Tender slices of eggplant, air fried to crispy perfection! Crispy Air Fryer Eggplant will find a happy place on your dinner table now that you know how to make it perfectly.
CRISPY AIR FRYER EGGPLANT RECIPE
Thin slices of tender eggplant, cooked up crispy in your air fryer will be one of your favorite vegetable sides dishes.
You only need 4 ingredients to make this crispy air fryer eggplant. I just love a good recipe that doesn’t require a lot of fuss!
Enjoy these crispy eggplant slices on their own, dipped in your favorite marinara sauce, or turn them into Air Fryer Eggplant Parmesan. It’s up to you! Or maybe some Crispy Air Fryer Eggplant.
INGREDIENTS IN CRISPY AIR FRYER EGGPLANT
Eggplant – choose a medium sized eggplant for this recipe.
Eggs – Eggs help the seasonings and breadcrumbs stick to your eggplant slices.
Panko Breadcrumbs – Panko gives the most crunch when it comes to air fryer recipes. Use a gluten free version if needed.
Italian Seasoning – This blend of Italian herbs goes so well with eggplant dishes.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below and I will get back to you.
HOW TO MAKE CRISPY AIR FRYER EGGPLANT
- Wash your eggplant and slice off the ends. Slice your medium eggplant into 1/4 inch pieces. Place eggplant on a lipped cookie sheet. Salt the eggplant and and let it sit for 15 minutes. Flip the eggplant slices over and salt again. Let sit again.
- In a small bowl, beat eggs. In another small bowl mix panko and Italian seasoning. Dip each eggplant piece into the egg mixture, and then into the panko mixture to coat both sides.
- Cook the eggplant in the air fryer as directed in recipe.
- Flip over eggplant slices and cook again in the air fryer as directed.
These numbered steps match the numbered photos above and are for illustration purposes. For the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please see the recipe below.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CRISPY AIR FRYER EGGPLANT
Crispy eggplant is excellent on its own as a satisfying crunchy snack, but it’s also amazing as a veggie side dish.
Try serving crispy air fryer eggplant with Air Fryer Sweet and Spicy Chicken or even Air Fryer Turkey. Eggplant may not be a traditional side dish but it will be for you once you try it.
This vegetable side dish would also go really well with any Italian style pasta dishes. This Deconstructed Lasagna would be delicious with a side of crispy eggplant.
SHOULD I PEEL EGGPLANT?
For this eggplant recipe, you don’t need to peel the eggplant. The skin of the eggplant gives the edges a nice texture that I really like.
However, if your eggplant is very large or the skin seems tough, it’s absolutely fine to remove the skin. Some of you might even prefer skinless eggplant, and that’s ok! Removing the skin won’t change this recipe at all.
HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD EGGPLANT
You may be wondering how to pick a good eggplant from the grocery store. I have some tips for you!
Choose an eggplant that is medium sized, about 8 to 10 inches long. Your eggplant should have shiny purple skin without many blemishes.
Pick up the eggplant with your hands. A good eggplant will feel slightly heavier than it should be. If it feels very light, skip it.
OTHER AIR FRYER VEGETABLE RECIPES TO TRY
We have a few other air fryer eggplant recipes that we love. Try Air Fryer Eggplant, which is a non-breaded, roasted style eggplant. You may also like to try making Eggplant Parmesan in the air fryer.
Another similar recipe to this one is Air Fryer Fried Green Tomatoes. If you like to bread and then air fry veggies you should make Air Fryer Zucchini Fries as well.
Pro Tips
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Crispy Air Fryer Eggplant
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Medium Eggplant
- 2 Eggs
- 1.5 cups panko breadcrumbs GF if needed
- 1 T Italian Seasoning
Instructions
- Wash your eggplant and slice off the ends. Slice your medium eggplant into 1/4 inch pieces. Place eggplant on a lipped cookie sheet. Salt the eggplant and let it sit for 15 minutes. Flip the eggplant slices and salt again. Let sit again for 15 minutes.
- In a small bowl beat eggs, set aside. In a another small bowl mix panko and Italian Seasoning. Dip each eggplant piece into the egg mixture, followed by the panko mixture to coat. Make sure you do both sides.
- Cook the eggplant in the air fryer at 380F/193C for 4 minutes.
- Then you are going to flip over each eggplant piece and cook for an additional 4 minutes at 380F/193C.
Notes
- Pro Tip: This recipe can be made in the air fryer unit with a basket or the air fryer oven. If you are using the air fryer oven, use the middle rack and select the “Air Fry” function.
- Choose an eggplant that is 8-10 inches long and feels heavy for its size.Â
Nutrition
Air Fryers can vary greatly. Please take the time to learn your specific air fryer. You may need to adjust times and temperatures based upon your air fryer. All though this website attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, the information should only be considered an estimate. Varying factors such as different product types, different brands, etc. can change nutritional information. It is your responsibility as a consumer to read all labels to make sure the ingredients fit your dietary needs as well as calculate your own nutritional information as a double check.
What a delicious appetizer, we made this today for the pre game superbowl spread! So delicious!
Yum! There is really nothing better than crispy eggplant slices. This came out perfectly in my air fryer.