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Looking for another side to your weeknight meal? Try this air fryer eggplant for a new favorite. They are super crunchy and can be dipped in a flavorful mayonnaise sauce, if you want to have a snack.
Ingredients
- Eggplant
- Salt
- Flour
- Course black pepper
- Eggs
- Plain bread crumbs
- Parmesan cheese
- Olive oil spray
Making the air fryer eggplant:
When you choose an eggplant, make sure that it is firm, but not much bruising on it. Wash and dry the eggplant before you slice it. An interesting fact about the eggplant: it is considered a fruit, because it comes from the flower that develops on the eggplant.
The eggplant that we are making here is delicious from the addition of breadcrumbs and cheese, and nice and crunchy from cooking in the air fryer. We also made this recipe in the convection oven putting them on a wire rack. They both came out nice and crisp, but the air fryer cooked a little faster.
Preparing the eggplant:
Peel the eggplant and slice into about ½ inch slices. You can make them a little thicker if you want, but they seem to stay crunchier if they are thinner.
Put the slices of eggplant onto a wire rack over a sheet pan lined with tin foil for easy cleanup. Sprinkle them with salt and let them sit for about ½ hour. You can see in the picture that some of the moisture in the eggplant is coming out. When this is done, rinse off the salt with a little water and pat dry.
Make three bowls to coat the eggplant. One has flour with the salt and pepper. This will be the first coating on the slices. Then, dip the floured slice into the bowl of egg and water, so that the bread crumb coating will stick. Next, dip the slice into the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese till coated.
We set about 6 slices of eggplant onto a piece of tin foil in an air fryer basket; this many will fit in the air fryer. Use a metal basket or rack if putting in the convection oven.
Put the eggplant slices into the air fryer at 390ºF for about 8 minutes, then turn them and cook for another 3 minutes or till browned and crispy. If using the convection oven, make the temperature 450ºF and cook for 8 minutes and then turn for another 5 minutes or till golden.
These are great to eat as is, or make a dipping sauce for added flavor. We made our sauce with ½ cup of mayonnaise and ½ cup of minced garlic; really tasty!
Egg plant in the Air Fryer
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 mins.
- Yield: approximately 21 slices 1x
- Category: vegetable
- Method: air fryer
Ingredients
- 1 firm eggplant
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 cup of flour
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
- 2 eggs
- water
- 1 cup plain bread crumbs
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- Olive oil spray
Instructions
- Peel the eggplant and cut it into ½ inch slices.
- Sprinkle salt onto the eggplant and let it sit for about 20 to 30 minutes on a wire rack with tin foil on the bottom.
- When you see the water on top of the eggplant slices, it is ready.
- Rinse off the slices of eggplant, then let them dry.
- Using three bowls, make one with flour, salt, and course black pepper, the second bowl with 2 eggs and 3 Tablespoons of water, whipped up till incorporated. The third bowl has the plain bread crumbs mixed with the parmesan cheese.
- Dip one slice of eggplant into the first bowl, then the second bowl, then the third bowl.
- Put about 6 slices on an air fryer basket on top of a piece of tin foil and spray with a little olive oil spray.
- Put the slices and tin foil into an air fryer at 390ºF and bake for about 8 to 9 minutes. Turn over and bake for another 3 to 4 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.
Dipping Sauce:
- In a bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and minced garlic.
- Refrigerate until chilled and ready to use.
Keywords: eggplant- air fryer
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