Do you ever get tired of eating the same dinners from your rotation? I do. I search for new ideas, try them out, and some work, some not so much. This recipe was a success!
The crispy baked eggplant pieces are layered with ricotta cheese to create a tasty and healthy vegetarian meal. It’s a little bit like a simple lasagna.
Crispy Baked Eggplant & Ricotta Stacks Recipe
(About 4 Servings)
Ingredients:
- 1 medium eggplant, cut into thick slices
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- About 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- fresh basil, chopped, for topping
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Line a baking sheet with foil and spray it with nonstick cooking spray.
- Slice the eggplant into thick slices.
- Put the flour In a small bowl.
- In a second small bowl, beat the 2 eggs.
- In a third small bowl, mix the panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Dip each slice of eggplant into the flour, then into the egg. Shake off any excess egg and then dip it into the panko breadcrumb mixture. Repeat until all of the slices have been coated.
- Place each eggplant slice onto the baking sheet in a single layer and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown on each side. Let them cool slightly.
- To assemble the stacks, place an eggplant slice on a dish and top with about one tablespoon of ricotta cheese. Add another slice of eggplant and top with one tablespoon of ricotta cheese. Add a third (and final) slice of eggplant and top with one tablespoon of ricotta cheese. Sprinkle the entire dish with chopped fresh basil, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.
This recipe is so simple and quick to make. I arrange the three bowls with the various ingredients in them like I am setting up an assembly line with prepared sheet pans at the end.
Each eggplant slice is dipped, 1, 2, 3, and just like that they are ready to be baked.
Eggplant can taste a bit bland so it’s important to load up the dish with lots of flavors and textures. This was the first time I cooked with panko crumbs. Love! They make the eggplant slices come out thick and crunchy. You don’t have to fry something in order to get the crunch factor like you get with this recipe! You could use normal bread crumbs instead, but the end result will be thinner and not as crispy.
Ricotta cheese is a mild and smooth cheese. It’s creamy texture is a great contrast against the eggplant’s crunchiness.
I garnished the dish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil, which add more wonderful flavors and textures to this dish.
Aren’t the layers of eggplant and ricotta cheese so pretty? It looks fancy but it was so quick to put together.
Source: The Realistic Nutritionist
Here are some other healthy entrees that you may enjoy. In the mood for Mexican food? Try Black Bean & Chicken Chilaquiles.
Or Chicken Fajitas.
Are you in the mood for a spin on a traditional American classic macaroni and cheese? Try this Three Cheese Macaroni & Cheese.
My dad loved eggplant growing up, so I’d love to make this for him next time he’s here. Thanks!
That’s awesome! He’ll love it. I love cooking for my dad too. 🙂
First of all, I love your rating system! I’ve never seen anyone else do that, but I think it’s really helpful. If not for anyone else, than just me to remember what I liked and didn’t! Haha.
And I love eggplant parmesan, so this sounds amazing!!
Haha! You hit it right on…my initial reason for the setting up the rating system was for my personal reminder, but then I thought if someone else has similar food tastes then they might find the rating system helpful. So glad you love it!
I’m a huge fan of eggplant parmesan too and I find this dish to be a lighter variation of it, perfect for the summer months. 🙂 Thanks so much for stopping by!
I am a big fan of eggplant but unfortunately have yet to convince my hubby to jump on that bandwagon. This crispy ricotta eggplant dish looks and sounds fantastic! I may have to try to convince him again with this lovely dish! Thanks for sharing Tina!
My husband is the same! However, he does like how the eggplant is coated in panko crumbs (versus the bread crumbs). He enjoyed the taste test but I’m not sure he’d want it for dinner…baby steps. 😉 I love eggplant so I was excited to find a new way to cook with it. 🙂
What a fantastic way of eating eggplants! Lovely textures and looks so delicious. Love that you used Panko!
Thank you so much! Panko crumbs are amazing and I can’t wait to experiment with them on other foods. 🙂