I bet you’ll enjoy this cheesy eggplant dish if you love eggplant. A delightful, pizza-like experience is created by combining profoundly flavorful, roasted eggplant pieces, zesty tomato sauce, and melting mozzarella.

Here’s another Grafted Growers recipe featuring fairy tale eggplant, which is a well-balanced veggie with less seeds than other eggplant varieties.

Nutrition Facts:

Eggplant is an excellent source of dietary fiber, with 2.5 g per 3 1/2-oz (100 g) serving. It’s also a very good source of vitamins B1 and B6 and potassium. In addition, eggplant is a good source of copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorous, niacin, and folic acid.

‘Easy Cheesy Eggplant Casserole’

Ingredients:

• Avocado oil spray for pan
• 1 large eggplant (1 ¼ lb), unpeeled
• ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ cup marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded part-skim Mozzarella, divided (4 oz)
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray the parchment with avocado oil spray.
• Slice the eggplant into ¼-inch thick slices. Arrange the slices on the prepared baking sheet. Spray with avocado oil. Season with kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Roast 15 minutes. 
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Turn the eggplant slices to the other side. Spray again with oil. Return to the oven and roast until browned and tender, 10-15 more minutes. 
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees F.
• Arrange half of the roasted eggplant slices in the bottom of a greased 1-quart casserole dish. Spread half the marinara sauce on top and sprinkle with half of the mozzarella, as shown in the video.
• Arrange the remaining eggplant slices on top. Spread the remaining marinara sauce on top. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and with the Parmesan.
• Bake the eggplant casserole until golden and bubbly, about 15 minutes. Allow cooling 10 minutes before serving.