Eggplant Parmesan I

This recipe won out over the other Eggplant Parmesan recipes for me because of the addition of ricotta, which I love, and makes it like a delicious pasta-less lasagna. I made double the amount and had too much sauce (Best Marinara Sauce Yet, here at AllRecipes), which made it a little sloppy when serving, but nonetheless yummy. Everyone was happy that there was plenty of sauce to mop up with crusty bread! And hubby has asked that I make it again at the earliest available opportunity. Degorging (ie salting) is done only to take away bitterness (not make eggplant tender as some reviewers believe), and it is not necessary when you have wonderful tight-skinned, fresh young eggplants. Degorging actually might contribute to the greasiness of the dish. (Drawing moisture from eggplants with salt makes the temperature of the oil drop too much when adding them to the pan, hence they absorb more oil.) I didn't degorge my eggplants, and used a non-stick pan with a smear of extra-virgin olive oil. Very little fat, and no bitterness.

I cheated. I fried the eggplant after dipping it in milk and breadcrumbs. I coated the eggplant in a large plastic bag as one reviewer suggested, and that sure kept things from getting messy! What makes this a five-star for me was the addition of the ricotta cheese mixture. I spread all of that in a middle layer: Sauce, eggplant, mozzarella, parmesan, repeat, then the ricotta mixture, sauce eggplant, mozzarella, parmesan, repeat. Excellent! Thanks for having my guests declare that my eggplant parmesan was the best they had ever tasted (and I thought I had already conquered this dish)!

This was wonderful and was a big hit. I made a few changes based on other reviewers suggestions. I sliced the eggplant about 1/4 inch thick and allowed it to sweat for about 2 hours. I also cut way down on the oil for frying the eggplant - just a smidge in a non-stick pan. I used my own homemade sauce. Although not difficult per se, there are quite a few steps to this recipe and I wanted it to be worth the time, so I made several smallish tins of it and froze them. They defrost great and are a wonderful and quick work-night treat! Thanks for sending this in - it will certainly become one of my regular dishes!

Excellent recipe – I breaded the eggplant slices and used cooking spray to brown them. Next time I’ll try without the breading. The only other change I made was to leave out the egg from the ricotta mixture, since one person was allergic to eggs. When assembling, instead of trying to smooth out the ricotta mixture, I just put a dollop on each eggplant round, then put another eggplant round right on top of that, then added another ricotta dollop. Instead of having an even casserole, I had 12 individual eggplant mounds that were easy and attractive to plate.

The best eggplant parmesan I've ever had. Next time I think I will double the ricotta mix. That will help use up the whole tub and will fill the cheese layers out more. Be sure to allow time for this to cool, as it will be soupy and hard to serve if you try to cut it directly after pulling it out of the oven.

Very good! I also rolled the eggplant pieces in italian breadcrumbs and then fried them. I made it for my family and they loved it. We ate almost the whole pan. It's a keeper!!

This was great!! When I used one eggplant I only ended up with a bottom layer and a top layer so I put all of the cheese mix in the middle and I added a little mozzerella on the top. When in the oven I stopped baking after about a half hour and then broiled it for about 2 minutes (or until the mozz is brown) and it was GREAT!! Boyfriend said "This is the best meal you've made...and I'm not just saying that to be nice."

I've made this recipe twice with excellent results! The only change I made was in cooking the eggplant. I spray cookie sheet with olive oil, lay eggplant in single layer, spray eggplant with olive oil and bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or till soft. I find this much less labour intensive and less calories without too much oil. Thanks for a great recipe!

My first time eating eggplant. My husband's mother used to fix it when he was young. We both really enjoyed it!

