This is a simple side dish for meat or poultry or a satisfying vegetarian dinner that's full of hearty flavor.
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- A delicious way to enjoy your fresh garden vegetables
- Makes a great side dish to impress everyone with at potlucks
- Satisfying as a vegetarian dinner or serve with some grilled meat
Southern eggplant casserole has everything you crave out of a good casserole recipe. It's warm and cheesy, flavorful from the peppers and onions, and, best of all, lets the simple, rustic flavor of eggplant shine.
I love creamy side dish casseroles!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Peel and dice the eggplant.
- Boil eggplant and saute the onions/peppers.
- Mix together the veggies and remaining ingredients in a large bowl.
- Bake until golden brown.
🥫 Storage
Leftovers? No problem! Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for three to four days. Reheat the eggplant casserole in the microwave until it's warmed up again.
You can prep this eggplant casserole recipe in advance to make dinnertime even easier. Once all the ingredients are in the baking dish, cover it with some plastic and refrigerate for up to twelve hours.
📖 Variations
- Sautéing the Vegetables—Melted butter adds richness to the casserole, but you can use olive oil if you need to.
- Veggie Blend—Some people like to add diced zucchini, sliced mushrooms, and/or minced garlic for a different flavor and texture.
- Onion Options—Use your favorite type of onion. White, sweet, Vidalia, or yellow onions are all great choices. I wouldn't use red onions or green onions (except for garnish.)
- Butter Crackers—If you don't have Ritz, you can substitute another similar brand, like Club crackers.
- Or, Bread Crumbs—You can also sprinkle bread crumbs on top before baking. If you have some to use up, they'll do the job. However, they don't taste as buttery as the crackers. In that case, you should drizzle a few tablespoons of extra melted butter over top, too.
- Chedda' is Betta'—Cheddar cheese really complements the flavors of this casserole, but you can experiment with other types too. Adding in a little mozzarella or parmesan cheese might taste nice!
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: 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.
- You can quickly pulse the crackers in a food processor a few times to crush them. Or, to prevent having to wash more dishes, place the crackers into a plastic bag and give the bag a few good whacks with a rolling pin. (Just make sure to seal the bag or you'll be cleaning up cracker crumbs for days!)
- Use a mix of bell peppers if you can. Green peppers are more earthy and red are sweeter, so you'll enjoy a variety of flavors in the casserole.
If the green beans look really good at farmer's market or your garden is bursting with them give this loaded green bean casserole a try.
👩🍳 FAQs
It depends on the size of the veggie! Two medium-sized eggplants should be good. However, if your garden has provided you with an extra large eggplant, you might be able to get away with just one!
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!
After thawing, the eggplant and cheesy filling tend to taste mushy and watery. I don't recommend freezing.
If you know you'll have a lot of leftovers, you could halve the recipe. Alternatively, consider splitting the eggplant mixture into two smaller casserole dishes before baking.
Then, take the second steaming hot casserole over to a neighbor, friend, or family member who loves eggplant. It's a great way to unexpectedly make someone's day!
Eggplant is similar in taste to summer squash, though it's not in the squash family. However, it has the same mild, almost sweet flavor after cooking. In this dish, the eggplant absorbs the other flavors of the cheesy casserole, so using high-quality ingredients matters!
Whole eggplant is fine at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Once cut it will need to be refrigerated and will last for 3-5 days. Rub with a little lemon juice to keep from browning. Cooked eggplant can be refrigerated 3-5 days or frozen for up to 6 months.
📚 Related recipes
- Summer is the perfect time to make this unique Eggplant Tart. Made with tomatoes and Provencal seasoning, it'll transport you right to Paris!
- Southern Yellow Squash Casserole comes together in just a couple of minutes and tastes like summertime in Texas! Cheesy and so delicious!
- This Eggplant Parmesan is a main dish that'll make you forget all about meat—flavorful marinara sauce and two types of cheese are the keys to deliciousness!
🍽️ Serve with...
- Grilled Chicken Breast
- Cheddar and Cracked Black Pepper Dinner Rolls or Garlic Breadsticks
- Pineapple Upside Down Cheesecake
📞 The last word
This cheesy eggplant casserole has been on my "A" list since I was a little kid. Sometimes I add a little creole seasoning or hot sauce to spice it up but most often I just make it as written.
It's just that good.
Try this creamy lazy cabbage rolls casserole next time. It's another favorite.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Southern Eggplant Casserole
Print Pin Recipe SaveIngredients
- 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
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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 1 tablespoon of 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, 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.
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