Mom’s Best Eggplant Parmesan

Mom’s Best Eggplant Parmesan is made with chopped eggplants lightly sautéed until golden brown, then topped with a layer of fresh marinara sauce, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and fresh basil.  It’s simple, easy and delicious!!  Mom’s recipe makes a very light, no-carb, gluten-free  and very tasty Eggplant Parmesan.  And, it’s one of her’s best eggplant dishes because it requires minimal work.

We love eggplant all summer long and this happens to be our family’s favorite.

Mom’s Best Eggplant Parmesan is so good and tasty, once you try it, you can’t help but to go back for more!

Because her method to making this dish is so easy and simple, you’ll want to make her recipe all year long!  When you add freshly made marinara sauce along with some grated parmigiano cheese and fresh basil on top – it takes it to a whole new level!

No need to weigh it down with bread crumbs or with tons of shredded mozzarella. Only a few fresh ingredients is all you need, adding a lot of flavor to the tender eggplants.

 

It makes for a fabulous side dish to serve with grilled meats and fish.  Mom’s Best Eggplant Parmesan is also best served warm or at room temperature.

Here is a great tip from Mom:  How to buy the best eggplants?  When buying eggplants, look for ones that are firm, not soft to the touch.  Also, try holding one in each hand to find the ones that are lighter in weight.  The lighter ones in weight will not be entirely full of seeds which makes the eggplant taste bitter.  And, the lighter the eggplant are in weight, the better the quality,  and the more tasty when grilled, sautéed or roasted.

*You can follow along with the steps or you can jump down to the bottom of this post for our full recipe card!

Ingredients for Mom’s Best Eggplant Parmesan:

• 2 large eggplants

• 1 cup canola or olive oil

• 1 to 2 cups of prepared Mom’s Quick Marinara Sauce

• 1/4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

• fresh chopped basil leaves

First, cut and chop the eggplants to about 1 to 2 inch pieces.

In a deep skillet, heat about 1/2 cup of oil on medium heat.

When oil is hot, carefully add the eggplant to fill the bottom of the skillet.  Sauté for a minute or so, watching them and turning them until they are golden brown.

Remove and drain on 2 to 3 sheets of paper towels in a deep foil pan.  Spread evenly onto paper towels, this will help drain the oil from eggplants very well.  Add another layer of paper towels on top of the eggplant and continue to sauté and drain on top of paper towels again.

Once you have finished cooking all the eggplant.  Place another 2 sheets of paper towels on top. Lightly press down on top, and set aside for about 15 minutes or more, allowing them to continue to drain the oil. The longer you leave them in paper towels, the better the paper towels will absorb the excess oil, leaving the eggplant less oily.

When ready to serve.  Lightly warm up some marinara sauce. Remove and discard all paper towels. Transfer the chopped eggplants to a serving platter.  Spoon lightly with marinara sauce over the eggplant. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh chopped basil on top and serve.

Serves 6 to 8

                                                           Thanks for Pinning!!

Hello Friends!  Are you cooking with us?  If you try this delicious recipe, please let us know and leave a comment below!  We’d love to hear from you! 🙂

Follow us on Instagram and on Pinterest.   

Don’t forget to enter your email address in our ‘Subscribe Box’ and get our recipes FREE every time we post!  Also, you can follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

Thanks for stopping by!

Anna and Liz  🙂