Excellent recipe, and my first time for this dish, The Hubster dubbed it best Italian dish I ever cooked! I doubled everything except the basil; my homemade fresh tomato sauce had plenty of fresh basil already in it and I only used one egg. Did not sweat the eggplant, I just parboiled it in salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Rinsed the slices in cold water, pressed them between thick layers of paper towels to completely dry and removed the skins. Made two 8x8 pans and put one in the freezer uncooked, for later. We loved the texture of the eggplant without breading, my slices did not absorb much oil, I doubt I needed the whole 8 Ts. Only change I made that was unusual is Smoked Mozerella from Trader Joes...YUMMY! I froze the cheese before shredding/grating, sure makes it easier. Pre-shredded cheese often has weird ingredients in it to keep it from sticking together, and freshly grated just feels better to me! Thanks to Karen for making me look like a pro...served with homemade yeast garlic rolls and fresh salad greens. Will post a photo tonight! UPDATE: this dish didn't survive long enough to take photos! We tore through this like wild animals!

The ricotta and the fresh basil makes this great. Like another reviewer had suggested, after the sweating process, I too placed them in a 400 degree oven for approx. 20 minutes spraying the bottom of the cookie sheet with olive oil spray at the tops of the eggplant. This eliminated any excess oil being absorbed by the eggplant as well as the extra time of frying.For those of you who have always breaded the eggplant, forget that entire step. The cheese mixture maked this dish excellent. Thank You for Sharing

This turned out the best eggplant parmesan I have ever had. The cheese filling makes it reminiscent of lasagna, and seemingly very decadent even though a generous serving is well under 200 calories with my changes, I'm pretty sure. My changes were: 1. After sweating the eggplant slices, I dusted them with flour, dipped them in beaten egg thinned with a little water, then in Italian bread crumbs. 2. Sprayed the breaded eggplant slices with cooking spray and browned in a nonstick skillet. 3. Reduced the mozzarella cheese by 1/2 and didn't miss it. Also, used part-skim ricotta and an egg white instead of a whole egg to bind the cheese filling.

Another way to prepare the eggplant is to soak it in cold, salted water (6 cups water and 2 TBSP salt for 30 min. Drain well and pat dry w/ paper towels.

This is a great recipe! As it is written I give it 4 stars. With a little added ingredients I would give it 5. I could tell right off that the cheese filling would take the eggplant and sauce right to the top and it did! This recipe can stand on it own but I like mushrooms so I added some sauteed crimini mushrooms on top for an added meaty texture. Also, I sided with the egg wash and Italian bread crumbs before browning the eggplant. Oh yea, and I didn't sweat the eggplant as I purchased ripe young plants. The flavors were beautiful!

This was amazing. Eating dishes like this make it easy to be a vegetarian! Finding a meal without meat that my family enjoys is such a blessing. Night after night I make separate dishes for my meat eating family but after finding this, it makes one meal a bit easier. Even my husband (who is dead SET on eating meat) enjoyed it! My picky 20 month old ate his whole plate. It's a satisfying meal when you can enjoy a meatless meal with your family! *After trying to make this meal a few times, I realized that baking the eggplant wasn't cooking the bread crumbs enough. They were still somewhat "soggy" so I fried them in Light Olive Oil until brown (as you would when making chicken parmesan), gave it better flavor and a nice crisp breading. I recommend this meal to anyone who wants to break the cycle and try something new!

This is so very, very good. As others have said, it's a lot like a pasta-less lasagna, and that's perfectly fine for me. Nothing wrong with pasta, but it's a bit too heavy and best saved for special occasions. This, however, is actually pretty light and can satisfy your hunger without making you feel like you just ate a cinder block made of flour. This has made it into my weekly rotation, too. The cheese, depending on how you buy it, can last for two or three preparations which means you only have to buy the eggplant over (don't keep them more than a week. Ew.), so in all it's a very cost-effective meal. It's just my boyfriend and me, too, so for us one prep means a stack of two slices per serving. So one dinner and a bunch of leftovers for lunch to take to work, which brings me to the next great thing about this: it reheats beautifully! A couple things, however: I find that sweating the eggplant for an hour instead of half an hour leads to a much better flavor (and if you're new to eggplant, this really is not a step you can skip). When I brown the eggplant, I use A LOT less oil. Maybe a couple tablespoons. To each their own, but eggplant is super absorbant and it's far too easy to get disgusting, greasy slices. Experiment, I guess. Also, I use my own homemade sauce. I imagine using storebought sauce would lead to a much heavier meal as most of those are laden with corn syrup for bulking and preserving. But again, to each their own. I'm sure it's phenomenal, regardless!

