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    Home » main course

    Vegan Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

    Published: Nov 5, 2019 by Richa 53 Comments

    Jump to Recipe   Print Recipe

    Vegan Eggplant Parmesan Recipe. Breaded Eggplant baked and served over spaghetti and chunky marinara, then topped with cashew mozzarella cream. Fancy and so Delicious! Vegan Soy-free Recipe. Nut-free option. Jump to Recipe

    Vegan Eggplant Parmesan with spaghetti on white plates

    Comfort food almost spells a loaded Eggplant Parmesan. Yes?! And it is easy enough to make home!

    Make the easy Chunky pasta sauce or use premade, Make the vegan mozzarella or my nut-free vegan alfredo for topping or use vegan parmesan instead for a quicker option, get the breading station ready, Bread the eggplant slices and bake or pan fry. Assemble everything and swoon.

    The recipe looks long as it has recipes for sauce, vegan mozz and the breaded eggplant. You can use premade portions for a much quicker meal. The pasta sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated for upto 4 days, same with the vegan mozzarella. Just make the eggplant parmesan fresh for a nice crispy result! lets make this.

    Vegan Eggplant Parmesan on a white plate

    Ingredients for Vegan Eggplant Parmesan

    Jump to Recipe for recipe widget.  For the Chunky Pasta Sauce you need

    • garlic, onion, tomatoes, tomato paste, italian herbs, black pepper and red pepper flakes
    • and some olive oil, salt and sweetener

    For the Eggplant Parmesan you need

    • a long eggplant
    • For the breading station: breadcrumbs, oregano, basil, nutritional yeast, salt, flour, cornstarch or other starch and non dairy milk. See recipe for substitute options.

    For the Vegan Mozzarella you need

    • cashews, flour, water, garlic powder, salt, onion powder, lemon juice, and miso

    To Serve, you need some spaghetti and fresh herbs.

    How to make the Vegan Eggplant Parmesan with Step Pictures

    Make the Pasta Sauce: Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a few seconds. Add onion and a pinch of salt and cook for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Cook for 5 minutes. if the mixture is too thick, add 1/2 cup water.

    Reduce heat to medium low. Partially cover and continue to cook for another 6 to 8 minutes. Taste and adjust flavor.

    Ingredients for chunky marinara sauce in bowls Ingredients for chunky marinara sauce in a black saucepan Ingredients for chunky marinara sauce in a black saucepan

    Mozzarella Cream:

    Blend everything under mozzarella cream until smooth. Add to a skillet over medium heat. Cook until the mixture thickens evenly. about 3-4 mins. Mix and stir occasionally so the thickening mixture at the bottom doesnt stick.

    Ingredients for Vegan Mozzarella in Bowls Blended Vegan Mozzarella in a skillet


    Vegan Mozzarella in a skillet

    Eggplant Parmesan: Slice the eggplant. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 15-20 mins. Then rinse and dab in paper towels.

    Assemble the breading stations. In a shallow bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with nutritional yeast, herbs salt. In another bowl mix the milk with cornstarch, garlic and a good pinch of salt. Mix well. Add flour to another bowl.

    Brush oil liberally on a baking dish. Dip each slice into flour, then milk then breadcrumb mixture to coat all sides, then place in the baking dish. Spray oil on top.

    eggplant slices on wire rack

    Ingredients for baked breaded eggplant in bowls  Ingredients for baked breaded eggplant Breaded Eggplant ready to bake

    Bake at 425 deg F for 25 to 30 mins or until golden. (You can also pan fry the eggplant in a cast iron skillet at medium heat so the slices cook through.) Cook the pasta according to instruction on the package if you havent already.

    Assemble plates and serve. Garnish with fresh basil and pepper flakes.

    Baked Breeaded Eggplant for Eggplant Parmesan

    Can I make this Eggplant Parmesan Gluten-free?

    Yes, Use gluten-free spaghetti or spaghetti squash.

    For the Eggplant Parmesan, use gluten-free breadcrumbs instead of regular breadcrumbs and a mix of 2 tbsp rice flour, 2 tbsp oat flour and 2 tbsp cornstarch or potato starch instead of the all purpose flour.

    Can I make this nut-free?

    Yes, use my nut-free vegan alfredo for topping, or use the nut-free version of my vegan parmesan with pumpkin seeds.

