September 27, 2015

Healthy Eggplant Parmesan Bake

September 27, 2015

This is a favorite dish of mine,  could literally eat it all day long, but sadly there’s never any leftovers for me, so one helping is all I get unless I make two pans of it. It may seem like a lot of steps to make this, but the number one thing to remember is- it’s totally worth it in the end! No, in all seriousness it does seem like a lot but it’s really not, promise you!  It’s also cooked and ready to serve in under 45 minutes, not very long. Wouldn’t recommend setting this up the day before hand as eggplant may get a little too soggy from sitting in the sauce for that long but preparing it a few hours in advance won’t be a problem. 

Normally you will egg , bread and fry the eggplant, but this recipe is all baking and it’s a lot lighter then other recipes I’ve tried.  There’s a few things I did to lighten this dish up, used egg-whites instead of whole, used far less breadcrumbs and far less cheese and even sauce, but there was nothing lacking in the taste from the other versions I’ve made in the past. No one could tell the difference so who’s to point it out to them? 😉  It came out extremely good, and everyone enjoyed it, once again no leftovers , must make two pans the next time! 

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Topping the dish off with fresh tomatoes is a great way to use up the dozens I have laying around! If you don’t have any, it’s perfectly find but certainly adds a great fresh taste into each bite

 

Light and healthy Eggplant Parmesan
Serves 12
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
31 min
Total Time
41 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
31 min
Total Time
41 min
Ingredients
  1. 3 eggplants,
  2. 4 egg whites
  3. 1 1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
  4. 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, (1 ounce), divided
  5. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  6. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  7. 1/4 cup slivered fresh basil leaves
  8. 2 cups tomato sauce
  9. 3/4 cup grated part-skim mozzarella cheese, (3 ounces)
  10. 2 fresh tomatoes slices
Instructions
  1. Set oven to 400F
  2. Whisk the eggwhites up and set aside . Pour breadcrumbs into a shallow bowl or dish set aside. Chip the top off the eggplant with the stem, and then skin the eggplant using a potato peeler. Slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch slices and dip them into the egg-white, then to the breadcrumb. Set on baking sheet after you finish with each until the pan is full. you may need more than one. Place in the oven and bake for about 8 minutes, then turn each over, cook for another 8 minutes. They should almost be golden brown. once they are done grab an 8x12 or 9x13 baking dish . Drizzle some extra olive oil on the bottom, then start to layer eggplant down. Use a spoon a drop some sauce on a few of the slices, spread out , you will NOT be covering each and every one with sauce, so it's ok if a few spots aren't covered. Sprinkle a little of the basil leaves down and spread the sauce as best you can, then sprinkle lightly with cheese. Start a new layer of eggplant and repeat till you are done. Now I usually always have extra sauce but I swear, it never tastes like there's not enough within the dish. Top off with the slices of tomato and bake for 15 minutes or until cheese on top is melted.
  3. I get 12 squares , or 12 helpings, which is about a cups worth of deliciousness. Served with a green salad it makes a great meal!
It's My Side of Life https://itsmysideoflife.com/

Enjoy! 

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