I actually peeled and sliced this lengthwise to replace noodles for lasagna feel - it made spreading the cheese much easier. I also did not fry the eggplant. I used cottage cheese and egg, parmesan and mozz for the cheese filling. Layered and baked for 45 minutes. Broil for 5 minutes to get that nice brown cheese and it was awesome!

I made this for the 1st time and and it was so good .. and it was safe to my stomach since i had gastric bypass over a yr and half ago and it was very tast y since i no longer can have pasta and i added sausage to it

I gave this 4 stars but with the changes I made I think it deserves 5 stars. *I breaded & fried the eggplant slices (dredge in flour, dip in egg and coat with bread crumbs). *I used meat sauce (ground beef fried and added to your favorite sauce). *I used parmesan cheese with the ricotta mixture and mozzarella on top. This rivals the best dishes I've had at Italian restaurants.

I think this might be the best dish I've ever made! However, I substituted heavily for what I had on-hand: My eggplant was small, so I also used slices of zucchini and yellow squash. I had no ricotta and only a little mozzarella, so I placed slices of provolone over the eggplant and squash, then mixed the shredded cheese I had on hand (a little motz, some 5-cheese Italian blend and Parmesan) with the egg. I forgot to put the basil in the mixture, so I just layered it on top. I only had a half-jar of pasta sauce and used it on the bottom layer. For the top layer, I used 8 oz. tomato sauce with a little water to thin it out, mixed with two cloves of fresh pressed garlic and some dried Italian seasonings spice mix. I also used fresh chopped tomato on top before sprinkling with the remaining parm. OH MY, SOOOO GOOOD. PS - No need to peel your eggplant, there's lots of fiber in the skin, and it doesn't detract from the taste or texture. Also, you can skip the salting, etc. in Step 1 if your eggplant is fresh and firm-skinned.

This was fantastic after using a lot of the reviewers suggestions. Served it at a large family gathering and young and old ate heartily. Used Classico Tomato Basil sauce, didn't measure, used my eye, but used a lot less sauce than the recipe called for, didn't add any extra basil, might do that the next time but good without it, brushed eggplant with oil and fried in a lot less oil, also added sliced garlic cloves to eggplant while frying (excellent taste), lastly peel the eggplant (not in the recipe but I think submitter assumed we knew to do that). I'm a newbie vegetarian (4 months) and I know I will definitely make this again and again.

Very tasty!

I will never, ever again bread my eggplant. This recipe tops all other efforts I have made. It is without a doubt the best I have made and I have thrown out all past recipes. This one stays!

Another modifier here! Here's exactly what I did: Preheated oven to 350, sliced two eggplant into rings and three medium-sized zucchini lengthwise. Sprayed both sides of veggies with olive oil via my Misto, placed them on baking sheets and cooked for 10 minutes. Mixed 15 oz ricotta, 12 oz mozzarella, an egg and basil, and 2 24 oz jars of sauce and layered everything per the recipe. Baked at 350 for 45 minutes. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING RESULTS! Looked scrumptious, tasted scrumptious, my kids had never eaten eggplant before and loved it served over hot penne tossed with olive oil and parmesan. I will make this a few times a month from now on!

Excellent if made by recipe but 2 eggplant are necessary if you want to do the double layer unless you want to slice the eggplant thinner. Also, I used 12 oz of ricotta. This is now a family favorite!

