Tender slices of eggplant, air-fried to crispy perfection! Our Crispy Air Fryer Eggplant will find a permanent spot on your dinner table!
Recipe Overview
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!
List of ingredients
- 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 we’ll get back to you.
How to make this crispy eggplant
- Salt the sliced 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, and set them aside. In another small bowl mix panko and Italian Seasoning. Dip each eggplant piece into the egg mixture, followed by the panko mixture to coat.
- Air fry at 380F/193C for 4 minutes.
- Flip and cook for an additional 4 minutes.
Serving ideas
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.
Try serving crispy air fryer eggplant with our Air Fryer Sweet and Spicy Chicken or our Air Fryer Turkey.
It also goes really well with any Italian-style pasta dishes. This Deconstructed Lasagna would be delicious with a side of crispy eggplant.
Should I peel the eggplant?
You don’t need to peel the eggplant for this recipe. 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 people might prefer skinless eggplant, and that’s ok! Removing the skin won’t change this recipe at all.
How to pick an eggplant
Here are 3 key tips tips for when you’re picking an eggplant at the grocery store:
- Choose an eggplant that is medium-sized, about 8 to 10 inches long.
- Your eggplant should have shiny purple skin without many blemishes.
- A good eggplant will feel slightly heavier than it should be. If it feels very light, don’t buy it.
More air fryer veggie picks
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.
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.