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.
Say hello to our very non-traditional eggplant parmesan recipe!
When researching this recipe I discovered that not only is eggplant parmesan done in lots of different ways, but the traditional Italian version (Melanzane alla Parmigiana) doesn’t even contain any breading. It’s an American thing to bread the eggplant.
But I gotta say, breading the eggplant is delicious so that got a solid thumbs up from us.
And then the traditional version contains heaps of cheese, usually mozzarella and of course – parmesan.
But since the availability (and sometimes quality) of vegan cheese can be quite variable around the world, we decided to make a vegan cheese sauce from scratch instead. It’s a delicious vegan cheese sauce and bakes up beautifully, so you don’t mind.
The result is a simply fantastic comfort food recipe that will soon be your new favorite.
And if you love eggplant as much as we do then you’ll also love our vegan moussaka which is layered with roasted eggplant and our baba ganoush made with roasted eggplant. Our eggplant tofu stir fry is a winner too.
Ingredients To Make This Vegan Eggplant Parm:
Ingredients For The Vegan Cheese Sauce:
Ingredient Notes
- 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.
- Soy milk – for the batter and for the cheese sauce can be replaced with a different non-dairy milk if you prefer.
- Nutritional yeast – adds cheesy flavor to the sauce, but it can be omitted if you prefer.
How To Make Vegan Eggplant Parmesan
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
The Eggplant:
First we need to bread the eggplant. We used a similar batter and breading method for this vegan eggplant parmigiana as we did for our BBQ tofu. We just added in some Italian herbs. It is SO delicious.
- 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.
The 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 9×13 oven-safe dish.
- Top it with half the eggplant.
- Layer another third of the marinara sauce on top of the eggplant.
- Top that with 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 Suggestions
Serve your vegan eggplant parmigiana topped with fresh chopped basil and ground black pepper.
Some vegan garlic bread or a vegan caesar salad on the side would also be fantastic.
Recipe Tips
There is no need to peel the eggplant. We simply slice it, batter and bread it and bake it until crispy. The peels are perfectly edible and delicious in this recipe.
There is no need to salt the eggplant. We didn’t find it necessary to salt the eggplant at all. However, if you prefer to do it, you can! Just slice your eggplant as usual, lay the slices out on a paper towel, sprinkle on salt and then leave them for an hour. Then rinse them off and dry them with a paper towel. Then continue with the batter and breading.
Make it 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 Tips
Vegan eggplant parmesan is 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.
More Delicious Vegan Comfort Food
- Vegan Lasagna
- Vegan Baked Ziti
- Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
- Vegan Cannelloni
- Vegan Enchiladas
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Eggplant Parmesan
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 9×13 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.
Excellent recipe! Probably the best eggplant parmesan recipe I’ve ever had or made. Notes: I used 2 large eggplants and ended up with 4 layers of eggplant rather than 2 (in the 9X13 dish). Not a bad thing! I used about 1 cup of extra marinara to accommodate the extra layers – but if the same thing happens again, I’ll double the amount of marinara next time. I did not make any additional cheese sauce and it was totally fine. Since the end product didn’t have quite as much marinara as it should have, I served it with a bowl of warm marinara on the side which was great. Also, I prepared the eggplant slices the day before and kept them in the refrigerator until constructing the casserole. This is an excellent recipe and I will absolutely make it again, probably many times. Would be great for a potluck or for an omni-crowd.
Awesome! Thank you so much for sharing and for your amazing review Maribeth!
This looks amazing…. Has anyone made a day ahead. Cooking for holidays and love day ahead when I can. I did see ok to make cheese sauce a day ahead. Wanted to assemble …… thanks!
It is best to assemble the day of because there is a risk of the eggplant getting soggy if left in the fridge over night.
I prepared the eggplant slices the day before. I put them in refrigerator in single layers. The next day, I threw them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes to refresh them, while making the sauce. This was a good time-saving technique for me as I wouldn’t have had time to do the whole thing on the day it was to be served.