My family and I did not like this recipe at all. I am giving it 2 stars on the basis that we were able to eat it the night I made it. What a shame to waste the time and money. Here's what I found wrong: First off, 1 eggplant was not nearly enough to make more than 1 layer in a 13 x 9 pan. I used a HUGE eggplant that weighed at least 2-3 pounds and it still only gave me 1-1/2 layers. Second, as others have pointed out, the eggplant took such a long time to brown (at least 20 minutes for this step alone, which makes the prep time in the recipe off) and soaked up every bit of the olive oil to where I had to add more for each batch to brown (more than the 8 Tbs called for in the recipe). This in turn made the eggplant goopy and oily. Gross! Lastly, there was too much sauce. The end result was hard to serve, a goopy, saucy mess.

This was outstanding. I salted the eggplant and let them sit for 30 minutes before rinsing them in cold water to get the bitter taste out. I then followed this recipe. It was delicious!

This is a great dish...however, I dipped the sliced eggplant in beaten eggs,then coated in panko breadcrumbs & fried in pan of canola oil(I like eggplant parm crispy!!!). Then baked as per recipe.

I've been making eggplant parmesan for many years but mine was not as good as this recipe. I've been using this one for the past couple years. The addition of ricotta is a real winner. I add garlic to the ricotta and when I have it, some fresh oregano. I never fry eggplant (or squash) for casseroles. Instead, I spray the slices with Pam and broil until brown on both sides. And I don't bother with salting the slices if I am using garden-fresh eggplant. Also, I use homemade marinara sauce. I always make two casseroles---one for dinner and one to freeze. Thanks for a delicious and easy dish, Karen.

I cut the eggplant very thinly (about 1/4 in) then "browned" them in a non-stick skillet of medium-high heat for about 3 minutes per side (they don't necessarily brown though...just soften). Then I sauteed two summer squashes with one onion until soft, but not mushy. I added three cloves minced garlic toward the end. Then I layered sauce, eggplant, cheese mixture, squash and onion, sauce... Then topped with lots of mozzarella and parm cheese. It was a hit! My two year old and husband even really enjoyed this 'no pasta lasagna'.

So glad to see a recipe for eggplant parm that is not breaded. This is how I normally make. Growing up in a Sicilian home(parents came from Terrassini) this is how my mother made. I have however brushed eggplant with extra virgin olive oil and bake the it on high heat instead of frying! I give it a 4 because I use Pecorino Romano cheese, also what we had growing up. Nina

Fantastic recipe!!! This was my first attempt at making eggplant parmesan and it was a great success!!!

Very good--4.5. I let the eggplant sweat for about an hour, breaded it and cooked it in a pan for a few minutes each side, using cooking spray and very little oil. I also mixed some prepared garlic (about 2 cloves) in the cheese mixture. Next time I will use more eggplant and maybe cut it a little thinner.

I would like to give this more stars. This was tasty, but I had very mushy texture. I think, as another person said, it was the lack of batter before frying, because it's true- eggplant soaks up oil like crazy! It would have been good if not for the mushiness.

I dream about this dish! I would make it a lot more only whenever I do, my boyfriend and I usually end up eating the whole thing in a day or two! I followed suggestions from other reviewers and recipes and dipped the eggplant in egg and breadcrumbs before browning.

Wow, I can't believe I just ate two generous helpings of this marvelous dish! After reading comments by other reviewers, I made some changes as suggested and as necessitated by ingredients on hand. First, since I didn't have ricotta cheese in the fridge, I substituted low fat cottage cheese. Also, used Eggbeaters to keep cholesterol down, used dried Mediterranean basil (can't wait to try it with fresh); and to satisfy my need for additional protein, I browned and drained ground lamb and garlic and added to spaghetti sauce; and topping cheese was parmesan reggiano. After salting and rinsing medium sized eggplant, I dried eggplant slices with paper towel before browning. Sprayed pan with butter flavored Pam and only needed a tablespoon of olive oil for each batch, thus cutting down on fat. I'll make this often and appreciate both the submitter of the recipe as well as reviewers. Delicious!

my large eggplant only gave me four stacks, 3 layers high. This was fine since it was just my boyfriend eating. I spooned the cheese mixture onto each layer and only used as much as I felt was needed. I also only needed about half the pasta sauce listed. I didn't have fresh basil and used dried instead, which turned out wonderfully. I love this recipe because it is easy and can be adjusted to suit personal tastes.

