If you love eggplant parm but want something heartier and more filling, this cheesy eggplant casserole with ground beef is the answer! Tender eggplant bakes into marinara, seasoned beef, and melty cheese; all topped with crispy breadcrumbs for a weeknight dinner everyone will love.

Close-up of a white baking dish with a spoon and eggplant slices topped with cheese, tomato sauce, and fresh basil. Baking dish is surrounded by a dish towel, serving spoon, and a small bowl of fresh basil.

5 star review

“This casserole was fantastic, and my family loved it. I used eggplants fresh from the Farmers’ Market. It hit all the flavor notes of lasagna, but with less work and more nutrition.”

– Lora
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Eggplant Casserole Gets a Fresh & Hearty Makeover

Fresh and hearty casseroles are one of my favorite things to make, especially when they’re packed with veggies – like my zucchini ground beef casserole and spaghetti squash casserole. Plus they get bonus points for also being packed with protein. I also happen to love eggplant parmesan, but for this spin on baked eggplant, I wanted to create something that fit all my weeknight dinner criteria – i.e. simpler, lighter, and even more filling. To do this I added ground beef to the marinara sauce for an easy protein boost, though if you want you could swap in ground turkey or even ground turkey. 

Now for the eggplant, I skipped the frying because, let’s be real, it’s a lot of effort, plus can make the dish heavy. Instead, I call for slicing the eggplant into ¼-½ inch rounds (no need to peel) and sprinkling with salt to draw out excess moisture and bitterness. This simple step makes all the difference and hardly takes any extra effort, though if you’re worried about the salt content in the eggplant, simply rinse the salt off after letting it sit for 15 minutes. 

After draining the excess liquid and blotting slices with a paper towel, you’ll dredge them in an egg and milk mixture and coat with panko breadcrumbs and feel free to use gluten-free panko breadcrumbs for a gluten-free eggplant casserole. From there, you simply layer the marinara-meat mixture with the eggplant slices and top with cheese. 

Thanks to the eggplant prep step, there’s no need to fry or bake the eggplant before layering – you won’t miss it and it’s so much easier! After 50 minutes in the oven, the Italian eggplant casserole should be ready to serve, but make sure to test if the eggplant is cooked all the way through. If not, just add an additional 10-15 minutes and you’re good to go.

Welcome to My Kitchen! Let’s Make Eggplant Casserole

Jump to Recipe Instructions
Slicing eggplant.
1. Slice the eggplant.
White plates with a yellow liquid, breadcrumbs, and eggplant slices covered in breadcrumbs. Someone is dipping eggplant slices in the yellow liquid.
2. Bread the eggplant slices.
A skillet with a red meat sauce, a plate with breaded eggplant slices, and a white baking dish with red meat sauce and eggplant slices. Someone is placing eggplant slices into the baking dish.
3. Evenly layer meat sauce and eggplant slices.
Close-up of a white baking dish with eggplant slices covered in a red meat sauce.
4. Top final layer with meat sauce.
Sprinkling shredded cheese onto a casserole with red meat sauce in a white baking dish.
5. Sprinkle with cheese.
Someone holding a white baking dish with eggplant slices covered in a red sauce and topped with shredded cheese.
6. Cover with foil.
Someone holding a white baking dish with eggplant slices covered in a red sauce and topped with melted cheese.
7. Bake until golden and bubbling.

An Excellent Make-Ahead Meal

Eggplant casserole is an excellent make-ahead meal! Once baked, it will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Or you can freeze the unbaked casserole for a super easy weeknight meal by assembling the entire dish, covering with plastic wrap, and sticking it in the freezer. To bake from frozen, take off the plastic wrap, cover the dish with foil, and bake as directed, but add on an additional 10 minutes of baking time.

Close-up of a white baking dish with eggplant slices topped with cheese, tomato sauce, and fresh basil. Baking dish is surrounded by a dish towel, serving spoons, and a small bowl of fresh basil.
Close-up of a white baking dish with a spoon and eggplant slices topped with cheese, tomato sauce, and fresh basil. Baking dish is surrounded by a dish towel, serving spoon, and a small bowl of fresh basil.
5 stars (6 ratings)

Eggplant Casserole w/ Ground Beef (Easy & Cheesy!)

Developed and tested by A woman with long blonde hair, smiling, holds and pours a bottle of oil in a modern kitchen setting.Robyn Conley Downs
Servings: 8 servings
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 30 minutes
If you love eggplant parm but want something heartier and more filling, this cheesy eggplant casserole with ground beef is the answer! Tender eggplant bakes into marinara, seasoned beef, and melty cheese; all topped with crispy breadcrumbs for a weeknight dinner everyone will love.
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Ingredients

  • 2 ½ pounds eggplant (about 2 medium), sliced into ¼ inch thick rounds
  • 1 ¼ pound lean ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus more for salting the eggplant
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 teaspoon no salt-added Italian seasoning
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons low fat milk
  • 3 cups marinara sauce
  • ¾ cup Italian cheese blend
  • 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Equipment

Instructions 

Prepare the Eggplant

  • Preheat the oven to 375F.
  • Add the sliced eggplant to a large strainer. Sprinkle each slice evenly with salt on both sides and allow to sit for 15 minutes.

Make the Meat Sauce

  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil, then add the ground beef, breaking apart into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and cook until browned, about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Turn off the heat and add the marinara sauce, stirring to combine.

Bread the Eggplant

  • Gently press the eggplant to squeeze out any excess water. Optional: Quickly rinse to remove excess salt. Blot each slice with a paper towel to dry.
  • On a large plate or baking dish, mix together the panko breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, and ¼ teaspoon salt until well combined.
  • On a separate large plate or baking dish, whisk together the egg and milk until well combined.
  • Dip each eggplant slice quickly into the milk-egg mixture, then coat each side evenly with the breadcrumb mixture. Repeat until each slice is breaded.

Assemble the Casserole

  • Coat a 9×13 ceramic baking dish with cooking spray. Add ⅓ of the beef-marinara sauce to the bottom, spreading into an even layer.
  • Shingle about half of the eggplant slices into an even layer on top. Repeat the layers, adding ⅓ sauce, the remaining half of the eggplant slices, and ending with the remaining ⅓ sauce.
  • Sprinkle the top with an even layer of the Italian cheese blend and parmesan cheese.
  • Cover tightly with foil and cook for 50 minutes, or until the eggplant is very tender. Uncover and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling.
  • Allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes

  • For Gluten Free: Use gluten-free panko breadcrumbs.
  • For Vegetarian: Leave out ground beef.
Course: dinner
Cuisine: Italian

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1 (of 8), Calories: 241kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 23g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 71mg, Sodium: 721mg, Potassium: 879mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 492IU, Vitamin C: 10mg, Calcium: 96mg, Iron: 3mg
Nutrition disclaimer
Did you make this recipe?If you do, be sure to share it on Instagram and tag me at @realfoodwholelife so I can see!

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