Eggplant parmesan was among one of my favorite dishes growing up. The crispy breading surrounding the soft delectable eggplant, smothered in tomato sauce and melted mozzarella would be my go-to dish at the local Italian restaurant. Although the meal tasted so good going down, I never felt great in the aftermath. The heavy cheese and fried breading would leave my stomach feeling like I had swallowed a brick!
This dish that I created has all the wonderful flavors of eggplant parm but transformed in a fresh, light and healthy way.
It is easy to make- no pan frying and excessive baking!
It’s dairy free and gluten free! It’s so DELICIOUS!
For you all that avoid dairy, KITE HILL makes and amazing almond milk ricotta that is just like the real thing, maybe even better. You can find it at most Whole Foods. I highly recommend it! You can also make your own almond milk ricotta - here is a great recipe by Beard and Bonnet.
The key to getting the eggplant soft and pliable without it becoming soggy is to bake it first. I got this idea from America’s Test Kitchen. Do you watch that show? It’s one of my favorites! I occasional binge watch it on the weekends and keep a notebook nearby to scribble down ideas. Sounds exciting, eh? Well for this kitchen nerd it’s a wonderful and exciting time! 🙂
This dish is sure to be a family favorite!
Eggplant Involtini {Paleo, Gluten-Free, Dairy-free, Vegan}
- 2 medium eggplants (peeled and sliced lengthwise ⅓” thick)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- few dashes of salt and pepper
- 1 cup almond milk ricotta (I used Kite Hill brand, or you can make your own, see above for recipe)
- ½ cup panko (omit for Paleo, and increase ricotta by ¼ cup)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
- 2 tablespoon chopped basil
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
Tomato Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 can of organic whole peeled tomatoes (chopped, save the juice)
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- ¼ teaspoons red pepper
- salt and pepper (½ teaspoon of each)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- Slice each eggplant lengthwise into ⅓ “ thick sections.
- Line cookie sheet (you may need 2) with parchment paper and grease with olive oil.
- Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
- Lay them on the lined cookie sheet, not touching.
- Cook at 375 degrees F for around 25-30 min or until tender.
- Remove eggplant once tender and place them on a drying rack or flip occasionally while cooling to prevent condensation making them too moist.
- While eggplant is in the oven heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the chopped garlic, red pepper, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of black pepper.
- Cook for about 30 seconds and then add chopped tomatoes and the juice from the can.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes to thicken the sauce, then remove from heat.
- In a bowl combine the ricotta, panko, basil, lemon juice, garlic salt, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper, stir to combine.
- Pour the tomato sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish (Or if you used a cast iron skillet to prepare the sauce you can lay the eggplants on to the sauce in the cast iron skillet.)
- Spoon about 2 tablespoons of ricotta mixture on the wider end of the eggplant and roll them up.
- Place each roll seam side down into the sauce.
- Place the skillet or dish into the oven for 15-20 minutes more until hot then you can increase heat to broil and move the dish up to the top rack to brown and crisp the top of the eggplant if you wish.
