Keto Eggplant Parmesan

A delicious change of pace, this vegetarian keto entrée (or side dish) combines crispy breaded eggplant with tangy marinara sauce and melty mozzarella cheese.

Prep: 15

Cook: 45

Sweat 1

Total: 2

Yield:6 servings

Equipment

Cutting board
Sharp knife or mandoline slicer
large baking sheet
Paper towels
1-2 wire cooling racks
running water
Oven
parchment paper
9x13 baking dish
Cooking spray
Tongs
2 shallow bowls
whisk

Ingredients

For the Eggplant

2 medium eggplants approximately 1 ½ pounds, even in size and thickness
salt

For the Egg Wash

2 large eggs
2 tablespoons water

For the Keto Breading

¾ cup blanched almond flour or additional crushed pork rinds
¾ cup finely crushed pork rinds plain or Italian-flavored, see Notes
½ cup grated fresh parmesan
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Eggplant Parmesan

2 cups keto-friendly marinara divided
12 ounces fresh mozzarella sliced into 12 quarter-inch-thick discs, divided

To Serve

fresh basil chopped or chiffonaded

Instructions

To Prepare the Eggplant

Place 2 medium eggplants on cutting board. Cut away and discard both ends of each eggplant, then slice eggplants into 12 discs. Each disc should be approximately ½-inch thick. Alternately, use mandoline slicer to ensure discs are uniformly thick.
Cover large baking sheet with layer of paper towels, then place wire cooling rack(s) on top. Arrange eggplant slices on top of wire racks in one single layer. Slices can touch but shouldn't overlap. Generously sprinkle salt over eggplant discs, then flip discs over and salt other side.
Leave eggplant to sit 1 hour, allowing salt to sweat out any bitter juices. After 1 hour, rinse eggplant discs well under running water to remove excreted juices and any excess salt.
Dry eggplant discs very well. Discard paper towels and wipe down baking sheet, then proceed with recipe.

For the Breaded Eggplant

Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Lightly grease baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
Crack 2 large eggs directly into first shallow bowl. Add 2 tablespoons water and whisk until ingredients are fully combined and eggs are no longer streaky. Set bowl aside.
Add ¾ cup blanched almond flour, ¾ cup finely crushed pork rinds, ½ cup grated fresh parmesan, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, ¾ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to second shallow bowl. Whisk until ingredients are well blended. Set bowl aside.
Dip one dried eggplant disc in egg wash, coating both sides fully. Hold eggplant disc over bowl to allow any excess egg wash to drip back into bowl, then place eggplant disc in bowl of breading.
Flip eggplant disc in breading mixture 2 to 3 times, pressing eggplant into breading gently to ensure breading sticks on both sides. Shake excess breading back into bowl, then place eggplant disc on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Repeat process until all eggplant discs have been fully breaded and placed on baking sheet in one even layer without stacking or overlapping.
Place filled baking sheet in preheated oven. Bake eggplant discs 15 minutes, then carefully remove baking sheet and flip each eggplant disc over. Return baking sheet to oven and bake 10 minutes more, or until eggplant is tender.

For the Keto Eggplant Parmesan

When eggplant discs are tender, carefully remove baking sheet from oven and set aside.
Add ½ cup marinara sauce to greased baking dish. Spread marinara out to cover bottom of dish, making sure to reach each corner.
Arrange 6 eggplant discs on top of marinara sauce in one flat, even layer, being careful not to stack or overlap discs.
Cover eggplant layer with ¾ cup marinara, spreading marinara out to cover eggplant evenly.
Top marinara layer with 6 mozzarella discs, placing each on top of one eggplant disc beneath marinara.
Stack remaining 6 eggplant discs on top of mozzarella discs.
Cover new eggplant layer with remaining ¾ cup marinara, spreading marinara out to cover eggplant evenly.
Top new marinara layer with remaining 6 mozzarella discs, placing each on top of one eggplant disc beneath marinara.
Place baking dish in oven still heated to 400° Fahrenheit. Bake 10 minutes or until mozzarella is warm and melted.
Optional: Turn broiler on high. Broil eggplant parmesan 2 to 3 minutes or until top layer of mozzarella is just browned.
When cheese has melted, carefully remove baking dish from oven. Portion eggplant parmesan onto serving plates and garnish with fresh basil. Serve warm with desired sides.

Notes

Marinara: Make sure your marinara sauce doesn't contain any added sugars or sugar substitutes that aren't keto-friendly. Natural sugars from the tomatoes are okay.
Parmesan: You'll want to grate your own parmesan from a block of fresh cheese. Prepackaged grated parmesan contains added fillers and starches to prevent clumping, which also add unnecessary carbs to the cheese.
Almond Flour: Use an almond flour with the lowest carb count possible. If you can't use or don't have almond flour, you can replace it with more pork rinds.
Pork Rinds: For crushed pork rinds, just pulse the pork rinds in the food processor until they're the texture of breadcrumbs. You can also use a product like Pork King Good's pork rind crumbs.

Nutrition

Recipe By:Cheryl Malik