Vegan Eggplant Parmesan

5 from 25 votes

This delicious baked vegan eggplant parmesan will soon be one of your favorite dishes! Crispy eggplant is layered with marinara sauce and vegan cheese sauce, topped with breadcrumbs and baked to golden brown perfection.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian-Inspired

Diet: Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 409kcal

Author: Alison Andrews

Ingredients

2 Large Eggplants or 3 Medium (1 ½ pounds / 680g)

Batter:

1 cup Soy Milk (240ml) or other non-dairy milk
¾ cup All Purpose Flour (93g)
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
¼ teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Breading:

3 cups Panko Breadcrumbs
¼ teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

Vegan Cheese Sauce:

5 Tablespoons Olive Oil
5 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
3 cups Soy Milk (720ml) or other non-dairy milk
⅓ cup Nutritional Yeast (20g)
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
½ teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

Breadcrumb Topping:

1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
2 Tablespoons Vegan Butter Melted

Marinara Sauce:

28 ounces Marinara Sauce (800g)

Serving:

Fresh Chopped Basil
Ground Black Pepper

Instructions

Eggplant:

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Slice your eggplant into ¼ inch thick rounds. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, add soy milk, all purpose flour, cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, salt, ground black pepper and cayenne pepper and whisk it into a batter.
In a second bowl, add panko breadcrumbs, salt and ground black pepper and mix together.
Dip each slice of eggplant into the batter to coat it completely and then gently toss it in the breadcrumbs bowl to cover it completely with breadcrumbs.
Place the breaded eggplant onto parchment lined baking trays. We used two trays.
Bake in the oven at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes.

Vegan Cheese Sauce:

While the eggplant is baking, start your vegan cheese sauce.
Add olive oil to a pot on medium heat and let the oil heat up until hot.
Add all purpose flour and fry the flour in the oil briefly, stirring vigorously the whole time.
Add soy milk all at once and stir vigorously.
Continue to stir, bringing the sauce to the boil and then continue stirring until it thickens. It will usually get to the right level of thickness a few minutes after the sauce has boiled.
When the sauce has thickened, remove it from the heat and stir in nutritional yeast, dijon mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and ground black pepper.
Set aside. It will continue to thicken as it cools.

Breadcrumb topping:

Add breadcrumbs to a bowl. Add melted vegan butter and mix in until the breadcrumbs are coated.

Assembling and Baking:

Add roughly a third of the marinara sauce to the bottom of a 9x13 oven-safe dish.
Top it with half the eggplant.
Layer another third of the marinara sauce on top of the eggplant.
Top that with roughly a third of the cheese sauce.
Add the rest of the eggplant.
Top it with the remaining third of the marinara sauce.
Top that with the remaining two thirds of the vegan cheese sauce.
Add the breadcrumbs on top.
Place into the oven to bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Serving:

Serve topped with fresh chopped basil and ground black pepper.

Notes

Nutritional yeast - adds cheesy flavor to the sauce, but it can be omitted if you prefer.
Marinara sauce - we used a jarred marinara sauce that we love the taste of. So go ahead and use your favorite marinara sauce. It saves heaps of time in this recipe to use a ready-made marinara sauce. Of course if you have a great homemade version, then you can go ahead and use that.
Gluten free: For a gluten-free version of this eggplant parm, simply use a gluten free all purpose flour blend for your batter and your cheese sauce, and gluten free breadcrumbs for the breading/topping.
Storing: It's at its crispy best when served immediately. However, leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the oven or in the microwave. It's not freezer friendly.

Nutrition