Garlic Parmesan Baked Eggplant is a crispy baked, not fried, eggplant with garlic Parmesan breading. A delicious way to enjoy this fall vegetable!
If you enjoy eggplant, you may want to try my One Pot Chicken Ratatouille recipe of the easy, vegetarian Eggplant Lasagna.
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Why This Recipe Works
Eggplant is in season and I am going to show you one of my favorite dishes with this vegetable. It's easy and can be served as an appetizer, side dish, or used in main dishes, like Eggplant Parmesan. The garlicky Parmesan breading makes for a perfectly crispy coating even though the eggplant is baked and not fried.
If I am not roasting vegetables, I make my simple two-ingredient breading and bake them in the oven till crispy. No frying required! I used this method in my Baked Artichoke Hearts recipe and my Best Roasted Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower recipe. It's amazing!
Ingredients:
- eggplant: I used one large eggplant;
- butter: helps the bread crumbs stick to eggplant but also makes the outside crunchy and delicious;
- salt: needed to prepare the eggplant for cooking; helps draw the moisture out so the final dish is not soggy;
- Parmesan cheese: adds delicious toasted cheese flavor to the breading;
- bread crumbs: use plain, Italian style or panko OR a mix of two;
- seasoning: garlic powder, paprika, Italian seasoning.
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How to prepare eggplant for cooking?
I started by washing the eggplant and trimming off the green end. You can peel the skin if you like. Next, I sliced eggplant into ½" disks.
I arranged all disks in a colander or cooling rack set over a baking sheet, sprinkled with salt, and let sit for at least 30 minutes. It helps to cut the bitterness of the vegetable and makes it "sweat". You will notice little drops of moisture on the surface of the disks.
Removing the moisture from the eggplant will prevent it from releasing it during cooking. You can use prepared like this eggplant in a variety of dishes.
How to make garlic Parmesan baked eggplant?
- Prepare eggplant disks according to the instructions above.
- Melt butter in a bowl.
- Mix breadcrumbs, spices, and Parmesan cheese in another bowl.
- Dip each eggplant disk into butter first, then breading mixture.
- Place on aluminum foil or parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake in 400 degrees F oven for 15 minutes, then flip each disk and baked for 7 more minutes. The eggplant should be golden brown and the breading crispy.
How to serve this dish?
You can serve it as a side dish, next to mashed potatoes and roasted chicken or pork loin. It also makes for a great appetizer, served with dips.
You can also use this baked eggplant in place of fried one when making Eggplant Parmesan. It's easier since there is no frying required and healthier. You can also use it as a burger topping (think black bean burgers or healthy turkey burgers)!
Recipe FAQs:
Eggplant skin is completely edible. It's a personal preference, just like zucchini. You can peel the skin off or leave it.
You can substitute the beaten egg for the melted butter in this dish. It will help the breading stick to the eggplant. However, the butter will make the breading bake to golden crispy.
Absolutely! Many of our readers made this dish with GF bread crumbs and had amazing results. Check out the comments below!
To freeze this dish, place the baked and cooled eggplant disks on a baking sheet and freeze. Then place all in a freezer container or bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw out in the fridge and bake until heated through.
Absolutely! You can follow our recipe for Eggplant Parmesan or simply top each serving with marinara sauce and shredded mozzarella. Bake until the cheese is melted.
More side dish recipes:
If you like this recipe and make it, let me know in the comments below! Don't forget to rate it if you enjoyed it!
Garlic Parmesan Baked Eggplant Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Start by preparing the eggplant: wash the eggplant and trim off the green end. You can peel the skin if you like. Next, slice eggplant into ½" disks. Place all disks in colander or cooling rack set over baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and let sit for at least 30 minutes1 large eggplant
- Next, melt butter in a bowl. Mix breadcrumbs, spices and Parmesan cheese in another bowl.1 cup breadcrumbs, ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning, ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- Dip each eggplant disk into butter first, then breading mixture. Place on aluminum foil or parchment paper lined baking sheet.6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Bake in 400℉ oven for 15 minutes, then flip each disk and baked for 7 more minutes. The eggplant should be golden brown and the breading crispy.
- Serve as side dish, appetizer or use in eggplant Parmesan.
Notes
- Eggplant skin is completely edible. It's a personal preference, just like zucchini. You can peel the skin off or leave it.
