I love Eggplant Parmesan but I absolutely hate how long it takes to prepare and cook. If you’ve ever seen my Instagram post about my quick and easy way to make lasagna, you know that I hate waiting around a hot oven and that I try to save myself as much time, money, and aggravation as possible in the kitchen.
So when I saw this recipe for Shortcut Eggplant Parmesan in my 100 Days of Real Food cookbook *, I knew I had to give it a try. Also, I may have been trying to get the old wives tale that Eggplant Parmesan causes labor to work….but it didn’t.
If you have kiddos at home that you are worried may not want to eat this dish, I just cut up the Eggplant Parmesan and removed the skin and then mixed everything all together (and covered it in cheese 🙂 ). My boys ate it up and even wanted seconds! I’ve discovered with my kids that if I don’t separate the food that they are less picky about what they eat.
- 1 Large or 2 medium eggplants
- 2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
- Olive oil, for cooking
- Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup tomato sauce (homemade or store bought), warmed
- 1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Preheat over to 200 degrees.
- Cut the eggplant into even round slices about 1/4" thick.
- Place two clean plates side by side and pour the flour onto one of the plates. Coat both sides of the eggplant slices with flour and lay them on the other plate.
- Put a large saute pan with a tight-fitting lid on the stove over medium heat. Pour in a thin layer of olive oil. When the oil is hot add the eggplant slices, working in batches so as not to overcrowd them.
- Cook until the bottoms are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. If the eggplant soaks up all the oil, drizzle a little more into the pan before flipping them. Flip the eggplant slices over and immediately sprinkle with plenty of salt and pepper if desired.
- Working very quickly, add a dollop of tomato sauce on top of each eggplant dish and then sprinkle each piece with about 1 tablespoon of grated mozzarella. Cover the pan for 30 to 60 seconds, or until the cheese is melted and the bottom is golden brown.
- Transfer the eggplant slices to a baking sheet and place the baking sheet in the oven to keep warm while you finish the rest of the eggplant slices.
- To serve, sprinkle the eggplant slices with Parmesan cheese and serve over pasta noodles tossed with tomato sauce.
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I’m all about keeping it simple in the kitchen, too, so this looks promising!