Growing up as a vegetarian surrounded by meat eaters, the cooks in my life would often make “meaty” meatless dishes. My mother, bless her heart, would often make 2 versions of dinner: one with meat for everyone else, and another one for me – and eventually my little sister as well, who also became a plant-based eater at a young age. For instance, I remember this spaghetti pie she would make that had crumbled beef in it, but for us, she made a mini spaghetti pie using meatless crumbles instead. It’s kind of a weird dish to describe, but I used to love it.
My grandma’s go-to “meaty” dish for me was eggplant parmigiana. In typical fashion for her drastic personality – a trait that everyone knew her for – she knew that I liked it, so she proceeded to make eggplant parm just about every week for me for years…. that is, until I developed an eggplant allergy that left me with an itchy throat, mild hives, and the need to always have Benadryl on hand in my purse should eggplant touch my lips.
At my mom’s urging, I tried eggplant a couple of times after my initial allergic reaction, only to get the same results. As much as I loved eggplant, I decided that my life was more important than eggplant parm. And so, I moved on to my next favorite veggie parm dish: zucchini parmigiana.
From then on during family dinners at my grandma’s, she would often bake a mini zucchini parm dish and stick a post-it on it that read, ‘For Nikki’ – meaning, don’t touch my zucchini!
Recently my mother-in-law was asking me how I like to make zucchini parmigiana, and it reminded me that I hadn’t made it in quite awhile. In usual foodie fashion, once I had it in my brain, I simply had to make zucchini parm ASAP.
This time, I decided to make zucchini parm sandwiches. There’s this pizzeria in my hometown that makes an amazing eggplant parm sub that my grandma used to order for me (yet another way that she stuffed me full of eggplant until I developed an allergy to it!) and with their dish in mind, I made Italian zucchini parmigiana sandwiches.
Zucchini is one of my favorite veggies. I throw it into so many different dishes, it makes its way into my dinners at least once a week. For this recipe, I dip slices of it into beaten egg and Italian bread crumbs, sauté it in a bit of olive oil, then layer it onto thick Italian bread with marinara sauce, ricotta, mozzarella and fresh basil.
I bake the sandwiches until crispy, and voila!
My zucchini parmigiana is healthier than my grandma’s version because I lightly sauté it instead of smothering it in oil as she tended to do. For these sandwiches, I used whole grain fresh bread, but white Italian bread is fine too. Just make sure it’s freshly baked, because that’s the best way to enjoy these sandwiches! Nom, it’s just so good – a cheesy, veggie filled taste of my childhood.
Crispy Zucchini Parmigiana Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 large zucchini
- 1-1 lb loaf fresh thick Italian bread
- 5 oz mozzarella
- 1/2-2/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup ricotta
- 1/2 cup marinara sauce
- 1/4 cup fresh basil
- 3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Trim the zucchini ends off and thinly slice it.
- In a small bowl, beat the egg. Place the bread crumbs in another small bowl (I started off with 1/2 cup, and needed a bit more in the end to finish dusting the zucchini.).
- Dip the zucchini slices first in the egg, then cover with the bread crumbs, then transfer to a plate. Continue until all zucchini is egg dipped and breaded.
- Heat 2 TBSP of the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium low heat.
- Place about half of the zucchini slices in the pan and sauté for 3-5 minutes, or until brown and crispy. Flip all slices over and cook the other sides until browned. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain any excess oil, and repeat with the rest of the breaded zucchini.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Slice the Italian bread horizontally in half, then cut into 4 large pieces. Brush the bread with the remaining olive oil.
- Slice the mozzarella thinly and roughly chop the fresh basil.
- Spread 2 TBSP of ricotta onto the bottom half of each sandwich. Arrange zucchini slices onto each sandwich. Place an even amount of mozzarella onto each sandwich on top of the fried zucchini. Spoon about 2 TBSP of marinara sauce over the mozzarella, and top with chopped basil.
- Place the bread tops over the zucchini parmesan, and bake the sandwiches in the oven until lightly crispy, around 10 minutes.
Tell me… Do you like zucchini and/or eggplant parmesan? What’s a favorite dish that your grandma used to make you?
Oh my gosh! I am literally eating lunch as I read this post and I WANT this!! Forget my stir fry..give me the zucchini parm!
That is so sad that you developed an eggplant allergy! I love eggplant! I’ve never tried zucchini parm but I have to make this.
Also, I love your photos!
Oh my gosh, YES you need to try zucchini parm! It’s just like eggplant parm only it doesn’t make my throat close up!! Hehehe. Thanks girl!
Your grandma sounds like such an amazing woman. I love that she saved you your own plate with your name on it so no one else would eat it. So sweet!
And the zucchini parm sounds even better than eggplant parm to me! These sandwiches look like heaven!
Yes, she was super thoughtful and always looking out for each of us in her own way. Thanks, Sarah!
Aw my mom used to do the same thing! She is a vegetarian so we usually had two versions of dinner…and I know those meatless crumbles I know too well, especially after I stopped eating red meat. 🙂 they’re actually really delicious, if not very healthy haha.
That being said, vegetarian dishes can be amazing! This one looks so good — especially with that fresh bread!
Aww, so you know exactly what I’m talking about! Yeaaaa, I try not to eat imitation meat things too much, but once every week or two I’ll incorporate them into a meal.
Yum! I never though of putting the zucchini on a sandwich! I love breaded zucchini 🙂 Definitely making this.
I hope that you try it, it won’t disappoint!
Zucchini parmesan?!?! Sign me up! These look delicious!
Thanks for stopping by, Ashley!
These look amazing!! …and how lovely is your mother! That is so sweet that she made vegetarian options for you and your sister! My mum does that with gluten free options. Me and my sister in law are both gluten free and she makes dishes for us to enjoy while the gluten eaters eat something else! It’s very thoughtful! Gotta be thankful for mums!
Awww, love it! I am definitely very thankful for my mom!!
YUM!! This looks so tasty!! I was pescetarian for 10 years and feel your pain. My mom would always make 2 dinners as well! I’ve never had zucchini parmesan..but I think it’s in my near future! Thank goodness it’s almost zucchini season!
Ah yes, my local farm stand has had a ton of zucchini lately so I just keep buying em and eating em and buying em and eating em…. 🙂
Oh man. I need to make this recipe ASAP! Sounds SO good and fairly easy. Favorite dish of my Nana’s – split pea soup. And I seriously made her recipe at LEAST a dozen times in the last few months and ate it for lunch EVERY day. And I had to double the recipe every time too haha.