Ingredients
Units
Scale
Salting the eggplant
- 2 eggplants, sliced into 1/3" slices, about 8 per eggplant
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 tsp per sheet pan to salt the eggplant
For the Breading
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup parmigiano or parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup regular breadcrumbs
- 3 1/2 cups homemade tomato sauce
- Salt and Pepper to taste
For the Whipped Ricotta
- 15 oz whole milk ricotta
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tsp kosher salt
2 tablespoons fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
Salting the Eggplant
- Slice the eggplants each into 8 slices (16 total), approximately ⅓" thick.
- Lay eggplant slices side by side on a baking sheet. Salt the eggplant (1 tsp for each pan) and cover with two layers of paper towels.
- Let rest for 1 hour. After 1 hour, dry completely with paper towel as much as possible.
Breading
- Preheat oven to 400°. Coat a 9x13" baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil or spray with baking spray. Or, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place the flour in its own shallow dish.
- Beat the eggs into a wide shallow bowl and set aside.
- Combine both breadcrumbs and cheese into another shallow bowl.
- Dip each side of each eggplant slice first in flour, then into beaten eggs and finally the cheese and breadcrumb mixture. Move to a prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes, flipping halfway through, until crispy. Cool.
Whipped Ricotta
- Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse on high until creamy and thick- a couple of minutes.
Assembly
- Pour one cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of prepared baking pan.
- Layer half of the eggplant slices on the sauce.
- Top with 2 tablespoons of sauce and 2 tablespoons whipped ricotta. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon parmigiano cheese. Repeat process with final layer.
- Bake in 400° oven for 20 minutes until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with basil and serve!
Notes
Top tip
- Remove excess liquid from the eggplant- this will take away any bitter taste and won't make the recipe soggy since eggplant is mostly made up of water!
- Whip the ricotta cheese. This makes the filling irresistibly smooth!
- Use Panko breadcrumbs for extra crunch!
- Prep Time: 1 h 5 min
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Savory
- Method: Italian
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: eggplant, tomato sauce, baked eggplant stacks, parmesan cheese, main course, appetizer, vegetarian, ricotta cheese