Crispy Eggplant Bake with Burrata and Basil-Chili Oil
- Yield
- 8 servings
Soggy eggplant ruins this dish, so ours never sees a frying pan. The slices get salted, dried and roasted hot until their edges go brown and crisp, which keeps them meaty under the sauce instead of oily. Lemon zest and black pepper wake up the ricotta, a Parmesan crumb top brings crunch, and burrata goes on torn and cool the moment the tray comes out. Roasted eggplant brings the depth, tomato the sweetness, ricotta and burrata the richness, lemon the lift, chili oil the heat and crumbs the crunch. It's the Sunday tray that feeds everyone.
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Ingredients
Batches and reset
8 servings · US measures · 1 batch
Batching
Make one 9 x 13-inch dish per batch. For 16 servings, assemble a second dish; baking time does not scale with quantity.
Original recipe: 8 servings.
Nutrition is incomplete. Most of the salt used to draw out moisture is washed off, so it is not counted, and flaky salt added to taste is not included either. The panko, red pepper flakes and burrata are not yet in the estimate.
Before you start
- Read through the recipe before salting the eggplant. Gather the colander, baking sheets, small saucepan, baking dish, thermometer and measured ingredients.
Directions
Measure everything first
For the whole recipe
Read through the recipe, gather the equipment, and use the ingredient lines to measure and prepare everything. Everything is measured and within reach.
Salt the eggplant and let it weep
For each baking dish
Toss the eggplant slices with the salt in the colander set in the sink, and let them drain until beads of liquid form on the cut surfaces, about 30 minutes.
Why it works: salting first
Salt pulls water out of the eggplant and collapses its spongy cells, so the slices brown instead of steaming and drink up less oil.
Heat the oven hot
For each baking dish
Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C) with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Roast only after the oven reaches 450°F.
Rinse and dry the slices well
For each baking dish
Wash the salt off the eggplant slices under cold running water, then pat them very dry with the towels until no damp patches remain.
If it goes wrong: the slices are still damp
Blot them again. Wet slices steam on the baking sheet and never get crisp edges.
Roast the eggplant until crisp at the edges
For each baking dish
Brush both sides of the slices with 6 tbsp olive oil and lay them in a single layer on two 18 x 13-inch rimmed baking sheets. Roast in the upper and lower thirds of the oven at 450°F, flipping the slices and swapping the pans halfway through, until the slices are deeply browned, crisp at the edges and tender when pierced, about 25 to 30 minutes.
House call: roast, don't fry
Fried eggplant soaks up oil and turns greasy under sauce. A very hot oven browns the slices with a measured amount of oil, and the edges go crisp in a way a crowded skillet never manages.
If it goes wrong: pale, floppy slices
The pans were crowded or the oven wasn't fully hot. Keep them in a single layer, give them more time and wait for real browning before you build the dish.
Season the ricotta filling
For each baking dish
Meanwhile, stir 8 oz ricotta cheese, 3 oz shredded mozzarella cheese, the egg, about 1/2 cup fresh basil, about 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1 tsp lemon zest, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper and 1/2 tsp fine salt in the medium bowl until evenly mixed.
Why it works: a filling that tastes like something
Ricotta on its own is mild to the point of bland. Lemon zest, black pepper and a little salt make the filling bright and seasoned in its own right, so you aren't trying to fix it at the table.
Make the basil-chili oil
For each baking dish
Meanwhile, warm 4 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes in the small saucepan over low heat until the oil turns orange and smells toasty, about 3 to 5 minutes. Take it off the heat and stir in about 1/4 cup fresh basil.
Technique: a gentle chili oil
Keep the heat low so the flakes barely sizzle; hot oil scorches them in seconds. The basil goes in off the heat so it stays green and smells fresh.
Drop the oven to bake
For each baking dish
Lower the oven to 375°F (190°C) and move a rack to the middle. Bake only after the oven reaches 375°F.
Layer eggplant, filling, eggplant
For each baking dish
Spread about 2 cups pasta sauce over the bottom of the 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Lay half the eggplant slices over the sauce in overlapping rows, spread the cheese filling evenly over them, then lay the other half of the slices on top until the filling is covered.
Top with sauce, mozzarella and crumbs
For each baking dish
Top the layers with about 2 cups pasta sauce and 3 oz shredded mozzarella cheese. Toss about 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs with 1 tbsp olive oil and about 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, and sprinkle the crumbs over the cheese until the top is evenly covered.
