I’ve been craving Italian food all week! Driving home from work, I knew I wanted to use the eggplant in my fridge for some eggplant parm, but wasn’t sure if it could be done on a sugar detox. I was also STARVING so I didn’t want to wait long for it to be ready.

I stopped at the grocery store with fingers crossed to find a no sugar spaghetti sauce. Yes!! Two varieties were on sale. I picked the less expensive one:

Next, I google searched “fast eggplant parmesan,” “paleo breading,” and “healthy eggplant parmesan” to create my own custom variation. Here’s how it goes:

Ingredients:
1 eggplant
1 egg
1 bag shredded mozzarella
Salt shaker
1/4 c almond meal
1/4 c ground flax seeds
1 jar no-sugar added spaghetti sauce (or make your own)
Olive oil or coconut oil spray

1. Preheat oven to 425. In the meantime, slice eggplant into 3/4″ thick circles. Sprinkle with salt and set aside.

2. Prepare the egg wash by beating one egg in a bowl. Prepare the “breading” by combining ground flax and almond meal in a separate bowl.

3. Pat the eggplant slices dry with paper towels, dip both sides in egg wash, then dredge in the “breading.” Place the coated slices on a baking sheet lined with lightly greased aluminum foil. Spray the breaded slices with an olive oil or coconut oil sprayer (Trader Joe’s has it!)

4. Bake the slices for 5 mins per side or until golden and tender. (Since I was starving at this point, I fried the remaining egg with an extra egg white to snack on while waiting. No waste! Protein snack!)

5. Fill a large casserole dish with 1/2 the jar of sauce, place the eggplant slices in, top with mozzarella, more sauce, remaining eggplant slices, more sauce, and more cheese.

6. Bake for a few mins more until cheese is melted and sauce is heated through. Broil for a few mins longer for a golden, bubbly cheese topping.

This eggplant parm was unbelievably good! You won’t notice that it’s not fried and that the “breading” is grain free. Get ready to crave this every night :)