Vegan eggplant parmesan, basically a vegan-friendly version of the Southern Italian classic. Originally vegetarian-friendly, but now completely vegan! This eggplant parmesan recipe will become your next family favorite! Easy to make, and only needs a few ingredients. This dish is layered with crispy eggplant, layered tomato sauce, two types of vegan cheese, and garnished with herbs. If you need an easy family-friendly dish to serve, then I highly recommend this recipe.
What is eggplant parmesan?
Eggplant Parmesan (Parmigiana di melanzane), a true classic Southern Italian dish, has become popular around the world. Originally, eggplant parmesan would be prepared by frying the eggplant itself in olive oil, then layering it with tomato sauce and cheese. The Italian-American version is usually breaded before frying. There are a lot of theories about the origins of the eggplant parmesan. For example, many food writers have their suspicion that this dish is not native to Naples or Southern Italy, although that is where eggplant parmesan is usually found. I won't go into the details here, but you can read it here.
I've been asked by a friend to create this dish for her, as she just found out that she cannot handle dairy. So this recipe is dedicated to her, if you're reading this, you know who you are! I've had different forms of vegan eggplant parmesan, but none of them have ever tasted that great. It's probably because they were trying to make this dish healthy, by using some kind of homemade tofu cheese or bland tomato sauce. I mean, I didn't mind it, but when tested this recipe, the goal was to make it as close to the real thing. Full of flavor and outright delicious!
In this recipe, I don't require you to make your tomato sauce, but of course, if you want to, by all means! The only part that requires a little bit of labor is to prep and cook the eggplant. Salting the eggplant, dredging, and frying it up. That's all there is to it! After that, just layer it in a casserole dish, and bake it up. My recipe might not be the way it's originally made, but I wanted it to be easy for any level of home cooks out there.
Top tips for making vegan eggplant parmesan:
- Always make sure to read the ingredients of any packaged foods. Such as the pasta sauce or panko bread crumbs, might contain dairy or eggs!
- Salting the eggplants. Salting the flesh of the eggplants will improve it in two ways. It'll make it less bitter and make it less spongey. So don't skip this step!
- Prep an assembly line. This just makes the process go by smoothly. Before I coat the eggplant, I like to line my station from left to right, raw eggplant, wet dredge, dry dredge, large baking sheet.
- Mixing two vegan kinds of cheese. I like to mix two flavored vegan kinds of cheese to bring more flavors to the dish. I mixed Daiya mozzarella with the Vio-Life Parmesan wedge. Of course, you don't need to do this, you can just use one cheese.
If you enjoyed this recipe, check out these other recipes:
If you’d tried this recipe out let me know in the comments! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @flouredframe and don’t forget to tag me when you create my recipes! Happy cooking!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Eggplant Parmesan (Parmigiana di Melanzane)
Equipment
- Chopping Board
- Large knife
- Large colander
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Large skillet
- Tongs
- Wire cooling rack or large plate lined with a paper towel
Ingredients
- 1 large globe eggplant (or a couple of small eggplants)
- Kosher salt
- Olive oil
- 1 jar 24 ounc pasta sauce (make sure it’s vegan, see notes)
- 1 pack vegan shredded mozzarella (I used Daiya)
- 1 wedge vegan parmesan (I used Vio Life)
- Parsley or basil for topping
Wet Dredge
- ½ cup non-dairy milk (I used soy milk)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Dry Dredge
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs (make sure it’s vegan, see notes)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher sal
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
Instructions
- First, clean and dry the skin of the eggplant. Then, cut the eggplant lengthwise into ¼-inch slices. Lightly salt them on both sides and let them sit in a large colander for 40 minutes. You can cut the eggplant into rounds if you prefer.
- While you wait, prep the wet dredge and the dry dredge. In a large bowl or plate, combine the ingredients for the dry dredge: panko breadcrumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, paprika, black pepper, and dried parsley. In another large bowl or plate, combine the ingredients for the wet dredge: non-dairy milk, all-purpose flour, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix until it forms a batter. Set them aside until ready to use. If you are making your pasta sauce, you can do it at this point.
- After 40 minutes, rinse the eggplant under cold water, and with a clean kitchen towel, pat dry.
- Next, bread the eggplant slices. First, coat the eggplant in the wet dredge (the batter), then coat it in the dry dredge (the breadcrumbs). Transfer to a large baking sheet and repeat with the remaining eggplant.
- In a large skillet, pour enough olive oil to fully coat the bottom and place over medium heat.
- Working in small batches, fry the eggplant on one side for 3-5 minutes or until golden and flip for another 3-5 minutes. Transfer to wire cooling rack or a baking sheet lined with a paper towel. Repeat with the remaining eggplant. See notes for alternatives for cooking the eggplant.
- Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Cover the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan with a bit of pasta sauce. Arrange the fried eggplant slices over the sauce. Spoon more sauce over the eggplant, then sprinkle cheese. Repeat this layering process, eggplant, sauce, cheese. You should have 3 layers.
- Bake the dish for 20 minutes. Top with some fresh basil or parsley (I only had dried basil, use whatever you have or prefer). Allow it to cool for a little bit before serving, enjoy!
Notes
- Always make sure to read the ingredients of any packaged foods to make sure it is vegan. Such as the pasta sauce or panko bread crumbs, might contain dairy or eggs!
- Salting the eggplants. Salting the flesh of the eggplants will improve it in two ways. It'll make it less bitter and make it less spongey. So don't skip this step!
- Prep an assembly line. This just makes the process go by smoothly. Before I coat the eggplant, I like to line my station from left to right, raw eggplant, wet dredge, dry dredge, large baking sheet.
- Mixing two vegan kinds of cheese. I like to mix two flavored vegan kinds of cheese to bring more flavors to the dish. I mixed Daiya mozzarella with the Vio-Life Parmesan wedge. Of course, you don't need to do this, you can just use one cheese.
- If you want don’t want to fry your eggplant, you can bake it or use an air fryer.
To bake: the eggplant in a 425° Fahrenheit for 25 minutes, until the eggplant is softened and mostly cooked through. - I, unfortunately, do not own an air fryer so I do not know what temp or how long to cook this for.
Leave a Reply