Eggplant Casserole
Southern Eggplant Casserole is a delicious way to enjoy fresh garden vegetables. This easy recipe is a satisfying vegetarian dinner or a simple side dish!
Servings 6 - 8 (as a side dish) or 4 as an entree
Calories 348.9kcal
Ingredients
- 1 (1-lb.) eggplant, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes (about 5 cups total)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ¼ cup chopped celery
- ¼ cup diced onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 ½ teaspoons)
- 1 ½ cups Ritz cracker crumbs (about 37 crackers total)
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- ½ cup milk
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch or 9-inch square casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add diced eggplant and cook just until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Drain well.
- In a bowl, combine cracker crumbs, melted butter and grated cheddar cheese. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onion and garlic to the skillet and sauté until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Combine celery mixture with the eggplant, milk, eggs, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Gently fold in half of the cracker crumb mixture. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
- Top with the remaining half of the cracker crumb mixture.
- Bake, uncovered, for about 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the casserole is hot and bubbly. Allow the dish to rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Any good melting cheese will work in this recipe. Cheddar is a classic choice, but you can also use American, mozzarella, gruyère, fontina, provolone or any combination of these.
- I used an eggplant that was about 1 lb. here, but you can use a larger eggplant if that's what you have on hand. More eggplant will not impact the recipe.
- Salt the cooking water really well before adding the eggplant. This is a great opportunity to season the eggplant itself so that it has great flavor in the dish.
- Ritz crackers add so much buttery, salty flavor to the dish. I don't recommend substituting with plain breadcrumbs. You can use crushed saltines, crushed Corn Flakes or other crushed butter crackers in a pinch.
- Serving a larger family as an entrée? Double all of the ingredients and prepare the casserole in a 9 x 13-inch dish.
- Feel free to add other vegetables to the casserole, too. You can sauté sliced mushrooms or bell peppers with the celery and onion, for example.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/6 of the casserole | Calories: 348.9kcal | Carbohydrates: 19.4g | Protein: 9.9g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 13.6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7.8g | Cholesterol: 114.6mg | Sodium: 370.9mg | Potassium: 293.1mg | Fiber: 2.1g | Sugar: 5.8g