Easy Eggplant Parmesan for Passover

Sharing is caring!

Eggplant Parmesan for Passover is made of layers of delicious eggplant cutlets, savory tomato sauce, and gooey cheese.

A simple, 5-ingredient vegetarian recipe that will bring unique variety to your table during the week.

It’s also a great dish to bring to a family gathering or if you’re being hosted for a dairy meal!

Vegetarian Eggplant Parmesan is an easy-to-make vegetarian dish that’s great for lunch or dinner. It also warms up well in the microwave or oven as leftovers.

Or you can make the fried eggplant cutlets for Passover ahead and then make Eggplant Parmesan for Passover from that.

Making the eggplant cutlets

You can slice the eggplant either way:

What does it mean when recipes say “to taste” about an ingredient?

When recipes say “to taste,” it means that you can put in as little or as much as you like to your own taste. Some recipes have many ingredients that a cook can adjust to their own taste when cooking (not so much when baking though).

The best way to calculate what your taste is with a recipe that you are not yet familiar with is to first taste the dish and then add the “to taste” ingredient GRADUALLY, a little at a time—a splash of this or a pinch of that—until the dish is just the way you like it. Make sure to stir the ingredient after each time you add it so that the flavor will distribute evenly and become part of the dish. Then taste again. Repeat until you reach your personal preference.

Note: If you plan on using the recipe again, it is highly recommended to make a note of what and how much you added so that you can refer to it next time.

What does “savory” mean?

“Savory” refers to foods that are not sweet, such as foods that taste salty, spicy, or herbal.

A little about eggplants

The eggplant is native to India and Asia, where it can be found growing wild, and it is believed that eggplants were brought to Europe sometime during the 7th or 8th century.

Australians and Americans call the vegetable eggplant, while in England it is called an aubergine, from the French word for this vegetable.

Because of its meaty texture, eggplant is used instead of meat in some vegetarian versions of meat recipes.

While there are a variety of types of eggplants, the one for this recipe is the large, egg-shaped (or teardrop-shaped), blackish-purple one with the meaty inside.

Eggplants have health benefits, as they contain antioxidants like vitamins A and C, which help protect your cells against damage, and are low in calories.

Before cooking an eggplant, cut off the top part where the green is (called a calyx). The bottom tip should also be removed, but this is not imperative. The skin is perfectly fine to eat, but it must be cooked well. Otherwise it may come out chewy.

This recipe can use either peeled eggplants or eggplants with the skin (having the skin on will not ruin the recipe).

Eggplant is naturally a little bitter. If you find that to be the case, you can draw out the bitterness by sprinkling it with salt and letting it sit awhile. If you are using slices or pieces, slightly salt after cutting. I have personally never found this to be a problem when cooking with eggplants

Using salt before cooking can help prevent the eggplant from absorbing too much oil and becoming greasy if using oil with the eggplant recipe (I normally just pat the pieces with a paper towel if need be).

If you do use salt, MAKE SURE to rinse it off before cooking the eggplant, or the salt will become a part of your dish!

Personally, I have never salted my eggplants before using them (and I have used eggplants in two countries) and have never had any problem with bitterness, but if you have any concern, please do.

Food on Passover

Torah-observant Jews do not eat chametz (the fermented products of five grains: wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye).

In addition, Torah-observant Ashkenazi Jews do not eat kitniyot (or kitniyos as pronounced in Ashkenazi Hebrew). These include legumes, corn, rice, and similar foods that were deemed forbidden to eat by rabbis in the medieval period and are still not eaten today. Sephardi and Mizrachi Jews do not follow this tradition.

Many observant Ashkenazi Jews will not even eat the derivatives of these kitniyot, while others do (each family holds their own traditions regarding this).

Then, there are Ashkenazim who don’t eat “gebrokts” (or gebrochts).

Gebrokts (gebrochts) means “broken” in Yiddish, and in this case refers to matzo that has absorbed liquid. Not eating gebrokts is observed by many in the Hasidic Jewish community and Ashkenazim who have taken on this tradition, where they basically don’t mix anything wet with matzo.

So, things like matzo sandwiches, fried matzo, and even matzo balls are a no-no for them.

There is a joke that sums it all up:

On Passover, we should remember people who have little to eat on this holiday. They are called Ashkenazim.

Over the years, I have learned to adapt “normal” food for Passover so that my family won’t complain about boring, tasteless, or repetitive meals.

I find that having good food and variety makes the week of Passover a very pleasant experience, and I hope this recipe will help make yours just that!

Don’t be daunted by the length of the instructions. Once you get started, you will see that it’s simple and just flows!

If you just want eggplant cutlets without the sauce or cheese, try Fried Eggplant Cutlets for Passover!

Continue to Content

Yield: 6 servings

Easy Eggplant Parmesan for Passover

Print

Simple, 5-ingredient dish of fried eggplant cutlets, savory sauce, and gooey cheese, kosher for Passover.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 large eggplants
• 6-8 eggs (start with 6, add more if needed)**
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups matzo meal or matzo cake meal (start with 1 1/2 and add more if needed)**
• 1 pound of a mixture of shredded mozzarella and Parmesan, as desired (I use mozzarella)
• 24-ounce jar of marinara or pasta sauce
• oil for frying

Instructions

Frying the eggplant

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium heat (approximately 1/4" - 1/3" high).
2. Cut off the ends of the eggplants and peel them (or leave the skin on, if desired—I leave the skin).
3. Slice eggplant into slices of approximately 1/2" wide, either lengthwise or into disks.
4. Pour eggs and matzo meal/matzo cake meal into separate bowls large enough to accommodate dipping the eggplant slices.
5. Dip each slice into egg, then matzo meal/matzo cake meal, then egg again, making sure the slices are well coated.*
6. Place in a pan with oil that has been heated on medium.
7. Fry one side until golden brown, then flip and fry the other side until golden brown (you should be able to easily stick a fork through when they are ready).
8. Remove and place on a plate covered with paper towels to drain.

Preparing the Eggplant Parmesan

1. Place a layer of eggplant on the bottom of a 9"x13" casserole dish or other suitable-sized baking pan.
2. Pour marinara or pasta sauce evenly over the layer of eggplant (determine how many layers of eggplant you will have and pour that fraction of sauce onto each—ex., if you have 4 layers, then 1/4 of the sauce will be poured on each).
3. Add the cheese over the sauce (again, divide according to the number of layers you have).
4. Repeat until you have used up all the ingredients.
5. Place in an oven that has been preheated to 350° and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese has melted completely.

Notes

MAKE SURE ALL INGREDIENTS ARE KOSHER FOR PASSOVER.

*Most people only use one coat of egg and do not re-dip after the matzo meal. I always dip twice.

**The number of eggs and matzo meal you will need depends on how well you coat. Chances are you won't need it all, but having a nice amount allows for easier coating, and starting with a smaller amount and having more at the ready to add if needed helps prevent waste.

Additional note: the difference between matzo meal and matzo cake meal is that the matzo cake meal is ground finer.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 504Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 155mgSodium: 665mgCarbohydrates: 71gFiber: 6gSugar: 11gProtein: 21g

Sharing is caring!