Tasty Vegan Baked Eggplant - slathered with white "cheese" sauce, coated in crispy breadcrumbs, baked, and then served with more sauce and toasted corn. Easy to prepare, hearty, and satisfying meal approved by meat-eaters and perfect for dinner or holidays.
Today, I'm sharing one of the best vegan eggplant recipes.
Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables. I often incorporate it into my weekly menu and luckily my family loves eggplant too.
My recent recipe Eggplant Tofu Curry is wonderful if you're doing meal prep or need a quick and hearty meal for the whole family.
When I'm serving a meal to my non-vegan family or friends, I love making vegetarian Eggplant Gratin.
It's pretty much a foolproof way to prepare an eggplant and I always receive compliments for it.
Jump to:
If you've ever cooked with eggplants, you know that they can be slightly bland.
Their "meaty" texture works perfectly as a meat replacement, however, you need to make sure to season the eggplant really well.
That's when Panko breadcrumbs and white "cheese" sauce come into play. The sauce is used for spreading on a seasoned eggplant before baking.
Then, you'll also use the sauce for serving.
And breadcrumbs work as an ultimate crust, something that turns a regular baked eggplant into crispy goodness.
💭 Top tip
When choosing eggplant, make sure it has a soft and shiny skin. And also look for eggplants that are smaller in size because it tends to be less bitter.
Let's not forget a simple toasted corn. Super easy to make while you cook the eggplant.
Corn is a delicious addition to this recipe and I encourage you to make it. You can use fresh or frozen corn.
These crispy Baked Eggplant Slices are easy to make and they are great for a regular weeknight dinner as well the holidays.
In addition, this aubergine recipe is approved by my carnivore husband. So if he loved it, feel free to serve this to your non-vegan friends as well.
🥗 Side dishes
Recipe
Vegan Crispy Baked Eggplant
Ingredients
- 1 ½ c Panko breadcrumbs
- ⅓ c neutral oil such as grapeseed oil
- 1 (1 lb) eggplant peeled and cut into ⅓ in thick slices
- 1 c (115 gr) fresh or frozen corn kernels
- 1 ¼ c white cheese sauce store-bought or homemade - recipe follows
- ¼ c fresh Mint leaves
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon pepper
For white cheese sauce
- ½ c cashews
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ c water
Instructions
For the eggplant
- Preheat the oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with a parchment paper. Add Panko breadcrumbs to a shallow bowl along with 2 tablespoon of oil, ¼ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Toss to combine.
- Brush both sides of eggplant rounds with ¼ cup of oil and season with ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Drop each eggplant round into breadcrumbs, coating only one side of it. Place the eggplant, Panko side down on a baking sheet.
- Brush the eggplant tops with about 1 - ½ teaspoon of white cheese sauce and sprinkle with about 2 tablespoon of breadcrumbs.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until eggplant is tender and breadcrumbs turned light brown.
- Place 3-4 eggplant rounds on a plate, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of toasted corn and drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons of white cheese sauce. Top with fresh mint leaves and serve.
For the corn
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium skillet and over medium heat. Add corn kernels, ¼ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper and cook corn stirring occasionally until it looks toasty on the sides, about 7 minutes. Transfer corn to a bowl.
For white cheese sauce
- Soak cashews in water for 4 hours OR add them to a pot filled with 1 cup of water. Put on a stove, bring to a boil and cook on a medium heat for 3 minutes. Drain the cashews.
- Add cashews to a bowl of food processor along with apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and ½ cup of water. Process until the sauce is smooth and without chunks.
Notes
Nutrition
Iryna Bychkiv is the founder and writer of the culinary website Lavender & Macarons, where she shares clean, European-inspired recipes that are delicious, easy to prepare, and made with wholesome ingredients. Iryna loves creating meals that are simple yet healthy and unique, including vegan and vegetarian recipes.
Iryna is also a freelance writer for MSN and Associated Press Wire.
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