The saving grace of my underperforming garden this year has been the eggplant (eggplant plant?). It’s my first year growing japanese eggplant, and it’s been a huge success. I’m eternally grateful to this plant for salvaging the remains of my low garden self-esteem, but now, what do I do with all this eggplant?
A conversation with my always insightful friend, Val, the other day led me here. Single serving eggplant parmesan. At the time I only had 5 small fruits ready for eating (yes, it’s a fruit). The Hubs was out of town, as he often is, so I took this as an excuse to buy myself a tiny casserole dish, and make myself a feast…..for one.
I gotta say, this was one of my most satisfying meals for one. Generally my solo meals include salad or soup, or perhaps even a potato, but this time I really felt like I was eating a feast! Great idea (as always) Val! I don’t know what I would do without you!
As of last week I probably had enough eggplant growing to make a full sized version of this delectable meal. That is, until Olive discovered the plant and I began to find half chewed up eggplants all over the backyard. Time to reinforce the garden fence.
Eggplant Parmesan For One
What to make when you're cooking for one. Eggplant Parmesan For One
Ingredients
Note: measurements are not exact. It depends on the size of your cooking vessel
- 5 small japanese eggplants roughly peeled and cut into strips
- 1 egg beaten
- 1/2 cup seasoned italian breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup pasta sauce
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1 T fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- In a small casserole dish, spread several spoonfuls of the pasta sauce so the bottom of the dish is evenly covered.
- Dip each eggplant slice in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs to coat. Place in dish in an even layer over the sauce. Top with 1/2 the parmesan cheese.
- Repeat the layers beginning with sauce and ending with cheese.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbly.
- Top with fresh basil and serve.
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Kate@Diethood says
A delicious meal for one? I’ll take it! In fact, eggplant parmesan is a favorite around here. I have yet to plant eggplant, but I do have zucchini out there! 🙂
madscar says
Uau this is amazing..Love it! Thanks for recipe 🙂
Bob says
I’m a newly divorced man and not a cook. In you recipe tou say one T basil, ok I’ll but basil but does that T represent a teaspoon or a tablespoon? it would help if you used Te and Ta as that would then be easier to understand for us non cooks…How about more of these one serving dishes?
betsy says
Hi Bob. Generally if a T is capitalized, it means tablespoon and if its lower case, then its teaspoon. Your comment made me realize that non-cooks don’t realize this so I’ll definitely be more conscious of it moving forward. Thanks for the great feedback!
susan says
I have never had eggplant, what does it taste like? the recipe looks delish
betsy says
It has kind of an earthy flavor but is a great base for all kinds of seasonings. I love it because of the meaty texture. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Julie Craig says
I just found your site while googling recipes for one! I’m glad I did. I don’t have the Japanese eggplant.. just the regular one ( large bell shaped).. any tips on using that particular variety? TIA
betsy says
Hi Julie
The flavor is the same. You’ll just have to cut it into small enough strips to fit into whatever dish you’ll be baking in. Thanks for stopping by!
cat says
How thick should the strips of eggplant be?
betsy says
about a 1/4 inch thick
D says
Yikes! What would cause this recipe to result in 1100 calories per serving?
betsy says
Agh! There must be a glitch in my recipe plugin. Thank you for alerting me to this. I’ll look into it and fix ASAP