Ohhhhh my gosh!! I’ve made a lot of recipes over the years, and this…ABSOLUTELY MIND-BLOWING!! Easy, fun and oh sooooo fantabulous 🙂
Thank you so much for your excellent review Heather! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
This recipe is life changing. It tastes so much like an authentic eggplant parmesan to me. I did add some blended cashews as well as lemon juice and apple cider vinegar to the cheese sauce for more creaminess and zestiness.
Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe Roger! Thank you for your great review!
Really enjoyed this, wasnt sure about the cheese sauce, but decided I would try it and was glad I did.
will definitely make this again and again ,just the way its written. Plus ,Im sick of buying that expensive vegan cheese, so your cheese sauce is a great alternative, Just loved the whole recipe, thanks
So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you so much for your awesome review!
We’re not even vegan but this dish was enjoyed by my whole family, including my 3 and 1.5 year old! When my 3 year old excused herself from dinner to use the restroom, my 1.5 year old snuck bites of big sister’s portion. Haha! That’s impressive. This recipe will be a keeper. And when I shared a slice with my vegetarian friend she thought I had used real cheese. She wants the recipe now!
Haha! That’s awesome Abby! Thanks for sharing.
The whole plant-eating family loved it! I was really doubtful if baking the eggplant will be enough, but it really was! I salted it beforehand but did not rinse, just patted it dry. Next time I will cut the eggplant even thicker because it got lost a little bit under the bread crumbs (but that’s because I did not grind the breadcrumbs finely enough). As for the cheese sauce – I used a different recipe – a variation from FORKS OVER KNIVES cheesy lasagna. I just basically blended a cup of cashews, with 500g of cauliflower (frozen), 2 banana challotes, 2 garlic cloves, a Tbs of nutritional yeast (I did not have more), a tsp of onion powder, nutmeg and some salt.
Sounds wonderful Jagna, thanks for sharing your variation and the great review!
Do you salt the eggplants and let it rest to get the moisture out
after slicing?
Hi Lisa! There is no need to salt the eggplant. We didn’t find it necessary to salt the eggplant at all. However, if you prefer to do it, you can! Just slice your eggplant as usual, lay the slices out on a paper towel, sprinkle on salt and then leave them for an hour. Then rinse them off and dry them with a paper towel. Then continue with the batter and breading.
Is there an option with less than 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp of oil?
Hi Colleen, you could try making the cheese sauce using vegetable stock instead of oil. All the best!
Colleen, you can make the cheese sauce as I did. Either make it from cashews only or from cauliflower (overcooked so it is extra soft) or combine the two. Season it with nutritional yeast, nutmeg, onion and garlic powder, although go easy on the garlic. Adding sautéed shallots adds to the flavour.
Can you make the cheese sauce a day before and refrigerator it? If so, how would you warm the sauce? Stove top or microwave?
Hi Sandra, you absolutely can. If you’re then using it in the eggplant parmesan then there’s no need to warm it, just use it as normal because it will warm up when you bake it. Otherwise if you’re just wanting to use the sauce as is, then you can reheat on the stovetop, whisking all the while as it heats.
Alison, thank you for your response. I’m making the sauce tonight and doing all the other steps on tomorrow. I’m sure we are going to love the eggplant Parmesan. Will rate afterwards.
Thanks Sandra!
Once again, you excel with your extraordinary and amazing recipes!
Thanks so much Anna!
I made this tonight and it was excellent!! My eggplant was perfect!! The cheese sauce was fabulous!! For a variation I tried adding a little lemon pepper and wow it was fantastic too!! Thank you for the recipe!!
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed it!
Alison,
I have been vegan a long time, and have tried (and been disappointed by) many recipes from the top vegan superstars around the net, but yours are consistently the best! Really! Thank you for not demonizing oil, and other things that people do, you always give us options. I grew up on eggplant, and this version looks stunning, thanks very much, best wishes and God bless you.
Thanks so much for the lovely comment Linda! I so appreciate it! xoxo