Our cheesy eggplant casserole is our favorite side dish, even the kids will ask for seconds. There is no peeling required, just layer, bake and enjoy this oven roasted dish this week!
I grew up on all sorts of quick and easy casseroles growing up. It was a great way to use up leftovers or make vegetables more delicious. As I got older and my tastebuds matured I started experimenting with all sorts of produce and this became one of our favorites….
Do you need to peel eggplant before baking?
I do not bother in this case because the heat will make the skins quite tender and there is nutrition in the outsides that I want to maintain. If you don’t want a bit of chewy texture you could peel that off to begin with but the end result will be a lot softer inside the dish.
Especially when you incorporate these bite size pieces with your other ingredients you barely notice it anyway. Just like our Eggplant fries that are breaded it does help keep the pieces together but totally up to you, it will work either way.
Ingredient Notes
You are going to want to pick up about 4 medium eggplants to fill a 9×13 casserole dish. If you wanted a smaller amount you could cut recipe in half to fill a 9×9 which would feed about 5 instead of about 12 people.
Seasonings are up to you really but generally you would just use simple like salt, pepper and maybe some Italian seasoning. To get it all to stick and keep the vegetables nice and tender, toss with olive oil before baking in the first step.
Can you use frozen eggplant?
Although Roasting Frozen Vegetables is possible the texture isn’t as ideal. You can do this using the temp and timing in the above link but it would need to be already diced into bite size pieces.
Eggplant Parmesan Casserole
Then to transition this from roasted veggies into a casserole dish you need to make it cheesy right?? The best two options for this is two layers of shredded mozzerella cheese and parmesan. Think of it like your favorite dish, but deconstructed in a way, that is what this tastes like friends!!
What else can be added?
Ok so if you wanted this to be spicy you could add a pinch of red pepper flakes or dry Sriracha. I’ve done this with our Old Fashioned Carrot Casserole and it was a huge hit with guests. I would do this when you toss with olive oil so it coats the outside and deepens when roasted initially.
Made with Breadcrumbs
I have made this and our Ground Beef Casserole with Potatoes topped with some breadcrumbs and that was a fun addition to add more texture. You get a bit of crispy golden brown that bakes into the cheese and is a super fun addition sometimes.
Adding Spaghetti Sauce
If you wanted to add a ton of flavor you could toss the roasted eggplant with about 1 cup of spaghetti sauce before you layer with the cheeses to make it more like the classic Italian dish you love.
Eggplant Casserole Recipe
Equipment
- 1 9×13 casserole dish
- 1 sheet pan
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 395F. Slice eggplants into bite size pieces, put into a bowl with olive oil and seasonings, toss to coat. Pour on to sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes.
- Spray 9×13" casserole dish with non stick spray and pour in half roasted eggplant, then layer half the mozzarella cheese, layer with rest of eggplant, the remaining mozzarella and top with parmesan cheese.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown and cheese is bubbling. Serve immediately for best results.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to save leftovers
Ok so we have gone over How to Freeze Eggplant before, this can be saved that way too but you would want to allow it to cool completely, wrap tightly with foil and reheat within 1 month. Keep in mind that the texture will be a bit mushier when reheated later so typically I just store in the fridge and enjoy within 3 days instead.
