A quick 20 minute dinner, this Healthy Instant Pot Eggplant Parmesan isn’t breaded or fried, only calls for 4 ingredients, and makes a delicious, comforting, and low carb meal!
HEALTHY INSTANT POT EGGPLANT PARMESAN!! I am like so, so excited for this recipe!
What is one meal that reminds you of your mom? While I could probably name a few, one thing that sticks out in my head is eggplant parmesan. My mom would make it pretty often in our house. She never went off a recipe and changed it up each time, and never actually “fried” the eggplant.
She would either sauté the eggplant up on the stove and cover with sauce and cheese or lightly coat it with breadcrumbs and bake it. I think even a few times she made it into a casserole type dish with long slices of eggplant.
Whatever way she made it, it was one of my favorites. It was always comforting and hearty, while still light. So today I am making my spin it on and making a quick and healthy instant pot eggplant parmesan!
You guys have been asking for more Instant Pot recipes so what better way than having one in 30 Minute Meal Solutions. If you missed it, this month is dedicated to quick and easy, one pan, 30 minute meals! This Instant Pot eggplant parmesan fits into description perfectly. We’ve made this a few time and each time I love it even more.
It’s cheesy, hearty, and comforting, while still being on the lighter side. It’s packed with veggies, is low carb, and just makes a delicious easy meal.
How to make Healthy Instant Pot Eggplant Parmesan
The reason I love this recipe so freakin’ much is because it’s so so easy. All you need is 4 ingredients, 5 minutes of prep time, and then 20 minutes of cook time. Half of that time is the Instant Pot heating up. I’m sure you can guess the ingredients, but this is what you need:
- eggplant
- pasta/marinara sauce – Victoria is my favorite
- mozzarella cheese
- salt
To start, you want to cut your eggplant into long 1/2 inch thick strips. I like to cut both the top and bottom off so I can stand it up straight. Then will run my knife down lengthwise making long pieces. Not every piece will be the same shape and thickness, but that is okay. This size works best for layering in your Instant Pot.
Next salt your eggplant. Then you begin the layering process. Place 1/2 cup sauce to cover the bottom of the pot. Layer with a few slices of eggplant, covering the bottom, another 1/2 cup of sauce, and cheese. Continue until you no longer have anymore eggplant. I had 3 layers of eggplant, but have also used smaller eggplants getting 5 layers. The amount of layers don’t matter, you just want to make sure you have enough cheese and sauce.
You need to make sure you fully cover the bottom of the pan with sauce. If you don’t you run the risk of burning your IP and your eggplant. You want a more watery based sauce as well. I found that 1/2 cup worked perfectly for my 8QT Instant Pot each time I tested the recipe.
Set your Instant Pot to manual mode on high pressure for 10 minutes. You can either release pressure manually or let it naturally release, I found that the pressure naturally releases in about 5 minutes anyways. Open it up and dinner is served!
What can I serve with Instant Pot Eggplant Parmesan?
For the ultimate experience, I would serve eggplant parmesan with a side of crusty bread, some pasta, and a side salad. This dish is naturally low carb due to the fact it isn’t breaded. If you wanted to keep it low carb, you could serve it with some cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles to help absorb the sauce.
You could also use white rice to keep it gluten free. We’ve served it with anything from gluten free pasta, rice, salad, bread, and more veggies. Anything will work!
Can I bake healthy eggplant parmesan/make it in the oven?
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, I think this recipe would work just fine to be baked. Follow the direction as it, just use a glass baking dish instead of your Instant Pot. I would bake it at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes until eggplant is tender and cheese is melted.
If your sauce looks watery
If you open up your Instant Pot and it looks like there is a lot of liquid in the pot, don’t be alarmed. The eggplant gives off some water and combined with the sauce, there will be liquid in the pot. Once you cut into the eggplant parmesan and remove it, there really isn’t much left. We love to spoon the sauce over the top of the eggplant or pasta, because who doesn’t love sauce?!