    Vegan Eggplant Parmesan with spaghetti in white plate

    More Mains for the Holidays

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    • Grilled Portobello with Garlic Sauce.
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    Vegan Eggplant Parmesan with spaghetti on white plates

    Vegan Eggplant Parmesan with spaghetti on white plates
    Print Recipe
    4.89 from 17 votes

    Vegan Eggplant Parmesan

    Vegan Eggplant Parmesan Recipe. Breaded Eggplant baked and served over spaghetti and chunky marinara, then topped with cashew mozzarella cream. Fancy and so Delicious! Vegan Soy-free Recipe. Nut-free option
    Prep Time15 mins
    Cook Time35 mins
    Total Time50 mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Italian, Vegan
    Keyword: eggplant parmesan recipe, vegan eggplant parmigiana, vegan parmigiana recipe
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 574.28kcal
    Author: Vegan Richa

    Ingredients

    Chunky Red Sauce:

    • 1 tsp oil or  2 tbsp broth
    • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
    • 1/4 cup (40 g) onion
    • 15 oz (425.24 g) diced tomatoes
    • 2 tbsp tomato paste
    • 1 tsp italian herbs oregano, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, basil
    • 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
    • 1/4 tsp black pepper
    • a good dash of red pepper flakes
    • 1/2 tsp or more sugar/sweetener
    • 1/2 tsp salt

    Mozzarella cream:

    • 1/2 cup (64.5 g) cashews
    • 1 cup (236.59 ml) water
    • 2 tsp flour
    • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
    • 3/4 tsp salt
    • 1 tsp lemon juice
    • 1/4 tsp onion powder
    • 1/2 tsp miso

    Eggplant Parmesan:

    • 1 large longish eggplant ,slice into 1/8 to 1/4 inch slices
    • 1 tsp salt
    • Breading:
    • 1 cup vegan breadcrumbs
    • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
    • 1 tsp dried oregano
    • 1 tsp dried basil
    • 1/4 tsp salt
    • 1/2 cup (118.29 ml) Non dairy milk such as almond , soy or oat
    • 1/2 tsp cornstarch
    • 1/4 tsp garlic
    • 1/3 cup (41.67 g) flour

    To Serve

    • 8 oz spaghetti , use gluten-free spaghetti or spaghetti squash to make gf
    • fresh basil and pepper flakes for garnish

    Instructions

    • Pasta Sauce: at oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a few seconds. Add onion and a pinch of salt and cook for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Cook for 5 minutes. if the mixture is too thick, add 1/2 cup water.
    • Reduce heat to medium low. Partially cover and continue to cook for another 6 to 8 minutes. Taste and adjust flavor. (Sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated for 3 days. Or use store bought marinara or pasta sauce)
    • Mozzarella Cream:(See notes for nut-free) Blend everything under mozzarella cream until smooth. Add to a skillet over medium heat. Cook until the mixture thickens evenly. about 3-4 mins. Mix and stir occasionally so the thickening mixture at the bottom doesnt stick. (Can be made ahead and refrigerated for upto 3 days. Or use store bought vegan mozzarella and top the baking eggplant in the last 10 mins of baking. at step 7)
    • Eggplant Parmesan: Slice the eggplant. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 15-20 mins. Then rinse and dab in paper towels. (You can skip the salting step. Salting helps reduce the bitterness of the eggplant, but can be skipped to reduce work)
    • Assemble the breading stations. In a shallow bowl, mix the breadcrumbs with nutritional yeast, herbs, salt. In another bowl mix the milk with cornstarch, garlic and a good pinch of salt. Mix well. Add flour to another bowl.
    • Brush oil liberally on a baking dish. Dip each eggplant slice into flour, then milk then breadcrumb mixture to coat all sides, then place in the baking dish. Repeat for all slices. Spray oil on top.
    • Bake at 425 deg F (220 F) for 25 to 30 mins or until golden. (You can also pan fry the eggplant in a cast iron skillet at medium heat so the slices cook through.)
    • Cook the pasta according to instruction on the package if you haven't already. Assemble plates with spaghetti topped with pasta sauce and crisp eggplant. Add dollops of the vegan mozzarella or sprinkle some vegan parm and serve.

    Video

    Notes

    Mozzarella Substitute: nut-free vegan alfredo or vegan parmesan.
    For Gluten-free: Use gluten-free spaghetti or spaghetti squash. 
    For the Eggplant Parmesan, use gluten-free breadcrumbs instead of regular breadcrumbs and a mix of 2 tbsp rice flour, 2 tbsp oat flour and 2 tbsp cornstarch or potato starch instead of the flour. 
    Nutrition is for 1 serve with half the amount of cashew cheese as you might need all of it.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Vegan Eggplant Parmesan
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 574.28 Calories from Fat 126
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 14.05g22%
    Saturated Fat 2.51g16%
    Sodium 755.31mg33%
    Potassium 949.52mg27%
    Carbohydrates 95.84g32%
    Fiber 9.83g41%
    Sugar 13.72g15%
    Protein 19.23g38%
    Vitamin A 325.47IU7%
    Vitamin C 15.85mg19%
    Calcium 140.41mg14%
    Iron 5.89mg33%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

     

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    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you Love the Recipe, Please consider rating it using stars in comments! It helps readers and helps more people find the recipe online! I love hearing from you all! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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    1. Melanie

      December 05, 2022 at 12:50 pm

      5 stars
      Best vegan eggplant parmigiana recipe! The cashew mozzarella cream and sauce worked up quicker than I expected. Everything was so delicious! I am happy to have a solid recipe for a favorite dish—thank you!

