Grilling eggplant is an easy, healthier solution to the traditional fried or baked versions.
Grilling brings out the smoky, rich flavor of eggplant while keeping the dish crisp and cheesy.
It’s an ideal weeknight meal or side dish that’s full of Italian flavor — without the extra calories and standing in front of your stove frying them!
Sliced eggplant topped with a rich, freshly made marinara sauce (or your favorite store-bought brand), then topped with Parmesan cheese, and done in around 2 minutes on the grill, there is nothing easier than this recipe.
These eggplant slices can be cooked longer for crispiness, made in an air fryer for a rained-out picnic, or even oven-baked in a cast-iron skillet, simple, easy, and delicious.
Even the pickiest vegetable members in your home will love these eggplant slices; they're so flavorful with sauce and cheese, it's almost like eating a slice of pizza and using the eggplant as a crust.
This would also be great as an appetizer if you want to add some pepperoni on top, tomato sauce, and then melt a slice of cheese on top.
Just scroll to the bottom of the page to print off the directions.
Why You Will Love This Recipe For Grilled Eggplant Parmesan Slices
- Healthier Alternative: Grilling instead of frying keeps that fat from frying out while still giving that delicious charred flavor.
- Simple Ingredients: Made with fresh eggplant, marinara sauce, mozzarella, and grated cheese, all easily found pantry staples in your local markets.
- Quick & Easy: No breading, no heavy oil, just grilled to perfection, topped with melted cheese and sauce.
- Perfect for Summer: Great for outdoor grilling, picnics, side dishes, or meatless Mondays. Plus, indoors on cast iron gridded skillets for a rainy day
- Low Carb & Gluten-Free: A great option for those watching carbs or avoiding heavy coatings like breadcrumbs.
- Customizable: These can be topped with a variety of delicious vegetables and meats, and made into little eggplant pizza bites.
Other Topping Suggestions and Tips:
- use zucchini rounds in place of eggplant
- for topping substitutions, you can mix and match:
- asparagus diced,
- any kind of peppers
- chopped celery
- chopped green beans
- sliced mushrooms
- fresh spinach or arugula
- julienned carrots
- use any kind of cheese you prefer
- deli sliced pepperoni or cooked sliced meats of your choice can be added for meat lovers
- think about your favorite pizza toppings and add them on top
- add the marinara sauce first then cheese
- add taco sauce with chilies and cheddar for a Mexican Blend
Tips for Grilled Eggplant Slices
- Salt the Eggplant First: Sprinkle slices with salt and let them sit for 35 to 40 minutes to draw out the water on paper towels, plus this removes bitterness.
- Brush lightly with Olive Oil: Be careful with how much oil is used. Too much oil can make the eggplant soggy. A quick brush lightly on the coating helps achieve perfect grill marks.
- Use Medium Heat: Grill over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, flipping once per side until charred.
- Add Cheese After Grilling: Once grilled, top with sauce and cheese, and any other preferred toppings, then cover until the cheese melts.
- Serve Fresh: These slices are best served warm with a sprinkle of freshly chopped basil and a sprinkle of grated Parmesan.
Try My Other Favorite Recipes
Eggplant Parmesan
Zucchini Rollatini
Eggplant Boats
Pin for later
Easy Grilled Eggplant
This eggplant grilled is so versatile when it comes to toppings so you can make a whole meal out of it or a side dish.
The eggplant looks elegant served when hosting a dinner party on the plate, the grill marks give it a rustic feeling and is perfect with any meal.
The eggplant cooks quickly and is so flavorful and a great addition to that cookout when you need an easy side dish in a hurry.
If you're an eggplant lover, you will love the simplicity of the recipe and the variations can be endless with different toppings you may prefer.
Yield: 6
Grilled Eggplant Parmesan Slices
Grilled eggplant with marinara and Parmesan cheese is perfect for a side dish at your next cookout or side dish indoors.
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 4 MinTotal time: 14 Min
Ingredients
- 2 or 3 small Eggplant sliced thick (or use Zucchini slices if you're not a fan of eggplant)
- sea salt
- paper towels
- Marinara Sauce Homemade or use your favorite jarred store-bought
- Parmesano Reggiano cheese grated fresh or use Pecorino Romano cheese
- salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste if needed
- Optional Garnish: granulate garlic powder, fresh basil leaves, more grated cheese, sliced provolone melted or mozzarella melted on top
Instructions
- Slice the eggplant into thick slices, place them on paper towels with a light coating of sea salt for 30 minutes or up to an hour to remove bitterness, then rinse the salt off.
- Grilling: heat the grill to medium heat adding a little oil to the grates before adding the eggplant.
- Grill on one side for 2 minutes, flip and grill the other side (or until a nice charred grilled mark remains).
- Place on a plate, add warmed marinara sauce and grated cheese or add a slice of provolone(or mozzarella) and broil until the top is crispy and brown before serving.
- Garnish with more cheese, red pepper flakes if desired, and fresh basil and granulated garlic powder.
- Stovetop: For using a gridded cast iron skillet on the stovetop, oil spray the skillet to medium-high heat. Sear the eggplant slices on both sides until a nice char remains on each side with grill marks. Proceed with the highlighted above instructions.
- Air Fryer: coat the air fryer basket with cooking oil and heat it for 5 minutes on 400 degrees. Place the slices on the basket carefully using tongs.
- Air fry until softens and starts to crisp up around 3 to 4 minutes on 400 degrees.
- Proceed with the serving instructions above with tomato sauce, cheese, and garnishes
Notes
Other Topping Suggestions and Tips:
- use zucchini rounds in place of eggplant
- for topping substitutions you can mix and match:
- asparagus diced,
- any kind of peppers
- chopped celery
- chopped green beans
- sliced mushrooms
- fresh spinach or arugula
- julienned carrots
- use any kind of cheese you prefer
- deli sliced pepperoni or cooked sliced meats of your choice can be added for meat lovers
- think about your favorite pizza toppings and add them on top
- add the marinara sauce first then cheese
- add taco sauce with chilies and cheddar for a Mexican Blend
Pin for later
Eggplant Favorite Recipes
Eggplant Ricotta Casserole
Eggplant aka Zucchini Roll-Ups
Eggplant Parmesan
Eggplant Boats
Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2010. It was edited and re-published in 2022.
