We don’t eat a lot of meat. We’re not vegetarians, but we tend to stay away from meat quite a bit. So any sort of meatfree recipe I can find, I want to try, especially if it’s something that replaces meat. Because no one wants to eat a salad for every meal. And this Baked Eggplant Meatball Parmesan is perfect.

I guess the meat part of the word meatball should be in quotes, but it’s easier to type without it. But there’s no meat in these.

Baked Eggplant Meatball Parmesan

What You’ll Need:

• 1 eggplant
• 2 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 egg
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• 8oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 sprig fresh parsley

What You’ll Do:

Preheat oven to 350.

Slice the eggplant.

Put them slices in a colander and sprinkle salt on top to remove the moisture. Let the slices sit for 30 minutes. Rinse them under cold water, then squeeze them dry.

While you’re waiting, bake 1 1/3 cups of bread crumbs on a baking sheet until they are dry, about five minutes.

Spread olive oil over the eggplant, cook in a pan for five minutes.

Dry them in the colander.

Put the eggplant in a food processor with 1 cup of bread crumbs and 1 clove of garlic. Pulse.

Add the Parmesan cheese, salt, and egg, and pulse again.

Chill the mixture for 30 minutes to an hour.

Spread the remaining bread crumbs on a pan.

Roll the eggplant mixture into two dozen meatballs.

Chill for at least 1 hour.

Fill the bottom of a casserole dish with the eggplant meatballs.

Bake them a 425 for 7 minutes.

Slice the two remaining garlic cloves and put a piece on top of each meatball. Bake another 3 minutes.

Top the eggplant meatballs with the marinara sauce. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Top with the cheese and chopped parsley.

Broil for five minutes.

Serve warm.