If needed, you could place your Instant Pot on sauté mode for a couple minutes to help absorb the liquid. Just be careful not to burn the bottom of the eggplant. Also, as the eggplant cools, the sauce will thicken up some.
Can you make this dairy free?
While I haven’t tried it, you could sub a dairy free and vegan cheese if you want. I would just make sure it melts as you want to get the gooey and melty consistency of the cheese on the eggplant.
More 30 minute One Pot meals:
Shrimp Curry & Butternut Squash Noodles with Curry Peanut Sauce
Whole30 Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo
Healthy Instant Pot Eggplant Parmesan
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants (780 grams)
- 2 cups marinara sauce, divided
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 cups)
- salt
- for servings: fresh basil, red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese...
Instructions
- Prepare eggplant. Cut off the top and the bottom of the eggplant and stand up straight. Slice eggplant lengthwise into 1/4-1/2 inch slices. Salt eggplant slices on both sides.
- In your Instant Pot, add 1/2 cup of marinara sauce and spread out evenly on the bottom*. Cover sauce with a layer of eggplant, covering the bottom as best you can. Add 1/2 cup of sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Continue layering the eggplant, sauce, and cheese (I had 3 layers).
- Close Instant Pot lid, make sure vent is set to sealed, and set to manual mode on high pressure for 10 minutes. Manually or naturally release pressure when done (pressure releases natually in about 4-5 minutes). Cut into 4 equal pieces and top with optional toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Nancy kelly
March 7, 2019 at 10:40 pmFantastic! I think i am going to try the panko bread crumbs next time i make it….❓
Kelly
March 11, 2019 at 7:41 amYes, that way is always good too!!
Christine G
April 17, 2019 at 3:34 pmI always prefer my recipes “Fairy free”…sorry, I couldn’t resist. Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Kelly
April 18, 2019 at 4:46 pmOMG HAHAHA!! That is amazing! As many times as I read over my posts, I always miss things. Thank you for catching it and I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for trying!
Courtney
April 24, 2019 at 10:38 amVery soggy. The cheese basically became part of the sauce. It tasted ok but the texture was unfortunate.
Kelly
May 1, 2019 at 1:46 pmSo sorry to hear that Courtney. Cooking in the IP can be tricky and I think this recipe depends on the kind of sauce you are using and how much water it gives off. When I made it, the texture was still meaty. Sorry it didn’t turn out and hope you can enjoy another recipe of mine!
Rosa
July 6, 2019 at 2:39 pmHi Kelly, I followed your recipe but after the 10 minutes, eggplant was still quite hard and so I just reset it again for another 10 minutes. There was plenty of sauce in there so not sure why it did not cook through. So the second 10 minutes is up and its cooked through but looks like there is way too much sauce. Maybe I am not using the right type of eggplant. I am using the really big fat one….should I be using the longer thin ones? Would like to make this again and get it right the first time. Thank you
Kelly
July 30, 2019 at 5:49 pmHi Rosa! I’m sorry to hear that! I actually just made this again last night has some people were have trouble with it. You should use Italian eggplant – the purple kind you regularly see in the store. 10 minutes worked perfectly for me – the ones are the bottle were def cooked through and a little mushy, while the ones on the top are cooked through but still have some texture. Is your IP on high pressure? You could try to slice them a little thinner to make sure they cook in 10 minutes and let the pressure naturally release. They will release some water as they cook, making it look like there is a lot of sauce in the pan. After it cools, it thickens up some and I like to pour it on the eggplant. I hope that helps!
Kristy
July 23, 2019 at 9:44 ammine was super soggy/mush … can you add all your settings on the instant pot when you made this? Like should it be on manual but low pressure and even a slow cook button? or steam button? Inso want this to work for me.
