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    Home » Recipes » Vegetarian Dinner Recipes

    Oct 18, 2021 · Modified: Apr 7, 2022 by Becca Heyes · This post may contain affiliate links · 10 Comments

    Cheesy Eggplant Bake

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    Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
    Servings: 2 people
    5 from 10 votes
    Jump to Recipe Rate this Recipe

    This cheesy eggplant bake is a really easy and non-fiddly version of a classic eggplant parmesan, with roasted aubergines, rich tomato sauce, and gooey cheese.

    Cheesy eggplant bake in a baking dish, with a large scoop removed.

    I could truly eat this cheesy eggplant bake every single day. It's layered up with slices of melt-in-your-mouth roasted eggplant, rich tomato sauce, and two kinds of gooey cheese. Serve it up with a slice of garlic bread for dipping, and it's heaven on a plate!

    By the way: I use the words 'eggplant' and 'aubergine' interchangeably in this post. 'Aubergine' is just the British word for 'eggplant'. Although I'd usually use the word aubergine, I do lean towards 'eggplant' when I'm talking about an established dish like eggplant parmesan.

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    .
    A spoon scooping some cheesy eggplant bake from a dish, with trailing strings of stretchy, gooey mozzarella.

    Easy eggplant parmesan

    Eggplant parmesan is one of my favourite dishes of all time, but the cooking method I see most often can be a bit of a faff.

    A lot of versions of eggplant parmesan involve individually breading slices of aubergine, by dipping in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Then the slices are fried or baked until they're crispy. Then, you layer it all up with sauce and cheese, and bake again.

    This cheesy eggplant bake ends up tasting almost identical, but it skips the fiddly step of breading the slices of aubergine individually.

    It's eggplant parmesan, but a very low effort version. Hurrah!

    A portion of cheesy eggplant bake on a plate with garlic bread.

    How to make cheesy eggplant bake

    Step 1: Slice and roast the aubergines

    Slice up a couple of eggplants, and roast them until they're soft.

    Don't skip this step! I know it sounds tempting to just use your eggplants raw, but it's 100% worth pre-roasting them. Raw eggplants release liquid as they cook, which will make your tomato sauce thin and watery.

    A collage showing slices of eggplant before and after roasting.

    Instead, roasted aubergine becomes soft, and truly melts in your mouth. It's one of my favourite roasted vegetables of all time.

    You can pan-fry the aubergine slices instead if you prefer, but I prefer roasting. It takes a little longer, but it's entirely hands-off, so you can sit and put your feet up.

    Even though the aubergine still needs pre-cooking, it's 100% easier and less fiddly than having to dip each piece individually into flour, egg and breadcrumbs.

    A collage showing eggplant, cheese and tomato sauce being layered in a baking dish.

    Step 2: Layer it up

    Next, it's time to add those slices of roasted aubergine to a baking dish, along with your favourite tomato sauce (this slow cooker tomato sauce is spectacular, but just use a shop-bought sauce if you prefer!).

    Don't forget to add plenty of cheese - both fresh, creamy mozzarella, and grated cheddar. These two give the ultimate combination of flavour, saltiness, creaminess, and gooeyness.

    Layer everything up, alternating between eggplant, sauce, and cheese. You'll get a bit of everything in every scoop.

    A cheesy bake topped with tomato sauce and breadcrumbs.

    Step 3: Add a crispy topping, and bake

    Sprinkle a little extra cheese on top, along with some breadcrumbs. These will help the top of the eggplant bake to crisp up nicely.

    Then just pop the whole thing in the oven for another half an hour or so, until the cheese is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling up around the edges.

    A vegetarian bake topped with crispy cheese and breadcrumbs.

    How to serve cheesy eggplant bake

    This eggplant bake could either be served as a main course, or a side dish.

    To be honest, it's so insanely delicious that you'll probably want to make it the main focus of your plate, rather than merely something on the side. We just had it with some garlic bread and a bit of salad, and it was utterly perfect.

    If you do want a more substantial meal, it would go really well with some spaghetti, cooked simply in tomato sauce. A cheesy tofu meatball or two would be great too! You could turn it into a real Italian feast.

    A spoon beginning to scoop some cheesy eggplant bake with tomato sauce.

    Some aubergine FAQs:

    Do you need to salt eggplant before use?

    In years gone by, aubergines tasted quite bitter, and salting reduced that bitterness. You'd just sprinkle salt onto the slices of aubergine, leave them for a while, then rinse and cook.

