This Gluten-Free Eggplant Parmesan recipe is a gluten-free alternative to a classic Italian dish. It's made of oven baked crispy, breaded slices of eggplant topped with marinara, parmesan, and mozzarella.
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Gluten-Free Eggplant Parmigiana is one of my favorite meals. I mean, what's not to love about crispy baked slices of eggplant smothered in tomato sauce, topped with two types of cheese, then baked until melty, gooey, and delicious?
Serve it as a vegetarian main course with gluten-free pasta. Grab a side of gluten free garlic bread and house salad for a complete meal.
📖Why My Recipe Works
This recipe is all about texture. There are three things I did to keep the eggplant crispy:
- Baked and not fried. Baking keeps the breadcrumbs from absorbing moisture and getting gummy. The crispier the better.
- Individually baked, then stacked for serving. This helps keep the coating nice and crispy.
- Salted - Salting the eggplant before we batter it helps draw out excess moisture that would make the flour gooey.
🧾Ingredient Notes
- Eggplant - You'll need two large eggplants for this recipe. If all you can find are smaller eggplants, you can use three. Look for eggplants that are slightly firm and have shiny skin.
- Flour - You can use rice flour or all-purpose gluten-free flour. While other gluten-free flours will work, I don't recommend using coconut flour. It's more absorbent than other varieties and won't yield the same results.
- Eggs - I don't have a good substitute for the egg.
- Breadcrumbs - I prefer to use gluten-free breadcrumbs.
- Parmesan - Freshly grated or pre-grated will work.
- Seasonings - We're seasoning our eggplant with a blend of salt, black pepper, dried oregano, garlic powder, and dried basil.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Olive Oil Spray - Either one will work. You will need just a thin layer of oil or cooking spray to grease the pan before baking the eggplant.
- Mozzarella - You can use fresh mozzarella balls or shredded mozzarella. You can also substitute dairy-free cheese, Trader's Joe dairy-free mozzarella is my favorite!
- Marinara Sauce - Store-bought or homemade tomato sauce will work.
⏲️How to Make Gluten-Free Eggplant Parm
- Slice the eggplant into ⅓ inch thick slices. Sprinkle both sides with salt, then let the slices sit for 20-30 minutes or, if you have time, up to an hour.
- In total, you should have three bowls, each with their layer of the final batter.
- Dip each slice of eggplant into the flour followed by the egg and then the breadcrumb and parmesan mixture.
- Leave space between each piece. You will likely need more than one baking sheet. Flip halfway through baking.
- Increase the oven temp and top each slice with 2 tablespoons of sauce and your mozzarella cheese.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- Don't over-sauce the eggplant. Instead, warm up extra marinara sauce and serve on the side for dipping.
- If you notice the cheese browning too much on top before the eggplant is softened to your liking, loosely cover with foil to prevent from burning but still allows steam to escape.
- Patting dry will keep the breading from sliding off.
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📖 Recipe Card
Gluten-Free Eggplant Parmesan
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants sliced into ½-inch rounds
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup rice flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup gluten-free panko bread crumbs
- ¾ cup grated parmesan plus ½ cup for the top
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ t teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- olive oil or oil spray for pan
- 8 ounces mozzarella either 1 fresh mozzarella ball or 1- ½ cups shredded mozzarella
- 2 cups fresh marinara sauce
- fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
- Lay the eggplant rounds out on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and sprinkle both sides with salt. Let the rounds sit while you prep the dredging station. They can sit for up to an hour but 20 to 30 minutes is plenty of time.2 large eggplants, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush 2 large sheet pans with oil. Set aside.olive oil or oil spray for pan
- In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together eggs. In another bowl, add the flour. In the final bowl, combine breadcrumbs, parmesan, oregano, garlic powder, basil, salt, and pepper.¾ cup rice flour, ¾ cup grated parmesan plus ½ cup for the top, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, ½ t teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon dried basil, 2 eggs, 1 cup gluten-free panko bread crumbs
- Rinse the salt from the eggplant slices and pat dry with paper towels. Dip each eggplant slice completely in the flour, followed by the egg allowing the excess egg to drop off before placing it in the breadcrumb mixture. Place the breaded slices on the baking sheets.
- Bake until golden brown on the bottom. Flip the slices; continue baking until browned on the other side, for 30 minutes in total. Remove from oven and raise oven heat to 400 degrees.
- Top each piece of eggplant with 2 Tablespoons of sauce and a slice of (or sprinkle) mozzarella. Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan.8 ounces mozzarella, 2 cups fresh marinara sauce
- Bake until the eggplant is tender and the cheese is melted and bubbly about 20 minutes. Move to a serving platter and garnish with fresh basil.fresh basil
Notes
Nutrition
Common Recipe Questions
Yes! To make this eggplant recipe in an air fryer, cook the eggplant for 5 minutes at 380 F degrees then flip the slices over and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Assemble and then cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the cheese is melted.
If your eggplant parmesan is soggy, it's likely because the eggplant didn't drain long enough-or the oven wasn't fully preheated before baking.
Exactly! Eggplant holds a lot of water, so if you skip salting and draining, all that moisture seeps into the breading and turns it soggy. Salting first pulls out excess water, setting you up for the crispiest, most delicious eggplant parmesan.
Courtney M says
Is the casserole supposed to be layered like a lasagna, or only one piece of eggplant per layer? It appears to be layered in the plated picture.
Jen Wooster says
It is slices, see the process photos for more details. But I do have an eggplant lasagna (no noodles) if interested!
April says
I am looking forward to making this. You didn’t mention peeling the eggplant. I prefer mine peeled and wondered if that would make any difference in the recipe with the salting? Thanks.
Jen Wooster says
I don't peel my eggplant but since we are breading it that should give enough structure.
Lisa Sherman says
Yum. I used crisped rice cereal whizzed in a food processor in lieu of gluten free panko.
So good!
Jen Wooster says
Great idea