Do you love Italian food as much as I do?
It’s so comforting, warm, inviting….
And sometimes it can be pretty darn easy to make whole food plant based!
I’ve wanted to jazz up our weekly spaghetti marinara and decided to try making some Vegan Baked Eggplant Parmesan. Without the real Parmesan, obv.
I wasn’t sure what batter to use, but decided to start with a similar batter I use for my Tofu Marinara and it turned out PERFECT!
Healthy Vegan Eggplant Parmesan
This Vegan Baked Eggplant Parmesan is so tasty and crispy….and HEALTHY!
The almond flour & nutritional yeast give it a savory flavor similar to a parmesan.
Of course, if you are nut-free, then you can sub another whole grain flour like, oat flour, chickpea flour, or whole wheat flour. I like the chickpea flour and have used that instead of almond flour when I ran out one time – it’s a very neutral flavor.
Oil Free & Gluten Free Eggplant Parmesan
This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I love and it helps keep this website running!
And no oil needed in this recipe whatsoever. Just use silicone baking mats or parchment paper on your baking sheet. It’s gluten free as well, using almond flour and yellow corn meal for the coating.
This recipe is really quick and easy, too. Only takes about 10 minutes to prep and then 30 minutes to bake.
While it’s baking you can make your whole grain spaghetti noodles (or zoodles for gluten free) and heat up your marinara sauce.
How to Make Vegan Baked Eggplant Parmesan (no oil)
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant
- 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
- 1 cup almond flour or any whole grain flour
- 2 tablespoon yellow corn meal
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Slice off the ends of the eggplant. Then slice into 1/2 inch thick slices.
- Pour marinara sauce in a medium bowl.
- Mix together all the dry ingredients in a 2nd medium bowl.
- Create an assembly line of eggplant, marinara sauce, almond flour mixture, and baking sheet.
- Coat an eggplant slice in the marinara sauce, shaking off the excess (I use my left hand for this). Then coat eggplant slice in the almond flour mixture, shaking off the excess (I use my right hand for this). Place coated eggplant on the baking sheet. Repeat for the rest of the slices.
- Bake for 15 minutes, flip the slices, then bake for 15 more minutes.
- Serve over your favorite whole grain pasta or zoodles and marinara sauce!
More Whole Food Plant Based Italian Favorites you might like to try:
- Crispy Italian Kale Chips
- Easy Vegan Spinach Lasagna
- Healthy Vegan Chef Boyardee
- Italian Cashew Creamed Kale
- One Pot Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Pasta
Vegan Baked Eggplant Parmesan (oil free)
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant
- 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
- 1 cup almond flour or any whole grain flour
- 2 tablespoon yellow corn meal
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Slice off the ends of the eggplant. Then slice into 1/2 inch thick slices.
- Pour marinara sauce in a medium bowl.
- Mix together all the dry ingredients in a 2nd medium bowl.
- Create an assembly line of eggplant, marinara sauce, almond flour mixture, and baking sheet.
- Coat an eggplant slice in the marinara sauce, shaking off the excess (I use my left hand for this). Then coat eggplant slice in the almond flour mixture, shaking off the excess (I use my right hand for this). Place coated eggplant on the baking sheet. Repeat for the rest of the slices.
- Bake for 15 minutes, flip the slices, then bake for 15 more minutes.
- Serve over your favorite whole grain pasta or zoodles and marinara sauce!
Notes
Nutrition
New to a Plant Based Diet? Grab my Plant Based Diet Beginner’s Guide for FREE! Just fill out the form below to have it zoomed to your email, plus my weekly newsletter chocked full of new recipes & plant based eating tips.
We loved this recipe and it’s so easy to make. Thanks!
I’m so glad you liked it!
Very simple and good! I skipped the noodles and just ate it with the extra marinara.
Your class was one of the first I attended a year or so ago, thank you for making plant based easy!
We are glad to hear that! Thank you.
Instead of almond flour can I use gf all purpose baking flour instead?
Also do I need to salt the eggplant and let it rest before baking?
You can use oat flour or whole wheat flour instead of almond flour if you want to keep it plant based. You don’t need to salt the eggplant before baking.
A delicious way to cook and eat eggplant. I used tongs rather than fingers with great success. A keeper.
It is great to hear that!