I love eggplant parmesan. But when I indulge in some cheesy, saucy goodness, I have to prepare myself for the repercussions of eating a completely unhealthy meal…what with the deeply fried eggplant dipped in batter and covered in breadcrumbs, then the mounds of cheese, and finally the cooked tomato sauce (cooked tomatoes are acidic on the body – raw tomatoes are alkalizing).
So now I have this lightly baked vegan eggplant parmesan dish that’s loaded with nutrients and baked! I’m very pleased with myself. I love finding guilt-free versions of unhealthy food. So let’s begin, shall we?
Eggplant Ingredients:
- 1 large eggplant, thinly sliced (about 1/4″ thick)
- 5-6 slices sprouted whole wheat spelt bread (to make about 2.5 cups breadcrumbs)
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 3/4 cup rolled oats (or oat flour)
- 3/4 cup raw almonds, soaked at least 1 hour (preferably overnight)
- 1 1/2 cups filtered water
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1 package Daiya mozzarella flavored cheese
Sauce Ingredients
- 2 medjool dates, pitted
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, soaked at least 1 hour (or at least 10 minutes in hot water)
- 1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup dried basil
- 1/3 tsp dried oregano
- 1/3 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/3 tsp dried thyme
- 3 medium tomatoes (about 1.5-2 cups)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 225º. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Lay the sliced eggplant on a paper towel and coat with sea salt (about 1/4 -1/2 tsp per slice). Let sit for 30 minutes.
- Toast the bread, then toss into food processor with nutritional yeast and parsley. Set aside.
- Grind the oats to make flour and set aside.
- Drain almonds and put in food processor with water. Strain through nut milk bag or cheesecloth to make 1 cup almond milk.
- Combine oat flour, almond milk, apple cider vinegar, and remaining seasonings in food processor and set aside.
- Rinse the salt off the eggplant and pat dry with paper towels. Dip the eggplant in batter and then coat both sides with breadcrumb mixture, and place on baking sheet.
- Top eggplants with Daiya cheese and place in oven for 15 minutes. Flip and bake for another 20 minutes.
- While the eggplants are baking, combine sauce ingredients into food processor. It may help to process the dates and garlic first, then the sun dried tomatoes, then the rest of the ingredients.
- Serve eggplants with healthy dollop of sauce. Store eggplants separately from sauce. I recommend not using the microwave to reheat, but instead the oven.
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