Italian Sausage Baked Eggplant Parmesan

5 from 1 vote

Italian Sausage Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Baked eggplant is a healthy and comforting main meal, made with baked aubergine, a rich sausage and tomato filling, and a creamy parmesan sauce, sprinkled with fresh basil just before serving.

Prep Time50

Cook Time1

Total Time1 50

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 447kcal

Author: Marisa Franca @ All Our Way

Equipment

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

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.

Nutrition