    However, these days aubergines just aren't that bitter. They're bred to be tasty, even without salting. So that's a step that is no longer necessary - another win for lazy cooks everywhere!

    A cheesy eggplant bake in a baking dish with a portion removed.

    Do you need to peel eggplant?

    You don't need to peel eggplant before use, especially when you're serving it roasted, like in this cheesy eggplant bake. As it cooks, the skin softens right up, and you barely even notice it in the finished dish. In fact, it gives some support for the middle of the aubergine, which becomes even softer as it roasts.

    A portion of cheesy eggplant bake on a plate with garlic bread.

    Cheesy Eggplant Bake

    This cheesy eggplant bake is a really easy and non-fiddly version of a classic eggplant parmesan, with roasted aubergines, rich tomato sauce, and gooey cheese.

    If you've cooked this recipe, don't forget to leave a star rating!

    5 from 10 votes
    Print Pin Comment
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour
    Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
    Servings: 2 people
    Calories: 492kcal
    Author: Becca Heyes

    Ingredients

    • 2 medium aubergines (eggplants)
    • Spray oil
    • 350 g (~ 12 oz) good quality tomato pasta sauce
    • 75 g grated cheddar cheese (~¾ cup when grated)
    • 125 g (~ 4 ½ oz) ball of fresh mozzarella
    • 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs

    Instructions

    • Cut the eggplants into 1cm slices. Lay them in a single layer on a baking tray, and spray each side lightly with oil. Roast at 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F) for around 30 minutes, turning them over halfway. They should be fairly soft but not overly crispy.
    • Add a spoonful of tomato sauce to the bottom of a baking dish (mine was a 6 inch circle, but anything similar will be fine), and spread it around. Layer up the slices of roasted eggplant, the grated cheddar and the fresh mozzarella with the remaining tomato sauce. I made 3 layers of each in total, but it doesn't really matter. Top the dish with any remaining cheese, and the breadcrumbs.
    • Return to the oven for a further 30 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and crispy, and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1 portion - Calories: 492 kcal - Carbohydrates: 46.8 g - Protein: 22.2 g - Fat: 26.1 g - Saturated Fat: 11.3 g - Cholesterol: 49 mg - Sodium: 955 mg - Potassium: 1298 mg - Fiber: 22.5 g - Sugar: 22.9 g - Calcium: 358 mg - Iron: 3 mg

    Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.

    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @EasyCheesyVeg or tag #EasyCheesyVegetarian!

    Love a cheesy bake? Try this creamy chickpea bake, with a tasty 1-ingredient sauce!

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    Comments

    1. Joyce Vialet says

      August 08, 2022 at 9:07 pm

      Great recipe, fun to make. Thanks!5 stars

      Reply
      • Becca Heyes says

        August 09, 2022 at 11:08 am

        Thanks Joyce!

        Reply
    2. Sandy says

      April 14, 2022 at 10:16 pm

      If I could give this 10 stars I would do so. It is fantastic. I'm very particular with eggplant recipes and can usually take them or leave them. This is perfect. I may add some extra eggplant the next time because it is so delicious. Thank you so much for sharing this.5 stars

      Reply
      • Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says

        April 20, 2022 at 8:54 am

        That's such lovely feedback, thank you Sandy! :)

        Reply
    3. Paul Fixter says

      March 28, 2022 at 8:34 pm

      Made this tonight as a family meal. Thought the kids would complain about it with it being aubergines but we had clean plates all round - it went down well! Thanks as always Becca!

      Reply
      • Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says

        March 29, 2022 at 10:52 am

        Ahh that's great to hear, thanks Paul!

        Reply
    4. Angela says

      December 02, 2021 at 7:07 pm

      Made this for the second time tonight….totally gorgeous! I used a carton of mascarpone pasta sauce but arrabbiata would be great too.
      I could have kept on eating it but reined myself in lol !5 stars

      Reply
      • Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says

        December 03, 2021 at 1:13 pm

        Ooh mascarpone sauce sounds incredible in this. Glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    5. Jill says

      October 24, 2021 at 1:50 am

      I made this today and it was delicious. What a great easy recipe!
      I used jarred pasta sauce and tossed in some sautéed mushrooms, just to be different, and served with spaghetti.

      Reply
      • Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says

        November 09, 2021 at 8:36 am

        Ooh mushrooms would be great in this too. Glad you enjoyed it! :)

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Becca! I've been a vegetarian for 20+ years, and unlike most of my other childhood pursuits, I actually stuck with it! I love cooking vegetarian food that's full of flavour, but doesn't take a lot of effort to make.

    More about me →

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