If your looking to lighten it up after all that heavy food you’ve had lately, don’t leave! This is not your typical “Eggplant Parmigiana” Nothing breaded or fried here!! Not even mozzarella is in here! Really, trust me!
What you have instead is eggplant slices that are roasted in a hot oven, layered with a light marinara sauce, and then finished off with a very light, almost custard like, basil, cheese flavored ricotta.
The flavor of the eggplant intensifies from roasting it, and that, along with the other ingredients, gives you an end result that melts in your mouth!! You actually feel good after eating this, it’s not heavy at all. Serve a salad on the side, and you’re good to go!!
INGREDIENTS:
recipe addapted from Everyday Food
2 Large Eggplants sliced lengthwise 3/4″ thick.. Leave skin on
1LB. Ricotta
3 Eggs
1 Cup Grated Romano
Fresh Chopped Basil
About 2 Cups Marinara Sauce
Olive Oil to Brush On, along with, Salt & Pepper
1*** Preheat oven to 450F. Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast till tender and golden, about 20-30 minutes.
2*** In a bowl, whisk ricotta, eggs, 1/2 cup of the Romano cheese, fresh basil, salt and pepper.
3*** Brush the bottom and the sides of an 8×8″ square casserole dish. Place 1/4 of the roasted eggplant down, spread with marinara, more eggplant, half of the ricotta mixture, repeat everything ending with ricotta on top. Spread remaining Romano over top. Bake 25 to 30 minutes.
It’s important to let it cool for about 15 minutes so that everything sets and it’s not runny.Note: I doubled the recipe and put it in a 9×12 baking dish, adding more basil and cheese. I really don’t measure those things.
Buon Appetito!!
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
Hi Marie! I bookmarked this recipe a long time ago, and finally had a chance to make it this week. It was divine – a perfect comfort food even in summer – served with a green salad. We ate the leftovers cold the next day for lunch, and that was also delicious.
It is quite surprising how much water bakes off the veggies in the oven, so what looks like a huge quantity ends up being just right! I thought one eggplant would be enough and then quickly threw in a huge zucchini to roast in place of the second eggplant.
I wanted to urge your readers not to fiddle around with the 3/4″ thickness you suggest for the eggplant slices. Mine randomly turned out to be about 1/2″ thick and the centers of the slices started to dry out (read: burn!) before the outsides were tender!
Thanks for the recipe!
This is an easy & delicious meal. My family loved it!
Thanks!
Looks delish and I have beautiful Orlando eggplant in my garden. How many calories per serving?
I have my first batch of this in the oven now and the whole house smells great! :). Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
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Lee Ann H
Crochet…Gotta Love It! Blog
Crochet…Gotta Love It! Website (crochet names and rosary patterns)
Allison, Keep up the good work and stop eating ramen! I’m so glad you liked it!!
Hugs,
Marie
I made this tonight and it was amazing!!!!
I’m a broke college student and this was one of my first home cooked meals other than ramen, i love eggplant and my girlfriend doesn’t eat meat so this was perfect!
ahhh im going to make it again, so good!
🙂
yum! i totally making this tonight!
Why is there no “print” option?!! That sucks!!
This sounds like exactly the kind of recipe I’ve been trying to cook lately– healthy but also satisfying in this crazy cold weather! It’s hard to eat light when it’s cold like this (at least for me), but this dish sounds like a great compromise.
Hi Marie
I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious! I did not miss breading and frying the eggplant as I usually do when I make eggplant rollitini, and this dish tasted very similar.
I was also surprised it didn’t need mozzarrela cheese.
I’ll definitely keep this recipe and make it often. Thanks!
Marie this is such a fabulous dish! Thanks for visiting my blog!
Wow – yummy stuff!!!!! I will be checking your blog often. Feel free to check out mine too.
Kim
I love how you lightned this up with the Ricotta. Light and tasty.
Eggplants are in my blood, if you salt me down, that dark amber liquid will ooze out of my pores, just like a lovely melanzana! Unfortunately neither of my boys like it or ricotta so I don’t have it as often as I would like. I like the flavour combinations you have here and will be making this for myself soon.
Absolutely wonderful way to make eggplant Marie! Saves so much time and it is lighter than eggplant rollitini.
Marie.. oh my gosh and yum!!
I dream of eggplant in sauce and this is going to keep me busy all night! And I’m so glad I dream in color.. beautiful pictures! 🙂
My husband would love this. He is a fiend for eggplant and tomato sauce.
Mmmm! I can almost smell this one! It looks fabulous! My mom always makes her eggplant parm this way. She hates to fry.
looks wonderful Marie! Of course we don’t measure.. we don’t want to give away the exact recipe Marie!:) Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful Holiday Season.
Hey! I am a local Chicagoan too! I absolutely love your blog! It’s beautiful and so original!
Love eggplant parmigiana, and I know instantly that I’ll like this one too.
Cheers,
Elra
love the eggplants…yum.
It looks delish…I’ve been craving eggplant lately. Actually since this morning since I saw someone on the the food channel preparing some.
I really enjoy your blog. I have an award for you.
Oh, I wish I had a hunk of that right now, Marie! Yum.
