Eggplant Parmigiana (2024)

Eggplant parmigiana (parmigiana di melanzane) or eggplant parmesan is a classic Italian dish that is moreish, wholesome and an absolute delight to eat!

Similar to lasagna but instead of pasta, bolognese and bechamel sauce, it's filled with layers of melt-in-your-mouth silky eggplant, flavourful tomato sauce (sugo) and cheese.

Love a good cheesy bake? Also check out my chicken and chorizo pasta bake, one-pot sausage pasta bake, chicken and broccoli pasta bake and chicken and bacon pasta bake!

Baked instead of fried

Salt or not to salt eggplants

Traditionally, the technique of salting eggplants was used to get rid of bitterness (same goes with soaking) and draw out excess moisture.

Good news, nowadays, pretty much all of the eggplants available no longer taste bitter. The bitterness in eggplants has been largely bred out. So there is no need to salt the eggplants before cooking!

In terms of moisture, it's not a concern here as it'll be drawn out in the baking process.

Ingredients

• Eggplants (aubergine) - 5 may seem like a lot but this recipe will make 8 servings! Also, they will shrink significantly once baked as they have high water content.
• Fresh basil - very important, dried basil will just not do. One of the joys of eating a good eggplant parmigiana is the subtle hint of the sweet basil aroma.
• Passata - simply put, passata is just pureed tomatoes which is perfect to use for a thick, smooth sauce consistency.
• Parmesan cheese - best buy a block of parmesan cheese and grate at home. Economical and melts way better than store-bought grated cheese.
• Mozzarella cheese - again, grating at home is best for your pocket and melt factor.

Cooking instructions

Now, let's get into it!

Slice and bake eggplants

First, preheat the oven to 210°C/410°F.

With a sharp knife, thinly slice eggplants to about just under 1cm or ⅓ inch thick.

Then, neatly spread eggplant slices without overlapping on large, lined baking trays. You'll need about 3 large trays to bake all 5 eggplants at once.

Brush eggplants with olive oil on both sides then bake at 210°C/410°F fan-forced. I find when baking multiple trays of food in the oven, fan-forced tend to work best at even distribution of heat (and therefore caramelisation).

Make the sugo (tomato sauce)

Whilst the eggplants are baking, make the tomato sauce.

In a heavy-based pot, soften finely diced onions with a generous amount of olive oil on medium-low heat. Take care to not brown the onions as they will turn out slightly bitter rather than sweet. After about 7 minutes, add minced garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.

The kitchen should be smelling amazing by now. Add passata, canned crushed tomatoes, sugar, dried oregano, salt, pepper and a little water. Mix well and bring up to a boil then simmer on low heat for 30 minutes without a lid.

Give the sauce a stir every 5 minutes or so to prevent the bottom from sticking. After 30 minutes, turn the heat off and stir in roughly torn fresh basil leaves. Set aside.

Now, back to the eggplants.

After 30 minutes of baking, take it out of the oven and flip them over and bake for a further 15 minutes.

Assemble and bake

Now that the eggplants and sauce are done, time to assemble! First, adjust the temperature of the oven down to 180°C/350°C conventional.

A standard-sized baking dish is ideal to use, at approx. 23x33cm (9x11inch). Otherwise, a slightly smaller casserole dish is better than one larger than the standard dimension (you don't want the eggplant parmigiana to be too thin!)

To start, spread a thin layer of tomato sauce at the bottom of the tray.

Similar to layering a lasagna, to create the first layer, line a single layer of eggplant slices without overlapping. Then, spread a layer of the tomato sauce followed by a thin layer of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

To create the second layer, place another layer of eggplants followed by tomato sauce then parmesan cheese. Repeat until all of the eggplants have been used up.

If using the standard-sized baking dish, you should get 4 layers (maybe 5). If using a smaller baking dish, you'll have more layers.

After the final layer, spread with remaining tomato sauce and top with remaining parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese.

Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.

For best results, rest the eggplant parmigiana for about 20 minutes before dividing into serving sizes and serving. This wait time is important to let the sauce and eggplant settle and hold their layers.

If you're really hungry, 10 minutes of rest time is better than nothing 😉

Sauce consistency matters

One of the biggest tips I have for this recipe is to make sure the sugo is reduced sufficiently before assembling the parmigiana.

The ideal consistency of the sauce is fairly thick, like the image above, a bit like bolognese. You want it to kind of hold a little shape when stirred. This will prevent the eggplant parmigiana from becoming too watery once baked.

When too watery/liquidy, the layers don't hold as well and each slice tends to be a little thinner compared to one made with a thicker sauce.

So make sure to reduce the sauce enough!

Serving suggestions

Eggplant parmigiana can be served as a main with a side of vegetables such as broccoli or with a pasta salad. I also recommend serving this with some crusty bread.

For something more substantial, can be served alongside meat dishes such as braises, meatballs, sausages, garlic bread etc.

Top tips for making the best eggplant parmigiana

Good to know (FAQs)

📖 Recipe

More cheesy bakes