Low Carb Eggplant Parmesan is a tasty casserole loaded with fresh eggplant, melted cheese, garlic, herbs, and marinara sauce. An easy-to-make baked casserole with the flavors of Southern France and Italy. This recipe is low carb, keto-friendly, gluten free, and has no added sugar. Perfect!
Jump to:
- You will love this Baked Eggplant Parmesan Recipe
- Baked Eggplant Parmesan or Eggplant Gratin?
- Baked Eggplant Parmesan Ingredients
- How to Make Eggplant Parmesan (Baked)
- What to serve with Eggplant Parmesan
- How to store Baked Eggplant Parmesan
- Keto Eggplant Parmesan FAQs
- 📖 The recipe.
- More Tasty Recipes Recipes
- 💬 What readers are saying.
You will love this Baked Eggplant Parmesan Recipe
Ultimate Eggplant Parmesan
This eggplant parmesan recipe tastes SO GOOD and is easy to make. It's total comfort with cheesy goodness and marinara sauce.
It's Easy
Eggplant gratin is an easy recipe to make. First, you don't have the step of breading or frying the eggplant - which for whatever reason I've never enjoyed frying anything on the stove cause it's messy and time-consuming. Instead, the eggplant is tossed with olive oil then baked in the oven - super simple.
Eggplant Parmesan is Healthy and Meatless
This eggplant parmesan recipe is healthy. It is low carb, keto-friendly, gluten-free, meatless, and sugar-free. Also, the eggplant is baked instead of fried. Sugar-free marina is used in this dish, so there is no added sugar.
A Breadless Eggplant Parmesan
What is unique to this recipe is that it is a breadless eggplant parmesan. The flavors blend so well in this recipe that you will never miss the breaded coating!
You can be doing other things while the eggplant bakes! Love that.
Eggplant Gratin Is Comfort Food
Delicious eggplant layered with gooey melted cheeses, cream, and marina this is the ultimate cozy comfort food casserole.
Baked Eggplant Parmesan or Eggplant Gratin?
Parmigiana di melanzane (Eggplant Parmesan) or gratin d'aubergines (Eggplant Gratin)? 🙂
Eggplant parmesan and eggplant gratin are essentially the same dishes. Eggplant Gratin is the French version and Eggplant Parmesan is Italian.
Eggplant Gratin comes from the south of France which shares not only the Mediterranean with Italy but also their borders. Some areas of Southern France used to be a part of Italy until the late 1800s.
Amazingly when you travel to the south of France the architecture looks very Italian. It is only natural that there are also similar variations in cuisine.
Traditionally, the main difference between eggplant parmesan and eggplant gratin is often the cheeses. The French version was often made with a Swiss-type cheese like Emmenthal, whereas the Italian version uses parmesan and often mozzarella.
Nowadays, the lines are blurred on how to make this eggplant casserole. Put your spin on it, and call it what you want! Have fun!
Baked Eggplant Parmesan Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this eggplant parmesan:
- Fresh Eggplant
- Extra Virgin Olive oil
- Kosher Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Eggs
- Ricotta Cheese
- Garlic
- Fresh Thyme or Basil
- Half and Half
- Marinara Sauce (no sugar added)
- Parmesan Cheese
- Mozzarella Cheese
How to Make Eggplant Parmesan (Baked)
Here's how to make this eggplant parmesan recipe:
Prepare Eggplant and Bake
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large mixing bowl toss eggplant slices with olive oil and salt and pepper. (Do not let sit. Toss eggplant and oil immediately or the olive oil will soak quickly into the eggplant and not get distributed properly.
Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, turn eggplant slices over and then continue to bake until the eggplant is soft another 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove eggplant from oven and set aside.
Mix Ingredients
While eggplant is baking, whisk together half-and-half, ricotta, ½ cup of the parmesan cheese, garlic, thyme or basil, and eggs in a bowl until combined.
Layer Eggplant in Dish
Note that the eggplant will be divided between 6 gratin dishes. (To make it easier on myself I start by separating my eggplant into 6 piles on my baking sheet :-)) I don't do an exact count, only visual piles. LOL
You are creating 2 layers in your dish. Divided between the 6 gratin dishes, start by layering half the eggplant slices, then...
...the remaining ½ cup parmesan cheese, and half of the marinara sauce. Top with the remaining eggplant, then the remaining marinara sauce...
