At the beach, we decided to try this simple sheet pan recipe by Giada de Laurentiis: https://giadzy.com/blogs/recipes/sheetpan-eggplant-parmesan This was an easy, delicious meal that needed only a handful of ingredients. The panko topping was particularly good, adding a light crispy texture to the tender eggplant.
Our modifications: first, due to a very sensitive smoke alarm in our unit, we used canola oil instead of olive oil. As a shortcut for the sauce, we used Rao’s marinara (about 16 oz of a 24 oz jar). Second, we were unable to find Japanese eggplant, so we used 2 small Italian eggplant, cut into four lengthwise slices (about 1/2 to 3/4” thick, with the stem still on). Because there were 8 eggplant slices, we divided them among 2 foil-lined sheet pans (see Note below). Third, we used 1.5x the ingredients (Rao’s and panko parmesan topping) to accommodate the number of eggplant slices.
Finally, as side dishes we served this eggplant parmesan with garlic bread (https://piglettedc.wordpress.com/2020/09/10/simple-garlic-bread-we-had-about-half-a-baguette/) and mezzi rigatoni. We cooked the pasta al dente, drained, then tossed with the remaining Rao’s (about 8 oz), which we had heated. (Aug. 2025)
Note: We recommend lightly oiling the foil-lined plans before placing the eggplant slides down. This will mitigate the likelihood of the eggplant sticking to the foil at the end of cooking.
Cooking Adventures 