread crumbs on a plate and add more salt, black pepper and garlic powder if needed to season them.
- After 30 min., remove the eggplant slices from the water. Rinse them off and place them on a paper towel to dry off. Use a clean paper towel and blot the top surfaces to remove water.
- Spray a large cookie sheet with Pam or olive oil spray. Use a paper towel or napkin and smear the Pam or olive oil around to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Dip each eggplant slice in the egg white wash and then into the bread crumbs. Place the breaded slice on the cookie tray. You are looking to very lightly bread the slices. Continue until the tray is filled.
- Place the cookie tray of breaded eggplant slices into the oven and bake for 10 min. Remove the pan from the oven and flip over each slice. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 min.
- While the first tray of breaded eggplant slices is baking, bread more eggplant slices and start another cookie tray.
- When the first tray of eggplant slices comes out of the oven, set aside. Place the second tray of eggplant into the oven to bake for 10 min, flip the slices and bake another 10 min. Repeat until all the eggplant slices are breaded and baked.
- After baking the last tray of breaded eggplant slices, lower the oven temperature to 350℉.
Assembling the Eggplant Parmesan Casserole
- Spread some marinara on the bottom of the square casserole dish. Lay down a layer of baked eggplant slices on the bottom of the casserole.
- Place a dollop (a heaping teaspoon) of marinara on each slice of eggplant. Use the back of a spoon to spread it over each slice.
- Add another layer of baked eggplant slices to the casserole. Place marinara on each slice and spread it around. Repeat and put down another layer of baked eggplant slices and marinara. Continue until all the eggplant slices are in the casserole. The two medium eggplants gave me enough slices to make 3 layers of eggplant slices total.
- To the very top layer of baked eggplant slices, add marinara and spread it around. Sprinkle the grated Romano cheese over the top.
- Sprinkle the shredded fat free mozzarella over the entire top of the casserole. Cover it with aluminum foil. Place it in the oven and bake fat 350℉ for 35 min. After baking for 20 min., remove the aluminum foil and return to the oven and bake for the last 15 min.
- Remove the casserole from the oven when done. Let sit for 5 min to set the melted mozzarella. Slice the casserole and serve. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Notes
In the nutrition info, I included all of the egg whites and bread crumbs. You will most likely have some of each left after breading all of the eggplant slices but I did not measure the amount left over.
The sodium content for this dish is higher than normal.
- I used no sugar added Prego which was high in sodium. By switching to Francesco Rinaldi no sodium added sauce, you can lower the sodium from 754 mg per 1/4 of the recipe to 544 mg or from 502 mg per 1/6 of the recipe to 362 mg.
- I used Kraft fat free shredded mozzarella at 280 mg of sodium per 1 oz. Target's Good & Gather reduced fat mozzarella has a lower sodium content of 180 mg of sodium per 1 oz but you will loose some ground on saturated fat. In my household, reducing saturated fat is more important than reducing sodium. When I have a recipe that is higher than usual in sodium, I try to go with lower sodium recipes for other meals on that day. Choose a strategy that works best for your dietary needs.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 216.4kcal | Carbohydrates: 43.5g | Protein: 16.8g | Fat: 1.9g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Sodium: 754mg | Fiber: 21.1g | Sugar: 12.9g
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