Finally, pour the ricotta cheese, half-and-half mixture over the top. (approx. ⅓ cup each). Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
Bake
Place on a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes at 425 and then 350 for another 15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and lightly brown.
What to serve with Eggplant Parmesan
I love to garnish with a sprinkle of fresh herbs and a little extra marinara. Serve and enjoy!
Tip! If you happen to cook this dish a little too long, it's okay (I've done this several times)! Just serve with additional marinara sauce on the side.
How to store Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Store leftover eggplant parmesan in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Can you freeze Eggplant Parmesan?
Yes, you can freeze eggplant parmesan for up to 3 months.
Keto Eggplant Parmesan FAQs
It's both. The French version is Eggplant Gratin, and the Italian version is Eggplant parmesan. Both have very similar ingredients and are essentially the same dish. Traditionally the made difference was types of cheese used. The French used a swiss type cheese and the Italians used parmesan.
Anymore, the lines are blurred and you will find French versions the same as the Italian version. The beauty is that you can customize this dish however you want. Change up the herbs, change the cheese, and voila - you have something wonderful!
This eggplant parmesan (eggplant gratin) recipe has 10.5g net carbs, but traditional breaded recipes can have significantly higher carbs. It all depends upon the recipe used.
Yes! You could add 1 lb of cooked meat - Italian sausage, grilled chicken, or ground beef would taste great. Add meat in between eggplant and cheese layers, finishing with cheese.
Yes! Layer roasted eggplant in a 13 x 9 casserole dish instead of individual casseroles. Bake approximately 20 minutes or cheese is bubbly and lightly brown.
Easy. Use low fat or fat-free half-and-half and low-fat ricotta. You could also toss the eggplant slices with only ¼ cup of olive oil instead of ½ cup, but you'd need to spray your baking sheet with a nonstick spray to keep it from sticking.
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📖 The recipe.
Low Carb Eggplant Parmesan
Ingredients
- 2 pounds eggplant (sliced ½" thick. Do not peel.)
- 4 ounces olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or basil
- ½ cup ricotta
- ½ cup half -and-half
- 1½ cup marinara (no sugar added)
- 1 cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
- ½ cup mozzarella (freshly grated)
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large mixing bowl toss eggplant slices with olive oil, salt and pepper. Note that eggplant absorbs the oil quickly. Immediately toss eggplant and oil so that the oil gets distributed evenly.
- Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, turn eggplant slices over and then continue to bake until the eggplant is soft another 5 to 10 minutes.
- While eggplant is baking, whisk together half-and-half, ricotta, ½ cup of the parmesan cheese, thyme or basil, and eggs in a bowl until combined.
- Dividing between the 6 gratin dishes (notes for using 1 large casserole dish below), layer half the eggplant slices, the remaining parmesan cheese, and half of the marinara sauce. Top with the remaining eggplant, then the marinara sauce, and finally pour the ricotta cheese and egg mixture over the top. (approx. ⅓ cup each dish). Finally, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
- Place on a baking sheet and bake 10 minutes at 425 degrees, then turn oven down to 350 and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until cheese is bubble lightly browning.
- Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh herbs and a side of extra marinara.
Kori's Tips
To Make One Large Casserole:
You can make this in one large casserole dish if you don't have small ones! Layer roasted eggplant in a 13 x 9 casserole dish instead of individual casseroles. Bake approximately 20 minutes or cheese is bubbly and lightly brown.Nutrition
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Pam
We grow vegetables and it never fails that every year the eggplants ripen all at once and I'm scrambling to make a decent variety of dishes with them. This one was simple, (I do have the ramekins - placed them on a cookie sheet with a silpat mat on it for easy handling) and I was even able to pull it aside before the final cheese melting step when a family member was running late, then finished it off when she got home. Instead of marinara I used some leftover homemade red sauce that had ground sausage in it, so we did get some garlic and basil flavor beyond what the recipe called for as well as some protein. Appreciated the flexibility of this recipe!
Kori
Love this, thank you for sharing! 🧡 Eggplants always seem to ripen all at once, don’t they? Sounds like you made the most of it with such smart tweaks—using ramekins, holding it before the cheese step, and swapping in your homemade red sauce with sausage. That flexibility is exactly what I love about this recipe too. So glad it worked for you and your family!