One of my favorite side dishes are casseroles. But most are unhealthy and filled with pastas, mayos, cream sauces, and loads of things I cannot eat. But this is my go to Vegan and Paleo casserole that is filled with flavor, isn’t too heavy, and super healthy! The layers of eggplants, onions, seasonings and sauce make for the perfect side dish or even substitute for meat as a main dish.
Ingredients
- 4 Yellow Onions Julienne
- ¼ cup Red wined
- 3 medium eggplants sliced into thin rounds
- 1 jar marinara
- Salt
- 4 tsp Italian Seasoning
- ¼ cup Nutritional yeast
- 1 cup Chiffonade Basil
- 2 tsp Chili Flakes
- Olive oil
Instructions
- In a pan stovetop, medium low heat, add olive oil to coat and add your julienned onions. You will caramelize these for 20-30 minutes. Do this by scraping down bottom every few minutes and making sure the onions slowly get a deep brown color. If the bottom of the pan starts to get black, deglaze that area with 2 TB of water and scrub with wooden spoon to get up the fond (the dark yummy caramelization on the bottom of the pan). Once the onions are dark add salt to taste, around 1 tsp. Lastly, deglaze the pan with a dry red wine and reduce until almost dry.
- While Caramelizing onions preheat oven 400F.
- Prep your ingredients, slice your eggplant into thin rounds and salt, in 20 minutes wipe off the excess water that comes out. This will help with texture once the eggplant cooks.
- Once your onions are ready set them aside.
- Spray an 8×8 baking sheet with olive oil and start layering your casserole
- Start with eggplant, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, ½ tsp Chili Flakes, ¾ cup marinara, Caramelized onions to coat, 1 TB nutritional yeast, and sprinkle of chiffonade basil. Repeat this until you are out of ingredients.
- Cover with foil and bake in oven 45 minutes. After 45 minutes check for doneness, if the eggplant is fork tender then it is done. Let sit uncovered for 20 minutes before digging in!
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