Vegan Eggplant Parmesan Casserole – Baked Healthy Option

This vegan eggplant Parmesan casserole recipe will allow  you to have one of your favorite Italian recipes and stay on your meal plan.

I have a delicious recipe for baked eggplant Parmesan recipe but it is neither vegan nor vegetarian. 

My daughter is a vegan, so I adapt many recipes for her dietary needs.  She loved this one!  The hardest part was finding bread crumbs that were vegan.

We looked at many labels before finding one ended up with a plain Panko brand.

Printable Recipe – Baked Eggplant Casserole

Eggplant is rich in fiber and lots of vitamins and makes a great meat replacement in this dish.

Salting the eggplant before baking and letting it sit for a while helps to make sure that the dish does not end up tough and bitter. 

If you want the recipe to be vegetarian, there is also a Veggie Parmesan cheese that adds a bit more flavor.

Slice the eggplant 1/2 inch thick and salt. Let it sit for about 1/2 hour.

We cooked our onion and mushrooms in olive oil until tender and added them to store bought spaghetti sauce for our semi home made marina for the dish. 

Let it simmer while the eggplants are sitting.

Dip the eggplant into the soy milk and then the bread crumbs and place on a baking sheet in a single layer.

Cook in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes until lightly browned.

Place a small amount of the store bought marina sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish.

Top it with some of the breaded eggplant. (we also added onion and green peppers to our marina sauce to give the casserole more texture.)

Layer the eggplant slices with some of the marinara sauce.

Add a layer of the Daiya cheese.

Continue layering the eggplant, marinara and cheese until the casserole is full.

Top with the final layer of cheese.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 1/2 hour until the cheese has melted.

(Daiya cheese is good at melting in inner layers of a casserole but not so great on the top but it still tastes good.)

Enjoy!

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Yield: 12

Vegan Baked Eggplant Parmesan

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Bottled spaghetti sauce makes this delicious vegan baked eggplant Parmesan recipe super easy to make.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
• 1 tbsp olive oil.
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup sliced peppers.
• 3 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 Cup of Soy milk
• 4 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs (be sure to check the label to make sure they are vegan)
• 16 ounce Daiya mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh basil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Season the eggplant slices with kosher salt and set aside for about 1/2 hour. (this helps to keep the eggplant from getting tough.)
3. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan and cook the onions and mushrooms until tender. Add the marinara sauce and simmer while the eggplant is sitting.
4. Dip the eggplant slices into the soy milk , and then into the Italian bread crumbs. Place the slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side.
5. Meanwhile, In a 9×13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheese. Sprinkle basil on top.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 401Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 1403mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 8gSugar: 14gProtein: 18g

Nutritional information is approximate due to natural variation in ingredients and the cook-at-home nature of our meals.

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