This is truly an excellent recipe. It is good both as a stand alone dinner or as a side. The only change I make is to use only one tablespoon of olive oil. I use a 12 inch covered frying pan and cook over medium heat, turning every few minutes until the eggplant is tender. I have also added chicken breast, pounded thin and sauteed, to the layers of eggplant with great results.

Good stuff. My daughter actually ate all of it!

THis is a great receipe. I didnt follow the salting step, and it turned out great! everyone loved it!

Useful info from this site regarding prepping eggplant: If you choose to salt your eggplant, first slice or cube it, and then salt generously, allowing the fruit to sit in a colander for at least an hour, preferably longer. Salted eggplant can sit purging for hours without harming the taste or texture. BUT...before cooking the eggplant, be sure to rinse the salt off well. THEN place the slices between sheets of paper towel and press gently to remove juices and firm the flesh. This is particularly important when frying your eggplant slices or cubes.

I prepared this lovely recipe last night and both of us decided it is a "keeper". I love that it requires no breading for the eggplant. I peeled my eggplant and cut into approx. 1/2" slices before "sweating" them. I also used part skim ricotta and mozzarella to further cut down on fat. I added 1 large finely minced clove of garlic to the cheese/egg mixture. The result was awesome! Using fresh basil is also key. Served it over Angel Hair pasta and enjoyed a lovely Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon with it. I found this recipe made 4 large servings over pasta.

all my friends loved this so tasty

This was so wonderful - tasted just like the restaurant kind! Fresh basil is key!! I used only 1 Tbl. olive oil when sauteeing the eggplant - really didn't need any more. I reduced the fat in the cheese mixture by using reduced fat ricotta, then adding about 1/2 cup nonfat yogurt to make it more spreadable. No difference in taste! I found the final casserole to be a bit on the saucey side (which is better than dry!), so next time I think I'll add another eggplant (or reduce the amount of sauce a bit). Thanks so much for the recipe!

My husband and I are totally addicted to this.

Excellent! I dippled the eggplant in an egg wash first and then into bread crumbs and fried them in olive oil. Made them stay nice and crunchy before going into oven.

The BEST eggplant! I used the "Best Marinara Sauce Yet" from this site with it (simmer awhile if you don't want a strong wine flavoring). It did take a LOT of eggplant - about 3 for one 9 x 13 dish...Maybe because I SQUEEZED out all the brown juices after they were salted and sat for 30 minutes. I ended up with a little more than the total 4 cups sauce called for. I added the extra which was a little too runny for dish I served right away, but fine for the one served later that evening. Even though I'm contemplating DOUBLING the moz / ricotta mixture next time, I must say my guests ALL loved this...was told the best some had EVER had!! (and no breading!) Thanks.

Frying the eggplant only makes it soak up the oil. I had trouble with sticking to the pan and ended up boiling the eggplant which added to the prep time.

Triple the amount of eggplant and make 1.5 times the cheese mixture, and use the same amount of sauce. It will still fit in a 9x13 dish, and it's delicious. Degorging the eggplants isn't completely necessary, and rather than frying them in olive oil (they soak up loads of oil) I use a non-stick griddle and canola oil spray for a lower-fat version.

When I made this recipe there where several who had never tried eggplant. They loved it,I know because they ate plenty. I just made some linquine noodles to lay the eggplant on, so the sauce amount was just fine.Thanks for a really good recipe.

this is a really great simple classic eggplant parmesan - that is not breaded and then fried or baked. When executed with fresh home made marinara and some added garlic (i like more garlic, and also lots of cracked pepper), and really fresh for the basil and all the cheeses.... it is sublime and perfect with garlic bread and salad!

