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I had two goals in mind when creating this recipe.
First, to help you love eggplant. That they aren’t bitter and flavorless, when prepared with a little insight. The tricks I share below got me over my fear of eggplants and taught me how to crave these delightful purple globes.
And second, to show you that muenster cheese is for far more than a deli sandwich.
Actually, now that I think about it, a third thing: that vegetarian meals don’t have to be boring or difficult to make! You only need 5 ingredients to make these Cheesy Marinara Baked Eggplant Slices, which is a dish full of flavor and texture. I’d compare the taste to that of an incredible cheese pizza!
Let’s dive into taking the bitterness out of eggplant.
Simply salt the eggplant (generously) while you’re waiting for the oven to heat up, then pat the eggplant dry after 30 minutes with a paper towel. The salt draws the bitter liquid out of the eggplant while seasoning the eggplant from the inside out at the same time. It’s especially important if you’re buying eggplant from a grocery store because they’re older, rather than a farmer’s market, where the vegetables were recently picked.
Roasting the eggplant slices before assembling the rest of the dishes is key too. It brings out the sweetness of eggplant, and any extra moisture, before the slices are nestled into your favorite marinara sauce. I prefer Rao’s, which is incredibly flavorful and just as good, if not better than homemade.
Eggplant, tomatoes, and basil go together so well, a staple pairing in Italian cooking. But whereas you might find mozzarella or parmesan as the cheese component, I’ve discovered the cheese that that’ll give you both flavor and melts wonderfully, that perfect elasticity that makes for epic cheese pulls…. Tillamook Muenster Slices, I’m looking at you!
Under the heat of the oven, it turns this dish into something special. The Muenster has a mildly nutty flavor, and browns and bubbles like a champ.
Assembling this layered dish is easy. You’ll cover the bottom with marinara sauce, add a layer of the roasted eggplant slices, spread a dollop of marinara on their centers, then a layer of the Muenster slices, fresh basil leaves. Then top each stack with another slice of eggplant, more marinara and a final layer of Muenster.
Two layers of cheesy goodness. A gluten-free dinner recipe that will be a hit.
And exactly what your summer abundance of eggplant is begging to be turned into!
SCALE:
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Ha Ha there were no leftovers!
Delicious… the Muenster is the secret ingredient!
totally agree!
This recipe was perfect as I grew tomatoes, basil and eggplant in my kitchen garden this year. I used Havarti cheese and it came out fantastic. Most recipes suggest frying as first step which I wanted to avoid, so this was just perfect.
Yes, Havarti is a fabulous melting cheese too, so great choice! Glad you liked the recipe.
Hi! I made this in a single laye -just on olive oiled cookie sheet, w sauce I made (with garlic onions and fresh tomatoes spices etc) for spaghetti & meatballs at the same time :) didn’t have basil but used Italian seasoning and some I did w Munster, some fresh mozzarella, some both. It was great!
Can i use different type of cheese? Any recommendation?
Yes, mozzarella would also work great!
Made this recipe! Super fun super quick super easy. Unfortunately I didn’t have the basil leaves :( The eggplant smelled so good after being baked the first 15 minutes. I highly recommend this recipe to mg cheese lovers!!!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!