Gluten Free Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Gluten Free Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Ciao Bella! Today’s recipe is going to take us to Southern Italy so get ready to taste some amazing flavors as well as give your body lots of healthy vegetables! While eggplant parmesan is usually fried, in my version, we bake it and go lighter on the cheese. We also used Jillz Crackers for the crust on the eggplant, so this recipe is entirely gluten-free! There are a lot of fresh herbs in this cook too, which not only helps boost the flavors, but fresh herbs contain a lot of antioxidants and can have anti-inflammatory effects on the body! Mother Nature knows what she’s doing!

Hate bitter eggplant?…KITCHEN HACK! 

I know eggplant is a vegetable that is underutilized, so I have a prep tip for you! Are you ready? Sometimes eggplant (especially bigger, more mature ones) can have a slightly bitter taste to them. In order to get rid of this bitterness, cut your eggplant into 1 inch slices and liberally salt them with 1/2 tsp salt per slice. That’s right; I said 1/2 tsp PER SLICE! I know that’s a lot of salt, but the salt will draw a lot of the liquid out of the eggplant and take that bitter taste along with it. Let your salted eggplant sit for anywhere from half an hour to an hour and a half then rinse well and dry. Now your eggplant is ready to go!

We are serving these beautiful eggplant parmesan slices over a bed of butternut squash noodles to make sure we get even more vegetable goodness in our bellies! I really believe this recipe might be my most vegetable heavy recipe ever, and that makes me so stinkin’ excited! Did you know only 9% of Americans eat the recommended daily amount of vegetables?!? Make this eggplant parmesan and get started on upping your veggies today!

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Eggplant Parmesan

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

This recipe has a few extra steps to it, but it all really flows well in the kitchen and makes your house smell so good as you’re cooking! This is a great way to incorporate eggplant into your diet, since it’s such a unique vegetable and sometimes overlooked in the vegetable world. Make sure you also check out my website over at www.go2kitchens.com/academy where you can find my 27 Day Real Food Challenge! This is a step by step guide to help you heal your body and form new healthy habits with food!

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 4

Ingredients

Eggplant parmesan ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, sliced
• 4 cups Butternut squash noodles
• 1 cup fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 1 cup marinara sauce (recipe below)
• Cracker crust (recipe below)

Marinara Ingredients: Note this will make extra marinara for another recipe

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic smashed
• 1 8 oz can or jar organic tomato paste
• 1 16 oz can or jar organic diced tomatoes
• 3 tbsp fresh basil chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped

Crust ingredients:

• 1 package of Jillz crackers or gluten free crackers of choice
• 1 tbsp flat leaf parsley
• 5 leaves fresh basil
• 2 tbsp fresh parmesan cheese
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 pasture raised egg

Instructions

Eggplant instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. After salting and rinsing eggplant, lightly coat eggplant with olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with a small amount of pepper. Place on a baking sheet on parchment paper and roast for 20 minutes.

Marinara instructions:

1. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a dutch oven or pot on medium heat.
2. Add garlic.
3. Add tomato paste.
4. Stir to combine for 5 min, careful not to let the sauce burn.
5. Add diced tomatoes.
6. Add basil and parsley and stir.
7. Salt and pepper to taste.
8. Turn heat to low, put a lid on it, and allow to simmer.

Crust instructions:

1. Add crackers, parsley, basil, and parmasean cheese to food processor.
2. Pulse ingredients until a crumb like texture is achieved.
3. Add garlic at the very end and pulse just enough to blend.
4. Pour into a bowl.
5. In another bowl, crack egg and whisk to blend.

Eggplant instructions (con’t):

1. Pull eggplant out of the oven and place on a plate to cool enough to touch.

2. Take each eggplant slices and coat in egg then coat in the cracker crust.
3. Place back on the baking sheet and put in the oven at 425 for 5 minutes.
4. Take out of the oven and cover with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.
5. Place back in the oven on the center rack under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese melts and gets slightly brown.

Noodle instructions:

1. Boil 2 cups of water in a dutch oven.
2. Bring to a simmer and add 1 tsp salt to the water.
3. Add noodles to water to warm up and soften just a little.
4. Place noodles in a bowl and add garlic salt and red pepper flakes to taste.
5. Add olive oil and toss the noodles.
6. Make a “nest” of noodles on your plate and top with an eggplant slice. Serve with fresh basil and top with fresh grated parmesan and black pepper.