Old School Italian Eggplant Parmesan (only five ingredients!) | Kenji’s Cooking Show

mozzarella cheese

🥗Healthier: part-skim mozzarella

💰Cheaper: processed cheese

Part-skim mozzarella is lower in fat, while processed cheese can be more budget-friendly.

parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grated hard cheese

Nutritional yeast is a lower-calorie option, and grated hard cheese can be less expensive.

Start by heating olive oil in a skillet.

Slice the eggplant into rounds.

Use smaller eggplants for easier slicing and less seeds, but larger eggplants can work too.

Salt the eggplant slices to help with frying, but mention that modern eggplants are not particularly bitter.

Fry the eggplant slices in batches over medium-low heat until browned on both sides, adding more oil as needed.

As each batch finishes cooking, place the fried eggplant into a baking container.

Prepare the sauce using whole canned tomatoes, avoiding diced or pureed tomatoes due to additives.

Use a pastry cutter to break down the whole tomatoes into a chunky sauce.

Layer the fried eggplant in the baking container, adding the tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese in chunks between layers.

Add fresh basil in between the layers as well.

Continue layering until all ingredients are used, finishing with mozzarella on top.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens