Vegan Eggplant Parmesan — A Healthy and Tasty Comfort Food

Unlike zucchini, eggplant holds its shape when it’s cooked, which makes it ideal for baking. There are many different ways to cook eggplant parm, but the vegan version has a similar taste, without all the frying and stringy mozzarella cheese.

Ingredients for Vegan Eggplant Parm

• 2 Eggplants that are cut into ½” thick circles
• Salt and more to taste
• 12 oz. jar of tomato sauce
• 1 chopped onion
• 4 chopped garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon of olive or avocado oil
• 3/4 cup of soaked raw cashews
• 3/4 cup of water
• 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon of onion powder
• 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
• Ground black pepper to taste
• Basil to garnish (optional)

How to Make the Dish

1. Preheat the broiler on your oven and place your eggplant slices on a baking tray. Generously sprinkle some salt on top of each slice and let them rest on the side until they start to sweat.
2. In a medium-sized skillet, add your olive or avocado oil, 2 chopped cloves of garlic, and onion. Heat on a medium-high setting for about 3-4 minutes or until the onion begins to soften up.
3. Add tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. Stir to incorporate all the ingredients and let it simmer on a low setting.
4. In a blender, add in the remaining 2 cloves of garlic, water, lemon juice, soaked cashews, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, onion powder, and cornstarch. For an extra cheesy flavor, you can add more nutritional yeast. Blend until you get an Alfredo consistency. Add cornstarch if it’s too watery.
5. After the eggplants sweat out their water (about 15 minutes), dab off the excess water with a paper towel and broil them for 6 minutes or until golden. Once done, turn the oven down to 400°F.
6. Now assemble the dish. In an oven-safe casserole dish, add a layer of eggplant slices, add ⅓ scoop of quinoa and spread out evenly, ⅓ of the tomato sauce, ⅓ of the cashew cream, and repeat 2-3 times.
7. Top with basil and bake for 25 minutes.