This dish didn't go over well with us at all. The sauce and cheese mixture was good but the eggplant was very mushy & watery & fell apart. Also, even though the sauce was good there was far too much of it. Overall this dish required far too much effort for not enough return.

The major problem with this recipe, is that it was very little eggplant to sauce and cheese. I felt like I was just eating sauce and cheese, with an occasional taste of eggplant. I used one pretty good-sized eggplant too.

Quite tasty. I've made this a couple of times. I love eggplant.

Great recipe! I'm not fond of eggplant, but this was really good & made even better using my homemade tomato sauce. Liked that the eggplant wasn't breaded and then fried before layering into the casserole.

This was my first time both eating and making Eggplant Parmesan. I omitted the salt sweating process and simply fried the unpeeled eggplant in peanut oil and proceeded with the recipe. It was absolutely delicious. I didn't know what I'd been missing, and if you are a food combiner, this is perfect for your diet.

I didn't have any ricotta cheese on hand so I subbed it with tofu. Delish!

I made this over the week-end for my 34 year old daughter's birthday dinner. It was a huge success. She liked it better than what she gets when she goes to an Italian restaurant in Richmond, Maggiano's and that was a GREAT compliment. I will be making this again many times.

Very easy to do and very good! I made my own home made sauce the day before, so on that day it was easy to do!

This recipe was very good. The second time I made it, I browned some ground beef with onions and mushroom and mixed them with the canned marinara sauce. I also didn't fry the eggplant the second time and it still came out great.

This is my first time cooking or making an egg plant dish. It was really good and easy to make. One thing I did forget to do was mix the mozzarella cheese with the ricotta so I ended up, cooking the dish for 25 min and adding the mozzarella on top and cooked until bubbly. I think it was better this way. I also did what other reviews suggested and dipped the egg plant into bread crumbs and then cooked in the pan and baked. I would have used 15 oz of ricotta also. My husband loved the dish and I will definitely be making it again.

great recipe. only change i made was coating in flour,egg,then flour again before frying. enjoyed greatly. will make again, thank you!

Very good. This was my first time making eggplant parmesan. I'm trying to explore new avenues for plant-based vegetarian foods. This was very good. MY husband liked it very much, and my 2 yr. old devoured it. My 3, 6, and 8 year olds weren't as receptive, but I think they'd eat it again since all of it was eaten. I cut down on the sauce since my eggplant was small, and omitted the basil. Would definitely make this again. Thanks!

It was pretty good. It was kind of plain, so keep looking...

I too would not have rated this recipe highly based on the original version. I used far more eggplant; once breading it and once parboiling, drying, and frying in non-stick spray. The second time I used provalone cheese on the top, along with the remaining parmesan. Once the dish was cooked I moved the rack up and bubbled the cheese by broiling it a couple of minutes.

This is a great recipe. However there were a few big changes I needed to make. 1) unless you get an unusually large eggplant, you will likely need to have 3 eggplant or slice MUCH thinner than 3/4-inch. You won't have 2 layers unless you do this. Plus, I can't imagine feeding 8 people on one eggplant. 2) eggplant soaks up oil when it is fried, so you will need A LOT more than 8 Tbs. 3) peel the eggplant. The skin on an eggplant is kind of tough. 4) I added 2 cloves of garlic. It just seemed like basil wasn't enough. That change is optional, but the first three aren't.

I followed some advice by others and just roasted the eggplant slices after spraying both sides with cooking spray, for about 20 mins. at 400 degrees. It worked great, and I liked not having to fry them in oil and also kept the dish healthier. I would definitely recommend slicing the eggplant in thick slices as called for. However, I found in doing so that I needed more eggplant, as I had too much sauce. Next time, the only other change I would make is using 2 eggplant instead of one. Thanks for the fabulous recipe....it was perfect for my vegetarian night!