Theresa, They are 3/4″ thick slices.
Thanks everyone for all your comments!!
Marie, did you scoop out the eggplant?
Mmmmm. I should never move on over here before breakfast. I am craving silky baked eggplant right NOW!!!!!
Oh yes, I do like this version. It looks wonderful and love that it’s healthier!!
Happy new year to you!!
I like this lighter version of egg parm. Baking the eggplant is easier, healthier and no taste is sacrificed.
Measure? What’s measure? A pinch, a dash, ‘fill the small well in a pinched palm’ (that was Gramma’s), a couple of handfuls… these are our measurements… looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it- looks a little less time consuming than the eggplant rollatini I put together on Sunday but sounds unbelievable- I do love the simplicity of it!
Happy New Year and thanks for stopping in.
Johnny T
What a great way to make eggplant. This is a must try for me 🙂
Oh yeah, me like 🙂 Have added this to my recipe file, and you know I will make it.
You’ve got my attention!! I was about to leave your site, because I could not eat another rich meal for a long while, but luckily I kept reading..THis is a fantastic way of doing eggplant! I cannot wait for colder weather!
I’m always on the outlook for lightened recipes for old favorites. Those fried foods sure do reek havoc on the digestive system.
Light and smooth, Looks great. I like the change! Thanks chuck
I always see these beautiful, purple egglplants in my grocery store and wonder what to do with them – Thanks! I’m going to try this soon.
Yummmmm! This certainly gets the new year off to a terrific start! Oh gosh, I bet this tastes awesome with the eggplant and ricotta and sauce! I’d like this just as much as eggplant parmesan (which I like a LOT!) Happy New Year!
I realise that I love just about everything that comes out of your kitchen! It’s odd that despite cultural and geographical boundaries, many of your meals are very similar to mine.
I’ve got to try your take on Eggplant Parmigiana (I sometimes use mozarella, and I often add peppers and mushrooms). I make a meatball lasagne too. And as luck would have it, there’s still a box of Panettone in the kitchen 🙂
Thank you for the inspiration, and Happy New Year!
That looks fabulous! It’s my ultimate comfort food. Happy New Year, my friend! 🙂
Wow! that looks delicious. A nice twist on an old standby.
Such another home run!
This looks great, eggplants are on sale at my grocery store and I was just trying to choose an eggplant recipe!
This is such a nice recipe to have. I love eggplant, but the fried, cheesy stuff is so heavy I always feel yukky after eating it! I’m going to give this a try real soon.
Marie, this is rich and gorgeous! You make eating light look awefully good girl!!
MM Sounds delicious!! Do you have any recipes for marinara?
Happy New Year Everybody!
Proud Italian Cook. I will be right over to scoff the eggplant ricotta’and then will wash it down with Cannoli cake.
Love Ya UJ
Mmmmm love anything with eggplant. What a great idea…I’m making it!
KM
Looks amazing. Just what we need… a good, lighter recipe. I’m assuming this would be ok w/ skim ricotta?
I saw this on Everyday Food and I thought it looked great too! I’m going to make it soon!
Nice recipe, Marie 🙂
Oh, this looks wonderful! Yes, I definitely need lighter meals right now. And I actually have a good amount of leftover ricotta that I need to use up, and now I know where it will be going!
Marie – I would not have left even if it were the heavier kind!
Nice January dish!
LL
Wow Marie I think I just found tomorrow night’s dinner. I have a couple of eggplant and everything else that I need for it. Made me very happy!!!
JoAnn, Yes you have! It really is light isn’t it?
Erica, I think you’ll love it!
Elaine, No carbs, Yay!!
Arlene, Please do!
Stace, It really is light, look at my SIL’s JoAnn’s comment. The ricotta is whipped with the eggs and its light and fluffy. If you compare that to heavy, fried eggplant, with added mozzarella cheese, this is as light as a feather!! LOL!
Dawn, You’re killing me, I’m trying to convince everyone that its light Italian. lol! See the portion control everyone?
Jenn, I have no clue why you got that error message, I never went private on this blog. The only thing that’s private, is my recipe page blog, which I’ve been trying to figure out how to do for almost a year!! Obviously, I need help!! Maybe you hit that by mistake. Anyway glad to “see” you again!!
OMG!!!!! That looks so freaking good, Marie! I am literally drooling over here! I am so glad to read your blog, it has been a while, a few times I got an error saying it was an invite only blog…and I was sad. Now I am happy again in 2009! 🙂
I just love that top layer–tons of cheese. This looks so good! Love that bright red sauce in contrast with the fresh basil.
luckily I love you, because I wouldn’t call this light.
I LOVE eggplant and ricotta.
I am trying to be good….how can you post this now???????
Now I have to make it!
I will be switching over to “lite” mode myself starting Monday and this looks delicious. I’ve stuffed eggplant with a ricotta/mushroom mix, but never done it simply as you have. I will add it to my “to do” list for sure.
Wow, this could be like a no carb lasagna! Brilliant!
looks good! i am going to try this tonight for dinner.
I have had eggplant that you have made this way, roasted instead of breaded and fried, and can attest to it’s tastiness. It is very light and not heavy at all.