If I had to make a birthday dinner for my sister, it would probably be eggplant parmesan.
She’s a pescatarian, so she’d never have chicken parm, but she’s a freak over eggplant parm.
I’ve never actually made eggplant parm before, so I figured, why not learning how to make eggplant parm, in case I ever want to treat my little sister to a home cooked meal, right? And yes, today’s her birthday!
I always call her my little sister, but she’s really not that little – she’s 27 years old! Well, she turns 27 years old today. Happy birthday, Felicia!
Felicia is my only sister. I also have an older brother, David, who’s 33. I’m smack in the middle – I’m 29 (well, 30 in almost 1 month, eek!)
I always call her my little sister, because she’s always been that to me – littler than me! She’s also shorter than me, and will always be a baby to me. But, she’s not a baby anymore – she actually got engaged over the holidays to her now-fiancé, Ben. They live in the building across from ours here in Jersey City, so we get to see them a lot, which we love.
Lu and Ben are close too, and I think Lu secretly (as the youngest of four) always wanted to have a younger sibling.
It’s one big happy family over here. And we’re all going out tonight for a birthday dinner to celebrate!
But today’s not about Felicia’s birthday necessarily, it’s about this recipe: eggplant parmesan over zucchini noodles. The eggplant parmesan recipe was tweaked from Molly Gilbert’s new book, One Pan & Done. Molly wrote the crazy best-seller, Sheet Pan Suppers, and now she has come out with a sequel (kinda) that’s all focused on one pan – so not sheet pan, but any type of pan (casserole dish, pot, sheet pan, etc.)
If you’re anything like me and hate cleaning up, this book is for you. If you don’t have many pots and pans, this book is for you. It has approachable, flavorful dishes that are impressively made in literally, just one pan.
This recipe is from the book, but I just tweaked it to use less olive oil and to be gluten-free (I swapped almond meal for panko breadcrumbs.) However you make it, you’re going to love it.
Watch our video to learn how to spiralize a zucchini using the Inspiralizer and subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch more videos:
Gluten-Free Eggplant Parmesan with Zucchini Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ cups almond flour original recipe calls for panko bread crumbs
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons sweet or smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1½ medium eggplants sliced into ½-inch-thick rounds (about 16 slices)
- 2 24-ounce jars store-bought marinara sauce (I used Victoria Fine Foods)
- ½ pound sliced provolone cheese about 12 slices
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 6 zucchinis
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F, with a rack in the center position. Line a sheet pan with foil and mist with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth. In another medium bowl, stir together the panko, garlic powder, oregano, paprika and salt until combined.
- Dip each slice of eggplant first into the beaten egg, allowing the excess to drip off, and then into the panko mixture, pressing to coat. Place the coated eggplant slices on the prepared sheet pan, nestling them as close together as possible. Mist the eggplant with cooking spray.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, carefully flip each slice of eggplant, and evenly distribute one jar of the marinara sauce over the slices. Top with the provolone cheese and Parmesan. Return to the oven and bake until the eggplant is tender and the cheese is melted and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes.
- While eggplant cheese melts, spiralize the zucchinis with blade D and trim the noodles with kitchen shears. Place a large wok over high heat and once the wok heats, add the zucchini. Cook the zucchini until heated through to your preference.
- While zucchini cooks, place the other jar of sauce into a medium pot over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Let cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes.
- Serve the eggplant parm hot with a side of zucchini noodles topped with sauce.
comments