Season’s Choice Eggplant Cutlets

I’ve long been a fan of the breaded eggplant fries Aldi occasionally sells as a limited-time special. They come out of the air fryer nice and crispy and make a great accompaniment to a sandwich or burger.

Whenever Aldi sells eggplant fries, they often sell eggplant cutlets as well. I picked some up recently. When these are in stock at Aldi, you’ll find them in the store’s freezer aisle.

Season’s Choice Eggplant Cutlets are an Aldi Find, which means they’re only in stores for a short time. Each store gets one shipment, and after that sells out, they’re gone until whenever Aldi decides to bring them back. Aldi does not offer online ordering for these if they’re not in stock at your local store.

These cost $4.99 for a 16-ounce package at the time of publication. With about five servings per package, that comes out to about $1 per serving, or about 31 cents per ounce.

The package describes these as “Italian style breaded eggplant cutlets” and says they’re a “great meal starter for sandwiches, casseroles & Eggplant Parmigiana.” They have a Field to Frozen seal indicating “locked in freshness” and “premium quality.” This is a product of the Dominican Republic.

If you’re looking out for allergens, these contain wheat.

The full ingredients list is: eggplant, soybean oil, wheat flour, water, corn flour, salt, dextrose, corn starch, spices, garlic powder, extracts of paprika and annatto, and natural flavors. It would be helpful to know what “spices” these eggplant cutlets contain.

A 3-ounce serving has 170 calories, 9 grams of total fat (12% DV), 4 grams of saturated fat (20% DV), 280 mg of sodium (12% DV), 21 grams of total carbohydrates (8% DV), 2 grams of dietary fiber (7% DV), 1 gram of total sugars, less than 1 gram of added sugars (2% DV), and 2 grams of protein.

The package has directions for cooking the eggplant cutlets in a skillet or in a conventional oven.

To cook in the skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the skillet. Add frozen eggplant cutlets and brown for 1 minute and 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Turn to brown both sides.

To cook in the oven, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place frozen cutlets in a baking dish and bake for 13 minutes.

The back of the box also has a recipe idea for Eggplant Parmigiana. I decided to try the recipe, which was easy to make and required mostly ingredients I already had in my pantry and refrigerator. It was simple to layer all the ingredients in a large casserole dish and bake for 35 minutes.

Eggplant has a mild flavor, so the sauce and cheese are the highlights in this recipe, which my Italian food-loving taste testers approved of. It’s a good option if you like dishes like lasagna but don’t want all the carby pasta. Served alongside a salad with all the fixings and some fresh fruit, this made a nice vegetarian dinner.

See the full recipe below.

Eggplant Parmigiana:

Ingredients — 

• 16 ounces Season’s Choice Eggplant Cutlets
• 24 ounces marinara sauce
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup of Parmesan cheese (I used shredded rather than grated)
• 1 tablespoon of chopped basil (I used dried basil I had in my pantry because Aldi doesn’t sell fresh basil)

Directions — 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a casserole dish, spread half of the marinara sauce and 1/2 cup of mozzarella evenly on the bottom of the pan.
3. Layer eggplant cutlets on top of the sauce and cheese.
4. Top the cutlets with the remaining sauce and cheese.
5. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped basil.

The Verdict:

Season’s Choice Eggplant Cutlets feature lightly breaded and seasoned eggplant slices. These make a good base for casseroles, sandwiches, or Eggplant Parmigiana. The back of the box has an easy recipe for Eggplant Parmigiana, which we made. It came out great.