I GUESS WITH RICOTTA ,JUST MITE BE GOOD

This is wonderful! Although the recipe does not say, I peel the eggplant first. I still bread and fry it to make it really tender. Definately a keeper!

I like coating my eggplant with seasoned italian bread crumbs and some parm before frying.

We really enjoyed this dish. An easier and lower fat / calorie way to precook the eggplant is to spray it with oil or brush a little on, then put it under the broiler until it browns. Turn the slices and repeat oiling and broiling. I've never found it necessary to rub with salt first. I also substitute cottage cheese, whizzed in the food processor for the ricotta.

I used one egg plant, used a smaller dish and layered it the way it was said. My husband and I really enjoyed it. Will make again.

I love using this recipe as a jumping off point. I use 3 eggplants, brush them liberally with olive oil and bake about 20 minutes until tender. I do he same with 4 zuccini thinly sliced longwise. Then I saute 10 oz of sliced mushrooms and throw in 10 oz fresh spinach in the last minute of cooking. I layer the vegetables with pasta sauce and the cheese mixture and top with mozarella and parmesan and cook according to the recipe. It's a little time consuming, but totally worth it.

The taste was really good. The fresh basil was really nice. You need to use a big eggplant cut into big pieces. I think next time, I will use a little less sauce, but it really tasted great. Thanks!!

Hmmm...I don't know how others have happily made this recipe with only one eggplant! Thankfully I had a spare in the fridge. In a 9x13 pan, there is no way I could have gotten more than one layer without the second eggplant... and it would have been WAY too much cheese otherwise. I baked the eggplants instead of frying them. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. Not bad...very rich...but I doubt I will do it again.

Sorry but I still like my own recipe much better. I'm more of a just plain mozzarella kind of a guy. Never did care for ricotta. The only thing I got out of this to make my own recipe better was to use the fresh chopped basil.

Followed the recipe exactly and loved it. The only thing I may change is letting the salted eggplant drip longer.

well this is simple and satisfying when you need to get some cheese in your life. i dig eggplant for its earthiness and the cheese... well, cheese is just plain good.

I first want to say that it tastes really good. That being said, it's all sauce! I feel like I made a creamy spaghetti sauce and stirred a little eggplant in. I actually cooked some pasta so I could use up all the excess sauce. I only used 3 cups of sauce and I probably could have used half of that and it would have been fine. If I make this again, I think I will add lasagna noodles to the pan, or at least double the eggplant.

I loved this recipe - but had to change it to make it work for me. I used very little sauce - maybe a cup - and instead added layers of fresh tomatoes. I also layered with fresh spinach leaves and mushrooms and baked it all together. It turned out great! There were only three of us, but there weren't any leftovers!

This was INCREDIBLE with these changes: I used 2 boxes of Trader Joe's breaded eggplant slices ('cause each box is like 1 sliced eggplant and previous reviewers stated 1 sliced eggplant isn't enough) and 3 cups spaghetti sauce-everything else I left the same. I baked per recipe's instructions and it was rich and delicious! Easily fed 5 people with salad and garlic toast. This is a fantastic recipe-the fact that it is vegetarian is a real bonus!

I ran into the same issue with the eggplant soaking up the olive oil, so instead of wasting an entire eggplant trying to fry them, I went ahead and dipped the eggplant into an egg wash and into some bread crumbs. I also used tomato + basil pasta sauce instead of adding fresh basil. It was delicious. I didn't add any salt because there was plenty in the pasta sauce. It was quick and my fiance really enjoyed it.

This recipe got rave reviews from my father-in-law and mother-in-law. I made a few adjustments due to lack of ingredients. First, I put a layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan, followed by a layer of fresh tomatoes sprinkled with fresh garden chives. Next, I didn't have ricotta so I used a roasted garlic feta cheese for the cheese mixture with about 3 tablespoons of cottage cheese. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. It was fabulous.