Add panko to the bread crumbs mixture to add more crunch. - Use this dish to make eggplant parmesan.
- Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use calorie counter you are familiar with.
Suellen Willson says
Can I use oil oil instead of butter?
Diana says
I made this eggplant recipe for dinner tonight and it was very, very good. I usually make Eggplant Parmesan as a casserole, but I only had a small eggplant so this was just what I was looking for and I will be making it again.
Janice Caplan says
Delicious! Easy!
Anna says
Thank you so much, Janice!
4whirledpeas says
I've made this recipe several times now, and it is awesome every time. Sometimes, we eat these "as is" and other times, we dip them in marinara, or I make single mini-parms. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe.
R V says
This was really good! For the breadcrumbs, I used half regular breadcrumbs and the other half Japanese panko breadcrumbs and it was AMAZING. I don’t think the 30 minutes was long enough to sweat my eggplant because when it cooked more moisture came out. It wasn’t soggy necessarily but it was wetter than I would have liked. Maybe next time I’ll do it for an hour. Flavor was awesome though
Sue says
Looks great. Haven't tried but plan to make later this week. Can you use olive oil instead of butter? Or half and half? Thanks
Hilary says
My son enjoys eggplant when I stuff it and bake it but isn't a fan of wet style dishes like ratatouille or moussaka, but this is his absolutely favourite way to eat it. I use GF breadcrumbs for his and standard for the rest of us. I've made this about 6 times now and have cut the butter down to about half by brushing it on with with a pastry brush with no degradation of flavour or crispiness. I also slice it a bit thinner - probably 3 slices to the inch rather than 2. Thank you, Anna, for this super recipe!
Anna says
Hi Hilary! Thank you so much for making my recipe! I am so glad it was a hit!
Janece says
Loved the flavor and texture of the eggplant in this recipe.
Anna says
Hi Janece,
Thank you so much for trying out the recipe!
Diane Carney says
I don't eat eggplant, so it's hard for me to figure out an easy recipe for my family, who love it. This was by far the easiest for me to make and the family loved it. My question is, can you freeze it?
Mary Ann says
I make eggplant similar to this recipe and I freeze it. Put on cookie tray in a single layer and pop into freezer till frozen and then put in freezer bags. Then to bake, just take out what you want and put in oven, at 350 or higher till heated through.
Anna Marie says
This was an absolutely, scrumptious eggplant recipe. 😋 Love that you include the nutrition also. I will be checking out your other recipes. Thanks, Anna Marie
Michelle says
My garden produced so many eggplant I was having trouble figuring out how not to waste it. This is so easy and delicious I know what to do with them all now!
Annette says
LOVE this recipe. I'm making it for the second time. Sooo easy❤️
Anna says
Yay! I am so glad! Thank you for making my recipe, Annette!
Dottie Headworth says
Made this, added slice of mozzarella, refined to oven just to melt. Then put on slices of Roma tomatoes and some fresh basil, sprinkled on some fresh grated parm. Yummy.
Martha says
This will be my recipe for eggplant from now on! I forgot to add the garlic, and it was still delicious! I grow the smaller eggplants (Millionaire and Midnight Moon) and did not need to salt them prior to baking. I make a lot of eggplant parm, and have never cared for using baked eggplant in it. But I don't enjoy standing over the stove frying the slices either! I think with dipping the slices in butter instead of an eggwash, I have found the perfect recipe! Thank you so much. (I used panko crumbs)
Susie says
I'm going to use panko as well for tonight's meal of eggplant. The sounds like a wonderful recipe
Susan Hampton says
My bnb guests simply begged for recipe.
The all around taste and easy assembly gave me real freedom in kitchen but is health consciencious.
Anna says
I am so glad the eggplant was a hit! Thank you, Susan!
lynn h says
Absolutely loved this recipe! Simple, easy to follow, with instructions for keeping the eggplant moist. I modified mine just slightly looking at a few other comments posted, so I used and egg with olive oil and a little melted margarine to dip my rinsed eggplant disc into before dipping in breadcrumb mix and putting on parchment paper on baking tray. I baked mine a little longer for crisp that I like and then flipped and baked longer. Great as they were and even better when I then made into a parmesan baked dish with light pasta sauce. Will definitely make again and again....thank you for this recipe!!!