Homemade Eggplant Parmesan is one of my favorite vegetarian comfort food dinners. Just slice, fry, and bake to perfection!
I participated in Mom Blog Tour Winter Fancy Food Show (#MomBlogTourFF)
on behalf of Wendy’s Bloggers. I received Brazi products to facilitate my review, but my opinions and the recipe are my own.
Before I start telling you about how much I love this dinner, and it seriously ranks in my top 10 (which is hard to do considering how much I adore the act of eating), I must go into my inspiration for this meal.
MY OTHER RECIPES
I needed to make something to go with my FAVORITE Brazilian Cheese Bread – Brazi Bites. My freezer is stocked with all of the different flavors they make: Cheddar & Parmesan, Zesty Pepper Jack, Garlic Asiago, and 3 Cheese Pizza. I love them all. Crave them, in fact. I had the hardest time not only figuring out which flavor I wanted to use in this post, but what to make to go along with them! I’m especially fond of this brand because a) they are based right here in Portland and b) I discovered them while sampling at Whole Foods before they catapulted to their crazy level of success after their appearance on Shark Tank.
I didn’t want to make any recipes that altered the Brazi Bites. At first I thought I would make teeny tiny little sandwiches by slicing them in half and adding some kind of filling. Then I thought about flattening them to make some kind of mini pizza. But after eating each flavor with various dinners at home, it broke my heart to think of doing anything with them other than baking and then shoving them straight into my mouth. You can definitely do that with these little bites, and I’ve seen some really awesome recipes, but I didn’t want to. You see, all you have to do is spread the frozen Brazi Bites out onto a baking sheet, bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, and then enjoy! They turn out perfect every single time. And when I say perfect, I mean perfectly golden and crispy on the outside and heavenly soft on the inside. Ugh. I’m craving them right now!
So, knowing that I just wanted to pair my Brazi Bites with a recipe rather than use them in a recipe, I decided to create one of my favorite meals: Eggplant Parmesan. You see, this meal is funny because I love it so much I actually crave it. On a regular basis. But, although my husband and two kids love to eat as much as I do, they all detest eggplant. No idea why. I can’t even wrap my head around it. What that means, however, is that I got to eat this Eggplant Parm all by myself over the course of four days and I was still wishing I had more!
This recipes starts out by peeling a large eggplant and slicing it into half inch rounds. Then, you dip it in a beaten egg and dredge it in a mixture of panko bread crumbs, parmesan, basil, and garlic. Make sure your oil is screaming hot before you start cooking the eggplant, because eggplant is like a sponge and if you set them in not-so-screaming-hot oil, they will suck up all the oil in the pan. I’m not a gluten free person, but if I had gluten free bread crumbs on hand, those totally would have worked and then both the eggplant and the Brazi Bites would have created a gluten free meal. I found out from Brazi Bite’s owner, Junea, that Brazilian cheese bread is naturally gluten free. Its always been made with tapioca flour. I thought that was so interesting in today’s world that we had a bread that was naturally gluten free rather than a bread that’s never been gluten free but someone figure out how to make it gluten free.
Next, you cover those fried breaded rounds with your favorite marinara sauce and grated cheese and then you bake until melty perfection is achieved.
I present to you – perfection.
Now, you can use those Brazi Bites to help shovel copious amounts of eggplant parm onto your fork.
See what I’m talking about? Crispy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside. YUM!
Want some of these tasty assorted flavors of Brazi Bites delivered straight to your house? Just enter the giveaway below! There are several ways to increase your chance of winning.
To learn more about Brazi Bites, please visit their website or follow them on facebook, twitter, and instagram!
Giveaway Disclaimer
One winner per household, email address, or home address. If you have won this prize on another blog you are ineligible to win again.
Winner must have a U.S.-based address to receive the prize. Winner will be randomly selected and notified on May 15, 2017.
- 1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/2" thick rounds
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup fresh parmesan, grated
- 1 tablespoon basil
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 cup oil, more if needed (I use equal parts olive and avocado oil)
- 1 (24 ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 2 cups grated Italian cheese (mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, asiago)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a shallow dish, beat eggs.
- In another shallow dish, combine panko bread crumbs, parmesan, basil, and garlic powder.
- In a large skillet with enough oil to cover entire base of pan, heat over high heat.
- Dip each slice of eggplant in the egg, then coat both sides in the bread crumb mixture. Add to the hot oil in the pan. Add eggplant to pan until you have a single layer. Once the bottom browns, flip slices and cook the other side until they get a nice golden brown color (3-4 minutes per side). Remove from pan and allow to drain on paper towel lined plate.
- Add additional oil to pan before cooking next batch, but be sure to allow oil to get screaming hot before adding the eggplant. Continue cooking until all of the eggplant has been breaded and cooked.
