Sometimes my inner vegetarian just cannot be contained. Lately, I have been all about fabulous meatless meals, this is probably no coincidence that Mr. Maebell has been working long hours so it has just been me, myself, and I around this little house. Last weekend I made lunch for myself and I decided to experiment a little bit. I had already made this fabulous marinara, so my first thought was of course, pasta. Instead I opted for eggplant.
I haven’t bought an eggplant since, oh I don’t know, like 2008, but while I was at the market they were right in front of me with a big yellow .99 sticker on them. Okay sure, why not. Turns out, it was a great impulse buy. This lunch was a show stopper and done in about 15 minutes!
I had a big ball of fresh mozzarella and i could envision these cute little petite stacks with alternating lightly fried eggplant and sliced cheese drizzled with marinara. So, I sliced the eggplant then used a biscuit cutter to cut out circles. I got 8 circles out of my eggplant. This method does mean you waste more of your eggplant than if you just sliced it, but I was just cooking for me so I didn’t worry about it.
I just threw some flour and spices together in a shallow bowl, beat and egg with a little milk in another and double dipped them. Then fried them up in a little oil. I just stacked everything right on top of each other and voila! I actually dipped mine in warm marinara too because while the little drizzle of marinara looks pretty for the photo I pretty much wanted the whole thing dunked in it.
The only thing to consider is that if you are making several servings of this you may want to turn your oven on low and keep the cooked eggplant in the oven as you go, and then assemble while the eggplant is warm. Alternatively, if you want your cheesy gooey and melted assemble and let them sit in a warm oven for a couple minutes. This is super easy to adjust based on your preferences! The next time you hear your inner vegetarian calling remember these Eggplant Mozzarella Stacks
Yields 2
10 minPrep Time
10 minCook Time
20 minTotal Time
Save Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 egg plant, sliced
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup flour (I used gluten free AP flour)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 ball of mozzarella, sliced
- 1/2-1 cup marinara
Instructions
- Slice eggplant and use a biscuit cutter to remove circles from eggplant.
- In a shallow bowl combine flour and all seasonings, in a second bowl combine the milk and beaten egg.
- Dip eggplant into flour, then egg, then repeat so the eggplant is double breaded.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place cook eggplant 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove eggplant from skillet.
- Assemble stacks alternating eggplant, cheese and drizzle with marinara sauce and basil. Serve with additional marinara sauce for dipping.
I used the Balsamic Vinegar and Roasted Tomato Marinara for this, but you can use whatever you prefer!
As always, I made this dish using gluten free ingredients. I use Glutino Gluten Free Pantry All Purpose flour or Gluten Free Bisquick in place of flour.
I’m the same way, I rarely cook meat when my husband isn’t around and it is just me. When I’m away, I think he eats pizza for every meal, but I like to use that time to load up on all the healthy stuff he won’t eat! These look really good! I could eat fresh mozzarella cheese by itself 🙂
Isadora @ she likes food recently posted…Quinoa, Black Bean & Green Chili Enchiladas with Roasted Red Pepper Enchilada Sauce {gf}
Me too! When I first thought of this I wondered if the slices of fresh mozzarella would make it too cheesy, but it is so darn good you can never have too much! 🙂
These look amazing! Eggplant is so tasty cooked like this. Great match with your marinara sauce. Perfect summertime lunch!
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely recently posted…Five Things for Friday
Yes, this is such a good quick lunch idea!
I don’t think I have ever wanted eggplant as much as I do now! These look so delicious! Pinning!
Cindy recently posted…Fresh Strawberry Lemonade
Thank you Cindy!!
I love how creative this recipe is! I don’t think I’ve had an eggplant in forever, but these stacks look delicious!And the mozzarella cheese just adds the final touch. Beautiful!
Gayle @ Pumpkin ‘N Spice recently posted…Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
I am going to have to start picking up eggplant more often. It is just so easy to prepare and so filling!
Perfect little stacks. My inner vegetarian would devour these.
Kathy @ Olives & Garlic recently posted…Roasted Golden Beets & Kale
I totally agree Kathy!
These are so pretty! Stopping by from Tasty Kitchen!
Thank you Rina! 🙂
So creative! You have such a styling eye. I confess that I’ve never tried eggplant… I am SO going to try this!
Thank you Susan! That is a huge compliment! Making fried eggplant look scrumptious is a little harder than it seems! 🙂
This looks absolutely amazing! I saw it on Facebook and couldn’t wait to come to your blog to see the recipe. Pinning!
Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen recently posted…Baked Pumpkin-Black Bean Sliders with Avocado Sauce
Thank you! I think they turned out awfully pretty!
These indeed look fantastic. I’d note that the 1/2 cup flour takes this out of the gluten free pile though. Easy fix to make gluten free…maybe 1/8C corn Flour, 1/8 C cornstarch, 1/4 cup chickpea flour (or Tapioca flour) with spices. I’ll try this and repost. Thanks.
Hi Daniel, all of my recipes are entirely gluten free as my husband has celiac. I used Gluten Free pantry all purpose flour.
Hi, as soon as I saw this I wanted to try it. I am late to the eggplant party…just realized I liked it very recently and I have been trying different ways to make it. This by far is my favorite! The amount of spices is perfect and the stack is so pretty and delicious. I used regular flour because I am not gluten-free and I used jarred sauce. I was wondering if you have ever refrigerated this, not that there would ever probably be any left overs:) thanks for sharing your recipe, Robyn
Yay!! Robyn, I am so glad you tried it! I actually didn’t have any left overs! 🙂 However, if I do refrigerate this in the future I will definitely let you know! Thank you for taking the time to comment, it really makes my day!
Such a healthy and flavorful dish!! You got me girl!!
Ami@NaiveCookCooks recently posted…Dum Aloo
Thanks Ami! 🙂
This is exactly what I’ve been craving lately, it looks so good! Eggplant and mozzarella make a good pair. 🙂
Alice recently posted…Where did Saturday go? // Weekend #16
Thanks Alice! I know eggplant and Parmesan get paired together a lot, but I think eggplant and mozzarella are a perfect combo!
OMG!! My dad is a huge eggplant fan and I finally caved in and made him some for Father’s Day. I’ve never really cooked let alone eaten eggplant but it was DELICIOUS!! Such flavor! Thank you for making my dad happy on Father’s Day 🙂
Rebecca, you totally just made my night!! I am so glad your Dad enjoyed it! I really do think it is a fairly easy way to cook eggplant without much fuss, and it looks so pretty! I really appreciate you taking the time to comment, I LOVE getting feedback!! 🙂
Such a beautiful and creative recipe!
Thank you Ann!! 🙂
These are stunning! Love this idea! Get in my belly now eggplant stacks!!
Chris @ Shared Appetite recently posted…15 Creative S’mores Recipes
Thank you Chris!! I really love what a nice presentation these make! They look fancy, but were super easy!
Excellent recipe! I did not make stacks but I did place in baking dish, topped with homemade spaghetti sauce and baked in oven for 30 min. and they were delicious! Oh and I had leftovers and they re heated well and tasted just as fresh and yummy as when they were made. Thanks for the great recipe!
Kathleen that sounds fantastic! I love the idea of turning this into a casserole type dish. It would make it so easy to feed a crowd! I am so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