17 Day Diet : Turkey Eggplant Parmesan

Submitted by 0stephanie0

"Eggplant Parmesan, an Italian standby, is one of my favorite dishes. We developed this quick version so that I could have it more often. It’s super low in carbs and fat, and you won’t even miss the breading. - Dr. Mike Moreno"

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• nonstick cooking spray
• 1 large eggplant, stemmed and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 4 cups prepared low-carb marinara sauce
• 1⁄2 tablespoon minced fresh oregano leaves or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 1 tablespoon fennel seed
• 1 1⁄2 cups grated fat-free parmesan cheese or 1 1/2 cups other fat free cheese

directions

1. 1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Lay the eggplant slices on the baking tray and spray their tops lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Bake, turning once, until the slices begin to soften and brown, about 30 minutes.
2. 2. Meanwhile, spray a large saucepan with nonstick cooking spray. Set over medium heat and add the ground turkey, breaking it up with a spoon. Cook, stirring often, until the meat loses its raw, pink color and browns a bit, about 5 minutes. Pour in the marinara sauce; stir in the oregano, basil, and fennel seeds. Remove the pot from the heat.
3. 3. Layer the eggplant slices and turkey marinara sauce in a 9-x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake until bubbling, about 30 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Reviews

[rpgaymer]

Awesome recipe. I don't even like eggplant parmesan that much, but eggplant was on sale and I saw this recipe so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm glad I did, because it tastes better than regular eggplant parmesan. The addition of fennel seed really made the sauce taste superb. I also ended up wilting some spinach in the tomato sauce for added nutrition, and served everything on top of whole-wheat pasta.

 

[tantillo1]

This is a great recipe. I had an eggplant that I needed to use. This recipe filled the bill. I make some changes in that I didn't have the ground turkey. So, I used Italian hot turkey sausages. I removed the meat from the casings and followed the recipe. I also added 1 stalk of celery. I did use about 1 tab of EVOO to brown the meat, onion, garlic & celery. I had fresh basil so I used it instead of the dried. Thank you for a quick and delicious dinner. Best part is that there a leftovers for another night.

 

[Debbwl]

A delightfully healthy version of the real thing must admit I still like the full calorie high fat version, but this is the version I will make much more often than the sinful one. Cut the recipe in half for just the two of us and it worked out perfectly. We both thought the addition of fennel seed was fantastic. Thanks so much for the post.