Eggplant casserole was my very favorite thing to get on Sunday afternoons after church at the old Wyatt's Cafeteria in Dallas. It took me years to recreate that creamy, cheesy casserole, but this version finally worked, right down to the buttery Ritz crackers and glorious disregard for restraint.
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🥰 Is this eggplant casserole recipe for you?
This recipe is perfect for you if you:
- Want an easy Southern eggplant casserole that's cheesy, creamy, and unapologetically comforting.
- Have fresh eggplant staring at you from the kitchen and need a plan before it develops abandonment issues.
- Love old-fashioned casseroles with Ritz crackers, plenty of cheese, and zero interest in being trendy.
- Need a hearty vegetable side dish that even people who claim they "don't like eggplant" may mysteriously take seconds of.
🧾 Ingredients
- Eggplant: Choose a small to medium eggplant that's firm, smooth, and heavy for its size. Bigger is not better here. Giant eggplants tend to have more seeds and can be bitter, which is not the kind of drama we're looking for.
- Cheese: Sharp cheddar brings plenty of cheesy flavor and stands up nicely to the mild eggplant. Shred it yourself if you can because it melts better, but I'm not coming to your house to confiscate the bagged stuff.
- Eggs: These help bind everything together so you get an actual casserole instead of cheesy eggplant rubble.
- Ritz crackers: Buttery, salty, and absolutely essential to that old-fashioned cafeteria casserole situation. Crush them fairly fine, but there's no need to pulverize them into cracker dust.
- Butter: Because this is a Southern casserole, not a cry for help. You'll use some for sautéing the vegetables and the rest to add richness to the casserole.
- Evaporated milk: Gives the casserole its creamy texture without making it soupy. Don't accidentally grab sweetened condensed milk unless you're trying to create a dessert nobody asked for.
- Peppers: I use bell pepper for a little flavor and color without adding heat. Green is traditional, but use whatever color is currently lurking in your refrigerator.
- Onions: Just a little chopped onion adds savory flavor without taking over. Sauté it with the peppers until soft before adding it to the casserole.
Salt: Eggplant needs seasoning, and cheese and Ritz crackers already bring some salt to the party. Start with the amount in the recipe and adjust to taste.
📖 Recipe
Southern Eggplant Casserole Recipe
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- 5 cups eggplant, about 1 pounds, 5 cups diced eggplant
- ¼ cup onion, chopped
- ¼ cup bell peppers, diced
- 2 tablespoons butter, for sauteing peppers and onion
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- 2 cups Ritz crackers, crushed divided use
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- ⅓ cup butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray a 2 quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Peel and dice the eggplant.
- Cook peeled, diced eggplant in boiling water until tender.
- Remove from heat and drain well.
- Add the butter to a skillet and melt over medium heat.
- Saute the onions and peppers until soft.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked eggplant, beaten eggs, crushed crackers, milk, shredded cheese, peppers and onions, ⅓ cup melted butter, and salt and pepper.
- Spoon into prepared baking dish.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Notes
- Drain the cooked eggplant really well to prevent a runny casserole. After boiling, dab the pieces of eggplant with some paper towels to soak up additional moisture.
- Dice the eggplant as evenly as possible to ensure even cooking!
- Larger eggplant isn't better. The bigger it is the more of a tendency it has to be bitter.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
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🔪 How to make eggplant casserole
- Peel and dice the eggplant.
- Boil eggplant and saute the onions/peppers. Drain and dry eggplant.
- Mix together the veggies and remaining ingredients in a large bowl.
- Bake until golden brown.
Sometimes I add a little creole seasoning or hot sauce to spice it up but most often I just make it as written.
😱 What can go wrong (and how to fix it)
🧀 The casserole is watery. Eggplant holds a surprising amount of moisture. Make sure it's cooked until tender and drain off any excess liquid before mixing everything together.
🧀 The eggplant is still tough. Give it enough time to cook completely before assembling the casserole. Nobody wants to encounter an unexpectedly structural vegetable under all that cheese.
🧀 The casserole is dry. Don't overbake it. Once it's hot, bubbly, and golden on top, get it out of the oven before the creamy middle starts disappearing.
🧀 The cracker topping gets too brown. If the Ritz crackers are getting suspiciously tan before the casserole is heated through, loosely cover the top with foil for the rest of the baking time.
⏲️ Can I assemble eggplant casserole in advance?
Yes! You can assemble this eggplant casserole up to 12 hours ahead. Prepare the recipe through spooning the mixture into the baking dish, then cover tightly and refrigerate. When you're ready to bake, remove the covering and bake as directed, adding about 5 to 10 minutes since you're starting with a cold casserole.
Bake as directed in the recipe card. You may need to add 5 - 10 minutes extra baking time since the ingredients will be cold.
👩🍳 FAQs
My favorite way (and the method I've found easiest) is to slice off the bottom and top of the eggplant. Then, you can set the eggplant on this flat edge and carefully run the knife down the sides to remove the peel.
Not really! If you're used to doing it that way and you have the time, then go ahead. However, today's eggplants actually taste less bitter than they did years ago and the cooking process takes away the rest of it.
You can salt your water before boiling the eggplant, though. Some cooks feel that eggplant soaks up the salt (like pasta!) and helps flavor it for the final dish!
Christy Deardorff says
This worked exactly as written, thanks! My friend who doesn’t like eggplant loves this!
Annette Marsh says
My new fave way to fix eggplant! I didn't have crackers so I used panko, which worked, but now can't wait to try with Ritz crackers! We are growing the long Japanese eggplants so that's what I used without peeling them. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Marye says
So glad you liked it!