This keto eggplant parmesan is made with a coating of almond flour. There's no need for frying! This flavorful dish is baked in your oven. Ready in about an hour, it's wonderful as a side dish, but it's also substantial enough to serve as a meatless main course.
If you like eggplant, I think you'll consider this recipe a delicacy. Tender, flavorful eggplant slices are coated in a crunchy coating, smothered in marinara sauce and cheese, and baked until the cheese is melted. What's not to like? Especially because baking eggplant is so much easier than frying.
Ingredients
See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on some of the ingredients.
- Cooking spray: I use avocado oil. This oil has a neutral flavor and a high smoke point, making it an ideal cooking oil.
- Eggplant: You can leave it unpeeled. It looks prettier this way.
- To season: Salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Sometimes, I add a generous pinch of dried oregano and onion powder.
- For the coating: An egg and almond meal. Crushed pork rinds are a good substitute for almond meal.
- To top the dish: Marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella, and grated parmesan. You can use shredded provolone cheese as a substitute for shredded mozzarella and grated Pecorino Romano to replace the Parmesan.
- Chopped parsley: Used mostly for garnish, so you can skip it if you don't have any on hand. It does make the dish look prettier, though.
Instructions
Using the oven instead of frying the eggplant makes this recipe very easy. The detailed instructions and step-by-step photos are included in the recipe card. Here's a quick overview.
Season eggplant slices with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Dip them in a beaten egg and dredge them in almond meal.
Spray them with oil and bake for about 20 minutes at 425°F. Top with marinara sauce and cheese, and bake a few more minutes to heat through and melt the cheese. Garnish with parsley and serve.
This recipe is easy and delicious!
Thank you for your wonderful healthy and low-carb recipes!
Jetta
Read more comments
This recipe is easy and delicious!Recipe Tips
- The reason I bake the eggplants instead of frying is that baking is way easier. Frying eggplants is a challenge because they absorb ridiculous amounts of oil. One trick is to salt the eggplant rounds before frying them, as I do in this roasted eggplant recipe. This removes moisture and allows for crispier eggplants while using less oil. Another step in this complex recipe! But I am a lazy cook. There's no way I will fry eggplants, so I bake them instead. High-heat baking achieves similar results with much less effort.
- There's no need to peel the eggplant. Some people worry that the eggplant skin will give this dish a bitter taste, but I don't detect any bitter aftertaste, and the dish looks prettier with the dark-colored eggplant skin. However, there's no harm in peeling the eggplant.
- Storage: You can keep the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days. They actually taste good cold! But you can also reheat them uncovered in a 350°F oven.
Serving Suggestions
If you consider it a side dish, you can serve keto eggplant parmesan with any meat, fish, or poultry. It's easiest to serve this side dish with a main course that can be cooked in the same 425°F oven, such as any of the following:
But this dish can easily serve as a substantial and filling main course. In this case, you can serve it with a simple salad like this arugula salad or perhaps with some steamed broccoli.
Recipe Card
Easy Keto Eggplant Parmesan
Video
Ingredients
- Cooking spray - I use avocado oil
- 1 large eggplant - 1 pound
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ cups almond meal - see notes
- ½ cup marinara sauce
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- ¼ cup parmesan - grated
- 2 tablespoons parsley - chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with high-heat-resistant parchment paper and spray it with cooking spray.
- Slice the unpeeled eggplant into ½-inch rounds, discarding the ends. Season the eggplant slices with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- In a shallow bowl, whisk the egg with a tablespoon of water.
- Place the almond meal in another shallow bowl.
- Dip each eggplant round in the egg, then dredge it in the almond meal. Arrange the coated eggplant slices on the prepared baking sheet. Spray them with cooking spray.
- Bake the eggplant until tender, for about 20 minutes per side.
- Remove the eggplants from the oven, but keep the oven on. Top each eggplant with marinara sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan.
- Return the baking sheet to the oven. Bake the eggplant until the cheese is melted, for about 5 more minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
Notes
- I don't peel the eggplant. Some people worry that the eggplant skin will give this dish a bitter taste, but I don't detect any bitter aftertaste, and the dish looks so much prettier with the dark-colored eggplant skin. However, if you worry about it, there's no harm in peeling the eggplant.
- You can use crushed pork rinds instead of almond meal.
- You can keep the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days. They actually taste good cold! But you can also reheat them uncovered in a 350°F oven.
Nutrition per Serving
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Disclaimers
Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
Dottie Strong says
I used crushed pork rinds instead of almond flour. It was super crispy!
Vered DeLeeuw says
Thank you, Dottie. I added this as an option.
Cleo says
Would it make much of a difference if I use almond flour instead of the almond meal?
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Cleo,
I like the texture that almond meal adds and feel it more closely resembles breadcrumbs, but it's OK to use blanched almond flour.
Jetta says
This recipe is easy and delicious!
Thank you for your wonderful healthy and low-carb recipes!
Vered DeLeeuw says
You're very welcome, Jetta!
Dee says
I have made this twice and it’s always so delicious!!!!
Vered DeLeeuw says
How wonderful, Dee! Thank you very much for your comment.
Danni Gozfal says
This is delicious and so easy. I mixed my almond flour with ground pork rinds.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Glad you liked it, Danni! Thanks for sharing your delicious tweak.
CatyK says
I like HealthyRecipes and have wanted to make eggplant parmesan. I'd rate this recipe 5 STARS. I was hesitant to start it because I thought it would take longer than it did. Slicing, dipping, and dredging and baking. Darn simple. I thought eggplant took much longer to cook.
I used Buffalo Mozzarella in water and I grated fresh parmesan. These eggplant rounds cooked surprisingly fast and I flipped 'em and they were done. I ate the first five right away--no sauce. Yummy!
This afternoon, I got the RAO brand marinara, as suggested, and I warmed the sauce on the stove and then placed the rounds on the sauce and voila a nice delish lunch. To complement them I made some mini hamburger rounds in the same pan. I feel super satisfied, it was just right.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Thank you so much, Caty, for the detailed comment! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe. ❤️
Lauretta Findlay says
You didn’t salt the eggplant to get all the water out, then wash the salt off and cover with paper towels for about 30 minutes, then season and bake them.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Lauretta,
Correct. I find that high-heat baking removes excess water from the eggplants, so salting them is unnecessary.
CatyK says
I only sprinkled Himalayan salt and cayenne pepper on 'em. The other part you described is in the "takes way too long" category. 🙂
rochelle fitzpatrick says
If you slice the eggplant and generously salt it, let it sit 15 min, wipe off the moisture with a paper towel, flip over, and repeat, this will leach out any bitterness. Pick up the recipe from seasoning and breading. Personally, I still prefer to use buttermilk for breading instead of the egg.