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This eggplant zucchini bake is inspired by eggplant parmigiana. Dig in to layers of crispy veggies, hearty tomato sauce with turkey, and delicious melty cheese!
Do you ever get so excited by all the fresh produce at the store or farmers’ market, then get home and realize you bought way too much?
We can’t let all those tasty veggies go to waste. So when I found myself craving eggplant parmigiana, I decided to make this eggplant zucchini bake using zucchini slices in place of the noodles!
The tomato sauce for this dish includes ground turkey because I wanted to add some lean protein. If you prefer a meatless dish, feel free to leave it out.
This bake is packed with tasty veggies in a hearty sauce, then topped with delicious melted cheese for a low carb twist on eggplant parmigiana. What better way to use up your produce?
How to make eggplant zucchini bake
This tasty bake is such a great way to add more veggies to your weekly menu. Here is what you need:
And here’s how the recipe comes together:
Step 1: Slice the eggplant into rounds and place them on a platter in a single layer with minimal overlap.
Step 2: Sprinkle with kosher salt, place another platter on top of the eggplant slices, then add something with a bit of weight (like a cast iron pan) on top. Let the slices sit for 30 minutes to an hour.
Step 3: Meanwhile, cook the ground turkey in a skillet over medium heat. Once browned, remove the turkey to a plate lined with paper towels and wipe out the skillet.
Step 4: Return the turkey to the skillet over medium heat, then add the tomato sauce and oregano leaves. Once the sauce is heated through, turn off the heat.
Step 5: Remove the weighted item and platter from the eggplant slices, then drain off the liquid that has accumulated in the bottom platter. Rinse the eggplant and pat dry.
Step 6: Heat the oil in a large skillet. Once hot, add as many eggplant slices as you can fit in one layer and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until golden. Transfer the eggplant slices to paper towels to drain.
Step 7: Repeat until all the eggplant slices are cooked.
Step 8: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place a few tablespoons of the tomato and ground turkey sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
Step 9: Layer in half of the eggplant and half of the zucchini, then spread about half of the remaining tomato and ground turkey sauce on the vegetables.
Step 10: Tear the basil leaves and sprinkle half of them on top of the sauce, then cover with half of the mozzarella and half of the Parmesan.
Step 11: Repeat the layers.
Step 12: Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the cheese has melted.
Cut your pasta-free eggplant parmigiana into six slices and serve!
Reducing the fat
This vegetable bake is a bit higher in fat than the majority of my recipes. This is mostly due to the oil used to fry the eggplant slices.
If you want to reduce the fat, you have a few options. First, you could use the eggplant raw instead of fried. Make sure you still extract the moisture from the eggplant so it gets nice and crispy while baking!
If you have an air fryer, you could use that to crisp up the eggplant instead. An air fryer uses much less oil, which will reduce the fat content.
Finally, you could cut back on the amount of cheese or only use it on the top layer.
Storage
If you have any leftovers of your eggplant bake, you can store them covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Before reheating, be sure to cut your dish into slices so they’ll be easier to heat all the way through.
Other delicious eggplant recipes
Looking for more ways to add some eggplant to your weekly menu? Here are a couple of my favorite ways to use up this fresh ingredient:
For more healthy veggie recipes, take a look at my roundup of low-carb and diabetes-friendly zucchini recipes.
When you’ve tried this bake, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked it and rate the recipe in the comments below!
Eggplant Zucchini Bake
Ingredients
- 1 pound white eggplants, (about 2 small)
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 2 cups Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce or any other tomato-based sauce
- Leaves from 5-6 stalks of fresh oregano
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ pound zucchini, (sliced into rounds)
- 8 ounces part-skim mozzarella, (shredded)
- ½ cup freshly shredded Parmesan
- 10 leaves fresh basil
Instructions
- Slice the eggplant into rounds and place them on a platter in a single layer with minimal overlap.1 pound white eggplants
- Sprinkle with kosher salt, place another platter on top of the eggplant slices, then add something with a bit of weight (like a cast iron pan) on top. Let the slices sit for 30 minutes to an hour.Kosher salt
- Meanwhile, cook the ground turkey in a skillet over medium heat. Once browned, remove the turkey to a plate lined with paper towels and wipe out the skillet.1 pound ground turkey
- Return the turkey to the skillet over medium heat, then add the tomato sauce and oregano leaves. Once the sauce is heated through, turn off the heat.2 cups Oven-Roasted Tomato Sauce or any other tomato-based sauce, Leaves from 5-6 stalks of fresh oregano
- Remove the weighted item and platter from the eggplant slices, then drain off the liquid that has accumulated in the bottom platter. Rinse the eggplant and pat dry.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. One hot, add as many eggplant slices as you can fit in one layer and cook for 2-3 minutes per side until golden. Transfer the eggplant slices to paper towels to drain.¼ cup vegetable oil
- Repeat until all the eggplant slices are cooked.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place a few tablespoons of the tomato and ground turkey sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
- Layer in half of the eggplant and half of the zucchini, then spread about half of the remaining tomato and ground turkey sauce on the vegetables.½ pound zucchini
- Tear the basil leaves and sprinkle half of them on top of the sauce, then cover with half of the mozzarella and half of the Parmesan.8 ounces part-skim mozzarella, ½ cup freshly shredded Parmesan, 10 leaves fresh basil
- Repeat the layers.
- Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the cheese has melted.
