His recipe described eggplant seasoned with butter, herbs, cinnamon, other spices, and grated Parmesan cheese, which was then covered with a cream sauce of egg yolks before being baked in an oven.

The modern version with Parmesan and tomato ragù as key ingredients appears several years later in Ippolito Cavalcanti's cookbook Cucina teorico-pratica, which was published in Naples in 1837.

According to Wright, this suggests that the dish evolved in Naples during this time frame, which coincided with the increasing popularity of the tomato in Italian cuisine.

[citation needed] In the United States and Canada, chicken parmesan and veal parmigiana are frequently served as a main course, often with a side of pasta.

A similar veal dish is known in Italian as cotoletta alla bolognese, which excludes tomato sauce but includes melted Parmesan cheese and prosciutto.

[16] In Argentina and in other neighboring South American countries, veal or chicken parmigiana is topped with ham and served with French fries.

Minced meat seasoned with Lippia (Caribbean oregano), bell peppers, red onion, garlic, and tomato sauce can also be added.