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        December 07, 2022 at 11:29 am

        I’m so thrilled to hear!

        Reply
    2. Melissa

      May 11, 2022 at 5:50 am

      5 stars
      Best eggplant parm ever. Will be making many times in the future. Thanks for all you do.

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        May 12, 2022 at 6:51 pm

        wow! thanks Melissa

        Reply
        • Beth

          October 01, 2022 at 11:31 am

          5 stars
          Another fabulous recipe from this talented chef. I made this for our evening meal and it was so delicious!

          Reply
          • Vegan Richa Support

            October 02, 2022 at 5:32 pm

            Glad that you enjoyed it.

            Reply
    3. Katy G

      December 07, 2021 at 6:10 pm

      5 stars
      OMGeezles this was good. I used Rao’s jarred sauce to make it easier and it worked great. My oldest daughter loved every bit of it, my youngest wasn’t as keen on the eggplant, but I didn’t think she would be. I will for sure make this again.

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        December 08, 2021 at 1:43 pm

        lol

        Reply
    4. Roxanne

      July 04, 2021 at 8:35 am

      Using milk?
      Not vegan….
      Should it be almond milk?

      Reply
      • Richa

        July 04, 2021 at 12:06 pm

        It’s a vegan blog and vegan recipe. Added non dairy to the list. Been vegan for a long time so sometimes I forget to add non dairy specifier as milk is non dairy for me by default

        Reply
    5. Dania

      April 22, 2021 at 9:16 pm

      I plan on making this recipe next Thursday but I am confuse about the milk ingredient because it states that it’s VEGAN. So what milk milk alternative should I use?

      Reply
      • Richa

        April 22, 2021 at 9:50 pm

        Almond milk or soy milk

        Reply
    6. Michelle

      February 08, 2021 at 10:55 am

      5 stars
      This is SO GOOD! My friend made it for us and I can’t wait to try it myself this week. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve liked eggplant, so I was wary, but this was delicious!! Thank you!

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        February 08, 2021 at 12:47 pm

        wow!!! so glad that you enjoyed eggplant again

        Reply
    7. Joel

      January 20, 2021 at 7:05 pm

      5 stars
      Highly recommend! I’m trying to incorporate more vegan recipes into my diet and tried this tonight. My roommate and I loved it! Didn’t miss the dairy at all and everything tasted great. Especially love the chunky tomato sauce. A+++

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        January 20, 2021 at 7:21 pm

        awesome sauce

        Reply
    8. Jennifer

      November 02, 2020 at 1:13 pm

      5 stars
      I made this last night and it was the best eggplant parm I’ve ever had. It was so much better than what I’ve gotten at restaurants. The breading was so crispy and the sauce was so flavorful. I even made the cheese sauce and that was devoured by the family too. For the cheese sauce I had to use a tablespoon of nutritional yeast in place of the miso, and it gave it almost an alfredo taste. Very good. Thank you.

      Reply
      • Richa

        November 02, 2020 at 2:59 pm

        Awesome!!

        Reply
    9. Iyana

      September 02, 2020 at 6:26 pm

      4 stars
      Okay this is one of the best vegan dishes I’ve made. Would give 5 stars except I felt I could’ve added more seasoning to the breadcrumb mix. Other parts of the dish make up for it though!

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        September 03, 2020 at 10:56 am

        thanks Iyana

        Reply
    10. Julia

      August 28, 2020 at 6:38 pm

      5 stars
      A little involved but I liked the way it turned out. Eggplant was the best eaten alone or full recipe.

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        August 30, 2020 at 10:12 pm

        thank you Julia – nothing quite like homemade, right?

        Reply
    11. Felix

      July 26, 2020 at 9:46 pm

      5 stars
      Super delicious! note- I only used the recipe for the eggplant. Didn’t have enough breadcrumb mixture, so I only coated one side & the bare side I placed down, touching the sheetpan. I also skipped adding/ spraying oil on top.

      It felt like a restaurant-worthy dish. I’ve always been apprehensive about eggplant but this came out so perfectly! Thanks for a great recipe.

