Best Ever Eggplant Parmesan - Easy Low Carb

This evening I made my Eggplant Parmesan. I absolutely love eggplant. Rather than the traditional way of breading and frying the eggplant before assembling the casserole, I brush the slices of eggplant with olive oil, season with salt and then bake for 25 to 30 minutes until tender. There are very few ingredients in this dish, so using the best ingredients makes a big difference. I found beautiful fresh eggplants at Sprouts Farmers Market. I like to use Costco's organic extra virgin olive oil, Sargento's traditional cut mozzarella cheese as well as their sliced Provolone. Since I like my Eggplant Parmesan to have a little kick, I use Rao's Arrabbiata Sauce for a bit of heat. I found some beautiful shaved Parmesan cheese at Sprouts that was shaved in nice big thick flakes, and I used that to top the dish with. I wanted to make sure you could really taste the Parmesan. Use your own favorite jarred or homemade sauce and your favorite cheeses. As I was layering my eggplant, it was obvious after the first layer that I had enough to make 3 layers of eggplant instead of two, so I just divided my sauce out accordingly to make sure I had enough sauce for the 3rd row. It worked out perfectly. This Eggplant Parmesan is honestly some of the best I've ever had. The eggplant literally melts in your mouth. The eggplants I used were fresh and had very little seeds, which are the best to use. Larger, older eggplant can be filled with too many seeds which can sometimes be a little bitter. These were perfect. I snapped some photos below of the different steps as well as included the recipe below. Enjoy!

Eggplant Parmesan - Low Carb

Ingredients:

4 medium eggplants, cut into 1/2-inch thick round slices
1/3 cup olive oil (more, if needed)
Sea salt, to taste
1 24-ounce jar pasta sauce (I used Rao's Arrabbiata Sauce)
12-ounces (about 3 cups) shredded mozzarella cheese (more, if desired)
5 to 6 slices provolone cheese, cut into fourths
1/2 cup shredded or shaved Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with olive oil and place on a parchment lined baking sheet or in a single layer in a nonstick roasting pan. Season with salt, to taste. Bake for 15 minutes; turn slices over, brush with additional olive oil, and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork. Set cooked eggplant aside.

Reduce oven to 400 degrees F. Spread about 1/2 cup of pasta sauce in the bottom of a 2 to 3 quart casserole dish. Place half of the eggplant slices on top of sauce (see note below). Top and spread each slice with a spoonful (about 1 tablespoon) of sauce. Top with half of the mozzarella cheese. Cut slices of provolone cheese in half, then half again to cut into fourths. Place 1/4 slice of provolone on top of each eggplant/mozzarella mound. Top with remaining half of eggplant slices. Spoon remaining pasta sauce on top of each eggplant stack. Top with remaining half of mozzarella cheese, then with final layer of Parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. If desired, run under the broiler for a few minutes to brown cheese. Allow to sit for about 10 to 15 minutes before serving so cheese can set up.

*Note: If you have extra slices of cooked eggplant left, you can add an additional layer of eggplant and top with sauce, then end with Parmesan.