Baked Eggplant

Eggplant is a nutrient-dense, tasty vegetable that often meets the same fate when it arrives in the kitchen: It gets heavily breaded and covered in melted cheese. Eggplant parm, eggplant rollatini…you get the picture. But there’s another way. (Follow us!) This recipe includes all of the great Italian flavors the veggie loves—like garlic, tomato, and parsley—but leaves out all of that other heavy, unhealthy stuff. It’s the perfect Meatless Monday meal or can be served as a side.

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium green peppers, sliced
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, peeled and sliced
1 cup parsley, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup tomato sauce
to taste salt
to taste freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Sauté eggplant rounds in olive oil until tender, set aside.
3. Sauté peppers and onion until aromatic and slightly translucent.
4. In an 8 inch square casserole dish, arrange in layers: eggplant, peppers, onions, tomatoes, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Repeat layers.
5. Pour tomato sauce over top of layered vegetables.
6. Bake for 50-60 minutes uncovered.

WHY WE LOVE THIS RECIPE Eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, onions…all of these are incredibly nutrient-dense vegetables, so piling them on top of each other is a really great strategy. This recipe is a perfect one to master if you’re a vegan (or want to have some go-to dishes for when your vegan friends visit).