      Reply
      • Richa

        July 27, 2020 at 9:22 am

        Awesome

        Reply
    12. Debra

      June 29, 2020 at 9:37 am

      5 stars
      What a great and flexible recipe! I used my favorite pasta sauce and gluten free pasta as well as gluten free breadcrumbs. I really missed eating eggplant Parmesan. Terrific and delicious recipe. Thank you!!

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        June 29, 2020 at 10:11 am

        Delish! So glad you enjoyed this!

        Reply
    13. Joanne

      June 09, 2020 at 6:17 am

      This was really good, and quite easy. I will definitely make it again and again. Thanks for all you do. I have both of your cookbooks and Use them often.

      Reply
    14. Madison

      June 08, 2020 at 3:26 pm

      Hi! Do the cashews need to be soaked? Thanks in advance.

      Reply
      • Vegan Richa Support

        June 08, 2020 at 7:19 pm

        you’re very welcome. no, not in this recipe.

        Reply
      • Richa

        June 08, 2020 at 10:22 pm

        You can Soak them in hot water for 15 minutes and use.

        Reply
    15. Robin

      May 11, 2020 at 2:03 pm

      I’m allergic to any product that has corn. What would you suggest to replace the cornstarch?

      Reply
      • Richa

        May 12, 2020 at 9:58 am

        Any other starch such as tapioca or arrowroot

        Reply
    16. Miya

      April 19, 2020 at 2:04 pm

      4 stars
      This was really yummy! The cheese didn’t hold up as well as I thought, but still will make again!

      Reply
      • Richa

        April 19, 2020 at 2:12 pm

        Awesome! It’s not supposed to set. It’s just a thick cream to reduce the time and ingredients to make it set then melt again.

        Reply
    17. Colleen Bush

      April 05, 2020 at 4:26 pm

      Just made this, and it was amazing! I am just curious about the nutritional information listed, where does the sugar and protein come from in this recipe?

      Reply
      • Richa

        April 05, 2020 at 4:51 pm

        ah i recalculatetd it, not sure where it was picking up the sugar from. its updated now to 13g. protein comes from pasta and breadcrumbs.

        Reply
    18. Alice

      March 16, 2020 at 6:38 pm

      Anything I could use instead of miso for the mozarella cream? I am making this tonight but am not doing the cream but I am wondering for next time. I decided to add garlic powder and onion powder to the bread crumb mixture and not put garlic into the milk.

      Reply
      • Richa

        March 17, 2020 at 2:44 pm

        omit it and add a tbsp nutritional yeast if you have that

        Reply
    19. Cynthia

      January 30, 2020 at 8:12 pm

      5 stars
      This was astonishingly good. I know your recipes are good, but this was better than I dared hope. Even my husband, who loves greasy, cheesy eggplant parm, was grudgingly amazed at how delicious it was. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Richa

        January 30, 2020 at 8:32 pm

        thats so awesome!

        Reply
    20. Bonnie

      November 26, 2019 at 5:04 am

      This is a silly question but when the recipe calls for cashews does it mean salted or unsalted? This looks delicious, I’m making it tonight!

      Reply
      • Richa

        November 26, 2019 at 10:18 am

        raw cashews, unroasted, unsalted

        Reply
    21. Zach

      November 11, 2019 at 7:49 pm

      5 stars
      I was hesitant about this recipe since I’ve never cooked with eggplant (bad memories from childhood) but it turned out great! I used zucchini noodles to lighten it up. Thanks for another delicious recipe!

      Reply
      • Richa

        November 11, 2019 at 8:01 pm

        awesome!

        Reply
    22. Barbara Gross

      November 08, 2019 at 4:04 pm

      5 stars
      Great recipe, thank you so much. I will be making it many more times. So glad I found your site.

      Reply
      • Richa

        November 09, 2019 at 11:12 am

        awesome! thanks!

        Reply
    23. Emily

      November 08, 2019 at 11:37 am

      5 stars
      Made this with marinara that I had. The whole meal was scarfed down in minutes!! So Good!

      Reply
      • Richa

        November 09, 2019 at 9:27 pm

        awesome!

        Reply
    24. Julie Rex

      November 05, 2019 at 4:34 pm

      This looks amazing! Do you think whole wheat pastry flour would work for the breading?

      Reply
      • Richa

        November 05, 2019 at 5:44 pm

        yes, should work just fine

        Reply
    25. Sue

      November 05, 2019 at 3:52 pm

      Looks awesome. “E-parm” was my favorite Italian food.

      Reply
      • Richa

        November 05, 2019 at 5:45 pm

        its such a simple set of flavors but so good!

        Reply
        • Hansa Patel

          November 20, 2019 at 3:36 am

          Thank you
          My favorite dish, Now I can make Healthy version.

          Reply

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