Baked Eggplant Stacks

Baked eggplant stacks feature the best of eggplant Parmesan and eggplant rollatini in this straight-forward recipe. Perfectly cooked (not soggy!) and breaded eggplant rounds are layered with marinara sauce, a seasoned ricotta filling, and more cheese for total vegetarian comfort food.

Before I started branching out and making air fryer eggplant, these eggplant stacks were my #1 eggplant recipe to make at home.

A mashup of eggplant parmesan and eggplant rollatini, this layered eggplant bake features breaded and baked eggplant rounds with seasoned ricotta layers, marinara sauce, and cheese. Basically all of my favorite flavors.

While it's not a very speedy recipe thanks to all of its delicious parts, the ingredients and method are quite simple to deliver a hearty vegetarian dinner to serve a crowd.

Reasons to Love This Recipe

• If you're a fan of many Italian-American main dishes, these eggplant stacks will taste like pure comfort food. It's got a little bit of everything going on.
• Baking the eggplant rounds on a wire rack set over a sheet pan allows air to circulate all around them during the cook time and prevents them from becoming soggy, all without any extra steps like salting, rinsing, etc.
• Yielding eight stacks, leftover portions reheat beautifully for top-notch next-day lunches or dinners.
• This eggplant stack recipe is hearty vegetarian fare, much like my beloved pepper and egg sandwich.

Recipe Ingredients

Eggplant Rounds

• Eggplant: A firm, medium eggplant is ideal for these eggplant stacks. To yield eight stacks, you'll need 24 quarter-inch thick rounds, as each stack uses three rounds.
• Panko: Larger pieces found in panko breadcrumbs help make the coating more substantial than regular breadcrumbs. You can use Italian seasoned panko breadcrumbs if that's what you have, but do adjust the dried spices as you see fit. If going this route, you also may wish to reduce the salt from the flour mixture.
• Parmesan: I'm a broken record at this point but Parmesan from the refrigerated deli department is my preference for the freshest taste. I like to grate my own, but pre-grated from this department is just fine, too.

Ricotta Filling

• Ricotta: Either whole milk or part-skim ricotta cheese works fine here.
• Spices: These really are variable and can altered to your taste.
• Crushed red pepper: The quarter-teaspoon here add more flavor over spiciness. Add more if you'd like a zip, or eliminate altogether if you're sensitive to heat.

For assembly, you'll need your favorite jarred marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, more Parmesan, and more fresh basil for serving.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Eggplant Rounds

First prep the three bowls for coating. In one, stir together the flour, salt, and pepper. In the second, beat two eggs. In the third, stir together the panko, Parmesan, and dried Italian spices.

1. First press each eggplant round into the seasoned flour mixture until both sides are coated. Gently shake the eggplant round above the bowl so the excess falls back in.
2. Next dip the round into the bowl with the beaten eggs to moisten the front, back, and all sides.

3. Lastly dip each round into the combined panko/Parmesan mixture to coat both sides well.

4. Spray an oven-safe wire rack with cooking spray and set it over a sheet pan. Place each round in a single layer on the rack, leaving a little bit of space between them. Depending upon the size, you may have to use multiple racks/pans.
5. Give the tops of each eggplant round a spritz of olive oil spray, then bake at 400°F for 15 minutes. Flip each round over, spritz the side on top with spray, then bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.

Ricotta Filling

6. While the eggplant is cooking is a good time to prep the rest of the ingredients: grate the cheeses, chop herbs, etc. Add all ricotta filling ingredients to a bowl and stir well until evenly combined.

Eggplant Stacks Assembly

7. To assemble, spread one-half cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish, at a minimum 9" x 13". Place eight eggplant rounds in the sauce on the bottom of the dish.
8. Top each eggplant with about 1 ½ tablespoons of the ricotta filling (three-quarters cup total during this step).

9. Top the ricotta with about 1 tablespoon of marinara (one-half cup total during this step).
10. Top the sauce with 1 tablespoon of shredded mozzarella (one-half cup total during this step) and 1 teaspoon of grated Parmesan cheese (between 2-3 tablespoons total during this step).

11. Repeat the above assembly steps twice more (eggplant, ricotta, sauce, cheeses) until all of the ingredients are used, topping the last eggplant round with marinara and the shredded cheeses.

12. Bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, the edges of the baked eggplant stacks are bubbly, and they are heated well throughout. Garnish with fresh basil for serving.

Expert Tips

• A peek at the recipe card shows a lot of ingredients, but a fair amount are the same, just listed out in different components (salt, pepper, Parmesan, oregano, fresh basil). Measuring out/prepping the total amount needed at once will streamline the process a bit.
• When slicing up an eggplant you'll get larger and smaller rounds. It helps the stacks hold together if you use the largest rounds on the bottom of the stack.
• Be sure to pick a jarred marinara sauce variety that tastes good! I'm truly not that picky about most foods, but I find there's a wide range of jarred marinaras, mostly OK, but some really awful. Using one that's not so hot would put a damper on a made-with-love type of dish like these eggplant stacks. My pick (not sponsored in any way) is Rao's, with the lowest price I've found in-warehouse at Costco.

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