Delicous recipe**** Like most recipes...i did change it a bit!!! I doubled the recipe and made it almost like a lasagna.I also addd stewed tomatoes to the sauce. Overall...it was great!!!

I've made this dish before I saw it here, but with the following differences: I of course make my own secret marinara sauce. I do not salt the eggplant, but do coat with egg & seasoned bread crumbs and fry. In the ricotta goes: 1 beaten egg, 1/4cup milk, 1/4cup of fresh chopped basil-also a pinch of each of the following: salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, & sugar. This makes the ricotta aliitle more creamy and abit tastier. Also I do not add Mozzerlla & parmesan, they are for topping only. I put down one layer of sauce then one of eggplant, more sauce, then fill with cheese mixture. Add another layer of sauce, then one of eggplant. Then one more layer of sauce and finally mozzerlla & parmesan cheese. bake for 45 minutes on 325. This should really be called Eggplant Lasagna!! Great meatless dish!!

Using one eggplant, of average size, was definitely too little. I should have used 2 or 3, and I would bread it next time, as well. I also added more sauce and doubled the mozzarella, as my family can never get enough. I may have to add pasta to this dish because it will, otherwise, be too sparse. Otherwise, it was great and will serve as my base.

Flavor is great but +1 on being too soupy. I'm going to use the left overs as a sauce on some Rotini pasta. I added some grilled onion and garlic. Would have added some oregano but couldn't find it, added salt and pepper instead.

We liked this but made some changes. Did place the salted slices in paper towels to drain all the liquids. Rinsed the slices and covered them with a kitchen cloth for a couple of minutes, in order to drain any remaining juice of the eggplant. Also floured the slices before frying them. Used light cottage cheese instead of ricotta (for personal preference) and mixed in some frozen spinach (thawed and drained, of course). Next time I'm going to top it with bechamel sauce. Thank you!

Had something very similar to this in Italy! It is delicious, although I prefer the fried eggplant myself. I guess it doesn't make much of a difference as I still enjoyed it...best served with Garlic bread.

I am a beginner cook, this dish was easy to make and very good. Took some to work and my coworkers loved it. They realy thought I was a true cook.

This was very good. Even my husband who doesn't like eggplant ate this and said it was good. I did use a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar cheese because I did not have enough mozzarella and it turned out great. Also added some fresh garlic and onion powder to the eggplant while browning in the oil.

As someone that's never had eggplant before, I figured I'd give this a shot. My only concern is that I have a ton of sauce and I feel like it's a bit of a waste because my eggplant slices are kind of drowning. I think next time I'll lighten up on that aspect and try again. It's very delicious otherwise.

Loved this recipe. My 6, 2, & 1 yr old all ate it! This recipe has alot of flavor. I used a roasted garlic portabello spaghetti sauce. It added a nice punch to this recipe. I will definitely make this again.

This was a great recipe, but I would use less sauce and make sure the eggplant slices are no less than the reccommendation.

I quite enjoyed this dish, but I did change the directions and ingredients. I did not pan brown the eggplant slices, baking them instead with their bread crumb coating ( I used Italian crumbs)for 10 minutes. Rather than topping with chesse and basil, I also added italian seasoning, parsley flakes, and oregano for more flavor. These spices, combined with the ricotta made this a delicious meal. I would like to experiment with spinach ricotta next time.

This recipe is great with a few additions. Maybe try it baked right onto a slice of garlic bread

Very easy and tasted fantastic!

1 inch slices of eggplant were too thick! I breaded and fried them and then cooked it in the casserole for over 45 minutes and the eggplant still wasn't done. I will try it again and see if thin slices works better. Anyone else have this problem? I had never cooked with eggplant before and thought maybe it would cook down in the oven........

It's simple and quick. I baked my eggplant, and used a little less cheese. I gave 5 stars because it was delicious and it is a no fuss, very easy recipe, even my kids ate it!