If you’ve never had eggplant parmesan before then you’re in for a real treat! This Eggplant and Italian Sausage Gratin calls for lightly seasoned slices of aubergine to be baked and then layered between a rich tomato and Italian sausage filling.
The eggplant parmesan is then topped with a creamy parmesan sauce before being baked and served with a sprinkle of freshly chopped basil and a side of crusty bread.
Jump to:
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Baking the sliced eggplant is much healthier than frying it. You also won’t need to handle as much mess!
- The addition of Italian sausage turns this baked eggplant into a hearty and filling main meal.
- This version of eggplant parmesan is lighter than other recipes - it’s baked without any breading, making it a gluten-free dish!
This dish is so meaty and cheesy, even the picky eaters won’t mind the generous portions of eggplant!
🛒 Ingredients
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Note: The full list of this recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are listed in the recipe card below.
- Medium eggplants
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- Italian seasoning
- fresh garlic
- fire-roasted canned tomatoes
- fresh basil
- heavy cream
- freshly grated parmesan cheese
- freshly grated mozzarella
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Preheat oven. Line the sheet pans with foil and brush with oil. Place sliced eggplant on the pans, brush with oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Rotate pans and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Brown the Italian sausage in a medium-large pot over medium heat, breaking up the sausage.
- Drain excess grease and reduce heat. Add Italian seasoning and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add roasted tomatoes and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.
- Cook for 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally until sauce thickens. Sprinkle in basil and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add heavy cream to a saucepan and heat to a simmer. Reduce heat and continue cooking (about 10 minutes) until the cream is reduced by about half. Add cheese and stir until melted and sauce is smooth. Cover and set aside.
- Prepare casserole pan. Add half of the eggplant to the pan. Spoon ½ the meat sauce over the eggplant. Repeat layers.
- Stir cheese sauce and pour over the sausage eggplant. Bake until bubbly and golden in spots.
- Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Serve with crusty bread.
🔪 Equipment
The following are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
🤔 FAQs
These are the questions we are most frequently asked about making (recipe name)
This baked eggplant recipe only requires about 20-25 minutes in the oven at 350F. It should be bubbly and golden in spots.
The sliced eggplant in this recipe requires baking for 35 minutes in the oven. I’ve used two pans for enough slices, baking them for 15 minutes and then rotating the pans and cooking for another 20 minutes.
It’s not absolutely necessary but I prefer to season the sliced eggplant before combining the rest of the eggplant parmesan dish.
Adding salt to raw eggplants and letting them sweat some of the liquid helps to draw moisture out of the eggplant slices. Do this before baking this reduces sogginess in baked eggplant dishes.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- Slice the eggplants ½ - ¾ inches thick so that they can brown in the oven before becoming overly soft.
- Since all ovens differ, it’s best to check on the sliced eggplants as well as the assembled eggplant parmesan, adjusting the baking time if needed.
- Don’t forget to line the baking pans with foil and brush with oil. This will prevent the eggplant slices from sticking to the pans and you losing that delicious skin!
- Make sure that you leave enough space between the eggplant slices on the pans so that they cook evenly. Don’t allow them to overlap and steam.
📚 Variations
- If you don’t enjoy the skin on eggplant, peel the eggplant in zebra stripes before slicing. You still need some skin on the eggplant slices otherwise they can collapse and turn mushy while baking.
- I’ve used Italian sausage in this eggplant parmesan but you can use any type of sausage that you prefer. You can even use spicy sausage for a kick of heat to this dish.
- For an extra cheesy casserole, sprinkle freshly grated parmesan or mozzarella cheese over the cheese sauce just before baking. If the sprinkled cheese starts to brown before the baking time is over, cover the casserole dish with foil.
🥫 Storage
Eggplant parmesan is best enjoyed the same day that it’s baked but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
You can also freeze this baked eggplant casserole for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven, covered.
📗 Related Recipes
I love the many ways that aubergine can be used in various recipes. Here are a couple of delicious ways to use your eggplant:
- Grilled Baby Eggplant & Plum Tomatoes With Fresh Basil - Marinated baby eggplant with plum tomatoes are grilled and topped with fresh basil and shaved pecorino cheese.