- Layer eggplant in casserole dish. Cover with marinara sauce and shredded cheese. Cook, uncovered, in preheated oven until heated through and cheese has fully melted, about 15 minutes.
- Serve hot with any variety Brazi Bites for an amazing meal!
I like cashews
My favorite healthy snacks are almonds, pistachios, melon and avocados.
I like to snack on nuts or grapes
I love to snack on fruit! Especially strawberries
I like to snack on fresh fruit and vegetables
Love Fruit!
ANYTHING CHEESE WITH A SLICE OF APPLE !
I love to eat peanut butter and apples as a healthy snack.
I enjoy snacking on fruit!
My favorite healthy snack is Fuji apples!
my favorite healthy snack is edaname
My favorite healthy snack is veggies and hummus!
My latest has been kale chips and fruit.
I like fresh fruit! I am going to have to write down this recipe. Looks great! And since I’m a newbie vegetarian this will work great into my meal plans! 🙂
I like carrots and hummus!
I like snacking on roasted almonds and dried fruits.
My favorite healthy snack is pretzels or veggies with ranch.
I love eating almonds and walnuts.
I like to buy these small boxes of dates at rite-aid
I like to snack on carrot sticks dipped in Ranch Dressing !
I love all veggies so a healthy snack for me would be some carrot & celery sticks.
I like to eat fruit as a snack, especially bananas.
Carrot sticks.
I love snacking on fresh fruit!
My fave is yogurt with mix-ins (e.g., nuts, granola, coconut, etc.). I like the smooth and crunchy, tangy and sweet texture and flavor fcombos this provides.
I enjoy popcorn and peanuts.
I love snacking on fresh fruit!
Mango and almonds.
My favorite healthy snack is string cheese.
My healthy snack is granola
sounds nuts but I love carrot stickss
My favorite is a Half of an avocado with just lime juice and a tiny bit of salt.
I like to eat greek yogurt for a healthy snack!
I love hummus and red or orange peppers.
I love to snack on raw almonds 🙂
I like celery and peanut butter.
I put it all in a small bowl and have a snack sampler. It has graham crackers, pretzels, mini marshmallows,1 hershey kiss, bit of air popped popcorn.
I love to eat popcorn a few cups everyday its so good.
Veggie tray!
I like almonds.
Popcorn is my favorite healthy snack, but the stuff I add to it makes it a little less healthy!!
Carrot Sticks
my favorite healthy snack is crackers and hummus
Usually just nuts.
Fried egg whites!
cheese and cackers
I love fresh fruit. I also love broccoli or cauliflower with ranch.
My favorite snack is cheese. I like it any way, with or without anything else.
My favorite healthy snack is air popedp popcorn.
I like apples and peanut butter.
I like carrot sticks.
I heart cashews!
My favorite healthy snack is a mixture of fresh fruits like strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.
My favorite healthy snack is air popped popcorn without butter.
I love to snack on apples. .They have a sweetness and crunch that always satisfies me.
I love eating whole cucumbers as a snack!
I love carrots and hummus.
That looks delecious. Out fave snack is celery with anything on it
Our go to is fruit or nuts. They are quick and easy for on the go,
I like to snack on air popped popcorn.
I love trail mix for a snack!!
One of my favorites is fresh peas from the garden!
I love all kinds of fresh fruit in season!
My favorite at the moment are Larabars! I just can’t get enough of them!
I love wasabi flavored almonds
carrots and almonds
I started eating Veggie Booty when my daughter was young; the stuff is like toddler crack. She’s moved on to big kid snacks, but I’m still hitting the Booty!
I like Medjool dates with natural PB 🙂
I like pita bread & hummus.
I like to snack on almonds.
I like eating apple slices
I eat peanut butter on celery and carrot sticks with Ranch.
My favorite healthy snack is bananas.
I like to snack on nuts, and am going to try and make beet chips this weekend
My favorite healthy snack is frozen fruit salad with mango and pineapple.
Today my favorite healthy snack is frozen grapes! I think I may be addicted!
I love watermelon! I just got a large seedless watermelon yesterday at Aldi’s for under $4.
I like snacking on raw sugar snap peas.
I like to eat wheat crackers
My favorite healthy snack is fruit with carrots and celery.
I like clementines. 🙂
My favorite healthy snack is popcorn.
I love almonds and blueberries.
My favorite snack is a banana, thanks!
Hummus has to be my favorite healthy snack.
I like any kind of fruit and nuts.
I like hummus and veggies or peanut butter and fruit.
Some of my favorite healthy snacks are fresh & freeze-dried fruit, yogurt and nuts.
Fresh fruit.
I would probably say baby carrots! 🙂
My favorite healthy snack is apple slices with peanut butter!
I like celery with hummus and a glass of tomato juice.
Very delicious recipe. Will try this one very soon. Thanks