Kelly
July 31, 2019 at 8:41 amHi Kristy! I’m sorry to hear that. I actually just made it the other night as some people are having trouble with the recipe. The eggplant on the bottom will be a little softer/mushy as it’s closest to the hear source and is the same as if you were to make a casserole. The eggplant towards the top will still have some texture to it though. It is one manual on high pressure. Other then that, there were no other settings changes. You could try to less time or slice the eggplant a little thicker as well.
Dad
August 1, 2019 at 3:16 pmLove eggplant hope mom makes this
Kelly
August 16, 2019 at 4:06 pmYou guys had it when you visited! Tell mom to make it at home!
Robert Johnson
August 16, 2019 at 4:15 pmGreat recipe. I just made it. The texture was great. Just added 1/4 cup of water to thin sauce out so it would come to pressure. Will definitely make it again.
Kelly
August 16, 2019 at 4:25 pmSo glad you enjoyed it Robert! And thank you so much for the tip, I can add that to the notes of the recipe. Thank you for trying it!
Matt
August 19, 2019 at 6:46 pmNot good. Eggplant didn’t cook after 30 minutes. Followed recipe as shown. Won’t try that again.
Kelly
September 3, 2019 at 12:11 pmHi Matt. I am sorry to hear that. I have never had an issue with this recipe, but it seems others have. I think it really depends on what sauce you are using. I did a step by step on my Instagram and saved it. If you go to this link and click the Eggplant Parm circle below the text (you might have to scroll to the right some), it will show you how I make it. I hope that helps and I’m sorry it didn’t turn out for you the first time. Here is the video – https://www.instagram.com/eatthegains/
Kelly
September 3, 2019 at 12:12 pmActually I think you have to watch it in the app, so you need to have Instagram. I will work on a video for this post to see if that helps!
Cassie
August 20, 2019 at 7:38 pmAmazing! I didn’t have mozzarella so I used grated Parmesan instead. It turned out great! Yum!
Kelly
September 3, 2019 at 12:09 pmLove that substitute! Glad it turned out for you Cassie!
Sarah
August 22, 2019 at 6:47 pmDelicious! I was searching for a simple instant pot recipe and this was perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
Kelly
September 3, 2019 at 12:15 pmSo glad it worked for you Sarah! Some others are having trouble. Thank you for trying it!
Kim
September 6, 2019 at 7:01 pmAwesome .. I did add some sautéed mushrooms after the sauce between layers and ended up with the best eggplant sandwiches 🙂 ,, so glad I found this recipe
Kelly
September 19, 2019 at 2:21 pmOh I love that idea! So glad you liked it and thanks for trying Kim!
Leo
October 3, 2019 at 4:53 pmTried it but got the “BURN” message on the Instant Pot display after about 5 minutes. Am I doing something wrong?
Kelly
October 4, 2019 at 9:25 amHi Leo! I have never gotten that message, but I know others have. I think it has to do with not having enough liquid in the pan. I would suggest adding more sauce to the bottom of the pot to make sure it is fully covered (you can double the amount I recommend). Some sauces are a lot more watery than others and I think it’s a huge factor when making this recipe. I hope that helps and let me know if you try it again!
Claudia
October 15, 2019 at 10:48 pmLoved it but mine burned on the bottom and there was plenty of sauce. Not sure what I did wrong. But very tasty.
Kelly
October 18, 2019 at 2:45 pmDang, I’m sorry to hear that Claudia. I honestly don’t know what happened as I’ve never had this happened, but I know others have. I’m glad it turned out though and you liked it! Thank you for trying it!
Amy Kay
October 30, 2019 at 7:22 pmExcellent! I added waited mushrooms and onions with a little rosemary and sage. I prepared the eggplant parm. I’m a springform insta pot pan. I added a 1/3 cup water to the bottom of the ip dur to earlier reviews. It turned out perfect. Thank you for the recipe.
Kelly
November 5, 2019 at 7:33 amOh I love those additions, sounds so so good! And a great idea to use a springform pan. So glad you liked I Amy and thanks for trying it!