How To Make Olive Garden Eggplant Parmesan

There are some meals that take you back to special memories or places in your life and this Copy Cat Olive Garden Eggplant Parmigiana just so happens to be one of those meals for me.

Every birthday I've celebrated since the age of probably 13-14 has been at Olive Garden so as you can probably imagine, I have many wonderful memories spent in one Olive Garden or another.

Maybe that's why I associate warm, comforting memories with Italian food and this recipe in particular, but whatever the case, I can assure you that you will love this Eggplant Parmigiana just as much as we do.

A white plate with Copy Cat Olive Garden Eggplant Parmigiana on it, covered in marinara sauce, with an Olive Garden style salad beside it. A white and gray striped towel is around the plate and everything sits on a wood backdrop.

Olive Garden Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

2 large eggplants

3 eggs

2 cups Italian seasoned Panko breadcrumbs

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese

3 cupsHomemade Marinara Sauce

Salt & pepper to taste

Dried parsley flakes

How to Make Copycat Olive Garden Eggplant Parmigiana:

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cut off both ends of the eggplant (the stem and the bottom) and then use a sharp knife to carefully peel the eggplant.

Once your eggplants are completely peeled, place them on a cutting board and begin slicing them into rounds and then salt both sides of the eggplant slices.

Dip eggplant into beaten egg, and then roll in breadcrumbs.

eggplant slices are coated in egg and breadcrumbs and placed in a casserole dish

Eggplant Parmigiana Olive Garden

Lay eggplant slices flat in a greased casserole dish or baking sheet. Do not stack the eggplant slices or they will not cook evenly.

Spray the eggplant slices with nonstick cooking spray – this will help the eggplant to get extra crispy while baking.

Bake the eggplant parmigiana at 375F for 20 minutes or until the eggplant is golden brown, crispy, and fork-tender.

Remove the eggplant parmesan from the oven and sprinkle lightly with mozzarella cheese and freshly grated Parmesan cheese, then place it back into the oven for 2-3 minutes or just long enough for the cheese to melt.

Top the Copy Cat Olive Garden Eggplant Parmigiana with Homemade Marinara and serve garnished with parsley flakes.

eggplant parmesan on a white plate with olive garden salad

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Copy Cat Olive Garden Eggplant Parmigiana

A healthier, baked, copycat version of Olive Garden's delicious Eggplant Parmigiana.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

2 large eggplants peeled
3 eggs beaten
2 cups Italian Seasoned Panko Breadcrumbs
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups Marinara Sauce recipe linked in blog post
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
dried parsley flakes use as garnish

Cut the ends off of two eggplants, then remove all peeling.
Slice each eggplant into 1/4 inch thick rounds and lightly salt both sides of the eggplant rounds.
Spray a 9x13 casserole pan with nonstick cooking spray and pre-heat the oven to 375F.
Pour the breadcrumbs into one bowl, then beat three eggs into a separate bowl.
Submerge each piece of eggplant individually into the beaten egg, then roll it in the bread crumbs until coated. Place the breaded eggplant into the casserole dish and repeat the process until all eggplant rounds are prepared.
NOTE: You may need to use more than one casserole dish since they will not cook evenly if they are overlapped or layered. If you have a large baking sheet, that would work well too.
Spray the prepared eggplant with nonstick cooking spray - this will help it to become crispy and browned in the oven.
Once the eggplant is prepared, place it in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the eggplant is fork-tender and the breadcrumb coating is golden brown and crispy.
Carefully remove the eggplant from the oven, sprinkle evenly with the shredded mozzarella & Parmesan cheese, and place back in the oven just until the cheese is melted (about 2-3 minutes).
Remove from the oven again, top with marinara sauce (recipe linked in the blog post) and parsley flakes, and enjoy!