Eggplant parmesan has been a staple in households across the country for ages. Typically, it is served with spaghetti, fettuccine, or Angel hair pasta. However, you can make it lighter and less carbohydrate-laden by not breading it first and pairing it with a lovely vegetable mix. To make the low-carb version of eggplant parmesan, switch out a few ingredients.
There will be a video below showing the standard eggplant parmesan recipe that does include breading the eggplant first. There are a lot of low-carb eggplant recipes which aren’t actually low carb or diabetic-friendly because they use things like rice flour, breadcrumbs, or a variation of grains.
The recipe below does not use any of the above because it has been modified for a low-carb diet when accounting for total carbs.
This is a great recipe to make during garden season when everything is starting to come off. Oftentimes I would go out into the garden the night before and pick the fresh tomatoes, fresh eggplant, bell peppers, basil, and even green onions at times. It’s a flexible recipe that can be made in the house, in an oven, or even in a solar oven.
When I took the vegetables from the previous days picking, I would prepare them, place them in a dark lidded baking dish, and take them outside to the solar oven to cook while I gardened. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon most summer days.
Ingredients:
- One large fresh eggplant
- ricotta cheese 4 ounces
- one small can of tomato paste
- 8 ounces of mozzarella cheese
- enough avocado or olive oil to deep fry
- 4 ounces of parmesan cheese
- 4 ounces of almond flour
- two to three large eggs
- Italian seasoning about two tablespoons
- fresh basil crushed about two tablespoons
Directions:
- Slice the eggplants into half-inch thick or smaller rounds. At this time, it is best to pat dry with a paper towel and too lightly salt both sides to draw out any water. Let’s sit for one hour towel dry with a paper towel again and place on clean paper towels after towel dried.
- Get a large and deep frying pan and fill with 1/2 inch or less of avocado or olive oil for frying. Place on medium-high heat until it starts to sizzle and then back it down to medium heat.
- Mix up in a bowl 4 ounces of almond flour, 4 ounces of parmesan cheese, the Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.
- In another bowl, next, the two to three eggs together scrambled. Take the slices of eggplant individually and dip them first in the eggs that are scrambled, and then drench them in the almond flour and parmesan cheese mixture before placing them in a frying pan for deep frying.
- Eggplant soaks up oil readily so expect to have to refill the pan regularly. Deep fry all the eggplant slices until both sides are golden brown. Then place it on a cookie sheet.
- Once the cookie sheet is filled with eggplant rounds that have been coated and fried, add one teaspoon of tomato paste to cover the round. Then add one teaspoon of ricotta cheese to cover the round. Once all the eggplant rounds have been covered with this mixture, place in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until very warm.
- At the 15-minute mark open up the oven, and sprinkle a tablespoon of mozzarella cheese over every round. Then return the cookie sheet back into the oven to cook for an additional three to five minutes until the mozzarella cheese has melted.
- Once the mozzarella cheese has melted, take the cookie sheet out of the oven and sprinkle the freshly minced basil on top of the eggplant parmesan rounds. Serve warm with a side salad, steamed vegetables, or mushroom noodles.
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