- Baba Ghanoush - This Mediterranean eggplant dip is smoky, creamy, garlicky, with a nutty sesame flavor. Enjoy it with flatbread or vegetables.
- Best Grilled Vegetables - Eggplant is just one of many deliciously grilled veggies in this dish. It’s perfect as a side dish to just about any main meal!
🍽 Serve with
This baked eggplant dish can be enjoyed with crusty bread like my Ciabatta Bread. Italian Antipasto Caprese Salad would also be a delicious side dish to pair with eggplant parmesan.
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
Eggplant is a seriously underrated vegetable yet it can be used in so many ways from this eggplant parmesan recipe to delicious dips and even as a low-carb replacement for pasta in lasagna and other pasta dishes.
I love eating seasonal produce so I usually have leftover aubergine in the kitchen between May and October. This Eggplant and Italian Sausage Gratin is a great way to use up any excess produce that even the pickiest of eaters will appreciate!
Tutti a tavolo, è pronto!
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📝 Recipe Card
Italian baked eggplant is a delicious twist to the much-loved chicken parmesan, made with baked aubergine slices, a rich tomato and Italian sausage filling, and creamy parmesan cheese sauce. This eggplant parmesan is best served immediately after baking with some crusty bread.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Italian Sausage Baked Eggplant Parmesan
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplant cut into ½-inch thick rounds
- 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
- 12 ounces Italian sausage if using links, remove the casings
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 3 garlic cloves finely minced
- 43.5 ounces fire-roasted tomatoes (3 - 14½ ounce cans)
- ½ cup fresh basil coarsely chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 ounces parmesan cheese grated
- 4 ounces mozzarella cheese grated
Instructions
For the eggplant:
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Line two sheet pans with foil (this is for easy cleanup). Brush foil generously with extra virgin olive oil.Arrange eggplant slices in even layers on prepared pans. Now brush the tops of the slices with olive oil. Do this quickly as eggplant is like a sponge when it comes to olive oil. Lightly sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate pans and bake for another 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and set aside.
The sausage tomato filling:
- While the eggplant is roasting, heat a medium-large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the Italian sausage and cook until lightly browned stirring occasionally and breaking up the sausage.
- Drain the excess grease and reduce the heat to low. Add the Italian seasoning and garlic. Cook stirring continually for 2 more minutes allowing the garlic to soften and the spices to bloom.
- Add the roasted tomatoes to the mixture and increase the heat to high. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer. Cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce begins to thicken. Sprinkle in the fresh chopped basil and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Parmesan cheese sauce:
- Pour the 1 cup of heavy cream into a medium-size saucepan. Heat the cream over medium heat until it begins to simmer.Reduce the heat and continue to cook until the cream is reduced by almost half about 10 minutes.
- Add the Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Stir over low heat until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Cover and set aside.
To assemble the eggplant casserole:
- Lightly grease your gratin or casserole pan. Arrange half of the eggplant in the pan. Spoon about ½ of the meat sauce over the eggplant and the repeat layer finishing with meat sauce.
- Stir the cheese sauce and pour over the top of the sausage eggplant.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350℉ and bake the gratin until bubbly and the top is beginning to turn golden in spots, about 25-30 minutes
- Remove from oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving. Serve in shallow bowls with crusty bread like our ciabatta bread.
Notes
- Slice the eggplants ½ - ¾ inches thick so that they can brown in the oven before becoming overly soft.
- Since all ovens differ, it’s best to check on the sliced eggplants as well as the assembled eggplant parmesan, adjusting the baking time if needed.
- Don’t forget to line the baking pans with foil and brush with oil. This will prevent the eggplant slices from sticking to the pans and you losing that delicious skin!
- Make sure that you leave enough space between the eggplant slices on the pans so that they cook evenly. Don’t allow them to overlap and steam.
Nutrition
Sign up for the emails and never miss another recipe!!
We'll never share your email or send you spam. Promise