Bake until the center hits 160°F
For each baking dish
Bake on the middle rack at 375°F until the sauce bubbles all over, the crumbs are deep golden and the center reads 160°F (71°C) on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 to 40 minutes.
Why it works: the thermometer decides
The filling holds raw egg, so the 160°F reading in the center, not the color of the crumbs, tells you it's done. If the crumbs race ahead, lay foil loosely over the dish and keep baking.
Tear over the burrata and finish
For each baking dish
Let the bake stand until the bubbling stops and the layers settle. Tear 8 oz burrata over the top, spoon the basil-chili oil over it and sprinkle with about 1/4 cup fresh basil. Taste a forkful from the edge. Aim for crisp-edged eggplant, rich, savory cheese, sweet tomato and a gentle heat, seasoned enough to taste lively. If it tastes flat, sprinkle flaky sea salt to taste over the servings.
House call: burrata goes on last
Baked in the dish, burrata would just melt into everything else. Torn over at the end, its cool, creamy center runs into the hot sauce, and you get hot and cool in the same bite.
Cut, serve and store safely
For the whole recipe
Cut the bake into 8 servings and serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and reheat them until the center reaches 165°F (74°C).
Make ahead: roast early, finish late
Roast the eggplant and make the chili oil earlier in the day, refrigerating the roasted slices, then assemble and bake when you're ready and let the thermometer decide when it's done. The burrata and chili oil always go on at the end.
Make it yours: from safe to wild
Safe: zucchini in place of half the eggplant at the height of summer. Bolder: a layer of fully cooked, crumbled spicy Italian sausage between the eggplant. Wild: swap the basil-chili oil for a spoonful of Calabrian-style chile paste loosened with honey and lemon.
About this recipe
Allergens / Diets
Rebuilt recipe in review. Allergen and diet details are being re-checked.
Research preview: these details come from our sourced research and haven't been reviewed by our chef yet.
Why it works
Salting and drying the eggplant draws out water so the slices brown instead of steaming, and the egg in the ricotta filling helps the layers hold when the bake is cut.
Associated with
Southern Italian and Italian-American home cooking
Layered eggplant baked with cheese and tomato appears in Neapolitan cookbooks of the late 18th and early 19th centuries; Italian-American versions add ricotta and mozzarella.
Taste
- Sweet
- Sour
- Salty
- Bitter
- Savory
- Heat
Rich, savory cheeses and sweet tomato over tender browned eggplant, with fresh basil. · soft browned eggplant layers with creamy ricotta and melted cheese · warm
Skill level
Some practice
Several stages and a hot skillet; the judgment is browning without crowding and checking the center reaches 160°F.
Occasions
Lenten abstinence days (Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent)
No meat is listed; dairy and eggs are allowed on Latin-rite abstinence days.
Serving and keeping
Best served: After the bake stands and the layers settle Cut into 8 servings.
Make ahead: It also sets up better after resting.
Storage: Refrigerate within 2 hours. For longer keeping, freeze; frozen food stays safe at 0°F, though quality declines over time.
Leftovers: Refrigerate within 2 hours, use within 3 to 4 days and reheat to 165°F.
Food safety
- The cheese filling contains raw egg: bake until the center reads 160°F, and do not taste the filling before baking.
- Brown the eggplant in a thin layer of hot oil, in batches, without crowding the pan.
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F, and reheat them until the center reaches 165°F.
We make no cross-contact statement for home kitchens. Check packaged ingredient labels.
Nutrition notes
The three cheeses bring calcium and protein.
The olive oil absorbed while browning the eggplant is the main fat source, with the cheeses.
Most of the sodium comes from the pasta sauce, the Parmesan and the salt; a low-sodium sauce and less Parmesan keep it lower.
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- Recipe url
- https://isthebestrecipe.com/vegetables/eggplant-and-three-cheese-bake
- Name
- Crispy Eggplant Bake with Burrata and Basil-Chili Oil
- Servings
- 8
- Recipe yield
- 8 servings
- Recipe ingredient
- 2 whole eggplant about 1 1/4 pounds each, cut into 1/2-inch slices, 1 1/2 tbsp salt for drawing out moisture, 11 tbsp olive oil divided, about 8 oz ricotta cheese whole milk, about 6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese divided, 1 whole large egg beaten, about 1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped, divided, about 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese divided, 1 tsp lemon zest finely grated, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper freshly ground, 1/2 tsp fine salt for the filling, 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, about 4 cups pasta sauce divided, about 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs, 8 oz burrata at room temperature, out of the refrigerator no more than 2 hours, to taste flaky sea salt for finishing
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