I wasn't an eggplant lover until a friend gave me this eggplant Parmesan with homemade tomato sauce recipe which I have tweaked and updated. The sauce is made with just a few ingredients and is far tastier than canned sauce. All you need is a side salad and crusty bread to make a meal!
Ingredients
- Italian-seasoned bread crumbs: 0.5 cup
- Parmesan cheese: 0.25 cup (grated)
- pinch red pepper flakes: 1 piece (to taste)
- eggplant - trimmed, peeled, and sliced 1/2-inch thick: 1 piece
- olive oil: 0.5 cup
- tomato paste: 1 can (6 ounce can)
- ½ (6 ounce) cans water: 1 piece
- basil: 0.25 tsp (dried)
- oregano: 0.25 tsp (dried)
- parsley: 0.25 tsp (dried)
- clove garlic: 1 piece (crushed)
- brown sugar: 1 tsp
- sea salt and ground black pepper: (to taste)
- mozzarella cheese: 1 pack (8 ounce pack, sliced, fresh)
- Parmesan cheese: 0.75 cup (grated)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease an 8x14-inch baking dish.
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Mix seasoned bread crumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes in a shallow bowl. Brush eggplant slices with olive oil and press into bread crumb mixture to coat. Lay slices onto a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven until browned and tender, about 15 minutes. Remove eggplant and reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
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Whisk tomato paste and water in a saucepan, place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Stir in basil, oregano, parsley, garlic, brown sugar, salt, and black pepper.
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Place eggplant slices into the prepared baking dish, overlapping the slices. Spoon tomato sauce over eggplant and top with mozzarella cheese and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
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Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. If desired, broil for 1 to 2 more minutes to give cheese topping a golden color. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
