No Fry Eggplant Parmesan (Parmigiana di Melanzane)

This no-fry eggplant Parmesan is an authentic healthy Italian recipe Parmigiana di melanzane from the South of Italy, Calabria. It is the vegetarian version of a Lasagna where thinly sliced eggplants are used instead of pasta sheets. In this recipe, the eggplants are not coated with breadcrumbs nor fried but grilled in a hot skillet pan, then baked with fresh tomato sauce and plenty of mozzarella and Parmesan, with no meat.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• How to serve it
• Storage
• Top tips
• Fillings for the Parmesan
• Recipes with eggplants you might also like
• 📋No fry Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

The classic eggplant Parmigiana is made with layered fried eggplants.

Some regions in Sicily use fried breaded eggplant slices. In other regions in the South of Italy, they fry the eggplant slices without coating.

Either version produces a very oily dish as the eggplants absorb oil as sponges.

In this baked eggplant parmesan recipe, the eggplants are first grilled, not fried, making the dish much lighter and healthier.

The grilled eggplants are layered into a baking dish alternating with mozzarella cheese, Parmesan and fresh tomato sauce, then baked.

While baking, the eggplant slices absorb the juices of the tomato sauce, and the mozzarella melts into stringy goodness.

This Parmigiana is a delicious but healthy main course. A vegetarian casserole with plenty of cheese and veggies.

You can find more healthy eggplant recipes: Baked Eggplant Pasta Anelletti, and eggplant spiedini.

For vegan eggplant recipes: Caponata, eggplant caviar, grilled eggplants

For more appetizers with eggplants, check out the story: 15 Authentic Italian Eggplant Recipes

Ingredients

For this recipe, you need the following ingredients:

• Eggplants: If available, use the round ones
• Tomato sauce: I use my homemade tomato sauce. You can either make a simple tomato sauce or add it directly as it is. In Italy, we do not use the homemade marinara sauce for eggplant parmesan. Marinara sauce in Italy is a sauce we use with seafood (marinara in Italian means from the sea)
• Fresh or shredded mozzarella cheese
• Italian bread crumb mixture: fresh breadcrumbs, garlic, parmesan cheese and fresh basil. This breadcrumb mixture is not used to coat the slices of eggplant. Breadcrumbs only coat the parmesan's base and top to create some crunch. If you want a gluten-free eggplant Parmesan, you can omit them
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt

See the recipe card for quantities.

Buying the eggplants

When I make layered eggplants, I like to use round eggplants as they are larger, and their shape is easier for layering.

Their flavor is not as bitter as some long ones, so I don't need salt-drain them.

However, they are not easy to find everywhere in the world.

You can use the regular, but do not buy large eggplant, as they are often full of seeds.

If I cut an eggplant open and find an enormous amount of seeds, I never return to that shop again. It is a sign of poor quality vegetables.

If you use regular eggplants, cut the slices lengthwise, as it is easier to create layers.

Instructions

Removing the bitterness from the eggplants

Current eggplants no longer have a bitter taste as they have been genetically selected, so treating them is unnecessary.

However, if you want to remove any bitterness from the eggplants, season the sliced eggplants with salt and place them in a colander with a dish and a heavy weight on top.

Leave them for 30 minutes to 1 hour, and a bitter liquid will drain from the eggplants.

Grilling the eggplants

1. Peel the eggplants and cut them into slices length wide (not too thin slices)
2. Slightly brush a frying pan with olive oil
3. Grill the eggplants turning them on each side until they are golden brown
4. They do not need to be completely cooked as they will bake in the oven

Prepare the breadcrumbs

1. Blend with an electric blender a cup of shredded breadcrumbs with basil or parsley leaves and a garlic clove
2. Add the grated parmesan to the breadcrumbs
3. Stir with a fork to combine bread crumbs with the fresh herbs and remove all the lumps from the Parmesan cheese

Preparing the Eggplant Parmesan

1. Oil the base of a baking dish and cover it with the breadcrumbs mixture
2. Add a single layer of eggplant and season with salt
3. Add a thin layer of sauce
4. And a thin scattering of Parmigiano
5. Repeat layers of eggplant slices, tomato sauce, salt and Parmigiano
6. In the middle, add some slices of fresh mozzarella or grated one

NOTE: If you want, you can also add some minced meat, ham, boiled egg, or crispy bacon in the middle layer

8. Cover with more eggplants, tomato sauce, and parmesan cheese
9. Add a layer of grated mozzarella to the top of the eggplant parm
10. Drizzle some olive oil
11. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes at 180C - 350 F oven temperature

How to serve it

Once the Eggplant Parmesan is ready, let it rest for 10 minutes, or, even better, make it the day before, as the eggplants will have more time to absorb all the flavors and the tomato sauce.

You can serve it hot or at room temperature with a simple, fresh slice of rustic sourdough bread (or garlic bread if you like).

Storage

If you have some leftovers (which never happens in my house!), you can freeze or store it in the fridge in an airtight container.

Years ago, as a busy Petroleum Engineer, I prepared a large Healthy Eggplant Parmesan on a Sunday and froze it into portions in an airtight container.

I will defrost a portion in the morning and bake it when I return home from a busy working day and a good hour in the gym.

No one wants to cook after that but looks forward to delicious food.

Top tips

• I use round eggplants for this recipe, as their large slices are perfect for laying on the baking dish.
• Their flavor is not as bitter as some of the long ones, so I don't need to drain them in salt
• You can use regular eggplant, but buy thin ones with fewer seeds. If you think they might be slightly bitter, salt the slices and put them in a strainer with a weight on top. Let them drain for a few hours, and they will release the bitter brown juice.
• You don't need to add any oil when grilling the eggplants. Once cooked, they will easily detach from the griddle
• Use good-quality mozzarella and fresh basil
• Once the eggplant Parmesan is ready, let it rest for 10 minutes. Make it the day before as the eggplants will have time to absorb the tomato sauce.
• I always recommend homemade tomato sauce or the brand Mutti

Fillings for the Parmesan

This healthy no-fried eggplant Parmesan can be filled with different ingredients to add more proteins to the finished dish.

You can fill it with boiled eggs and cooked ham, so plenty of protein, but very limited fat.

The filling may surprise you, but it is a classic in many other Italian recipes like the Gateau, a savory potato pie.

If you wish, replace the filling with anything else you fancy, like meat ragu or meatballs. The advantage of using boiled eggs and ham is that they are leaner and hold better on a summer buffet table.

Add a ragu Bolognese sauce instead of ham if you like Greek moussaka. I make it in the pressure cooker, which only takes 30 minutes.

Or, if you want to make it sexy, you can fill it with small fried meatballs like the one I use in this recipe: Lasagna di Carnevale

Recipes with eggplants you might also like

For more eggplant recipes, check out the category: Vegetables

Also check the recipes below:

• Eggplant Milanese
• Grilled zucchini eggplants and peppers
• Baked Eggplant Pasta Anelletti
• Aubergine caviar
• Deep Fried Eggplant Balls
• Easy Ratatouille Recipe Baked
• Sicilian Caponata
• Pasta with Swordfish Ragu and Eggplants
• Vegetarian Rice Timbale with Grilled Eggplants Recipe
• Pizza with Fresh Vegetables
• Traditional Pasta Alla Norma with Eggplants

If you are making this No fry Eggplant Parmesan, leave your comment below I would love to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.