Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Aaahhh, cheesy Baked Eggplant Parmesan is now one of my favorite dishes. Our first time making it, I wasn't exactly sure how it would come out....I mean there is no meat in this dish! But good lord is it good. It resembles lasagna, has a crispy crusted eggplant with just the right amount of texture to counter that gooey cheese and rich tomato sauce.

If you are keto/low carb...I highly suggest you give this one a try. It's a family favorite at my house.

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplants, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
• 2 eggs
• 1 (25 ounce) jar Marinara Sauce
• 2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese
• 2/3 cup finely-grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup loosely-packed chopped or julienned fresh basil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced

For breading: (If you need additional breading mixture, combine parmesan, flaxseed, and almond meal in a 3:2:1 Tablespoon ration respectively.)

• Salt
• 9 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 6 Tablespoons flaxseed meal
• 3 Tablespoons of almond meal or flour
• 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning

Directions:

To remove some of the bitterness of the eggplant, sprinkle each round with salt. Then place the rounds on paper towels to absorb the liquid for about 30 minutes. Pat dry with paper towel and then proceed with recipe.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.

In a shallow bowl, whisk together parmesan, flaxseed meal, almond meal, Italian seasoning and 1 teaspoon salt until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth. Dip an eggplant round on both sides in the whisked egg mixture, then immediately dip it in the breadcrumb mixture until the eggplant is completely coated, then set on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining eggplant rounds until they are all evenly spaced on the baking sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until the breadcrumbs are toasted and slightly golden. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce evenly over the bottom of an 11 x 8-inch baking dish. Place half of the eggplant in a mostly even layer along the bottom of the baking dish. Spread an additional 1 cup of tomato sauce evenly over the eggplant. Then sprinkle 1 cup Mozzarella cheese evenly over the sauce, followed by 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, followed by 1/4 cup of the fresh basil, and half the minced garlic. Repeat with another layer of the remaining eggplant, then tomato sauce, then Mozzarella, then Parmesan cheese, garlic and basil.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and starts to turn slightly golden around the edges, and the sauce is bubbly. Enjoy!

I hope you give this one a try because it is fantastic!

With Gratitude,
Captain Bob