The Italian in me, loves fried eggplant. I usually make it by frying on the stove or by baking in the oven. Decided to try it with my air fryer and boy was I glad I did. It came out fantastic. So little oil used, and the crisp and flavor was spot on. I will totally make this again. ( I actually made 2 times in 1 week already…shhh don’t tell anyone.)
Check out my recipe below. Keep in mind. All air fryer are not the same. You may need to adjust cook time and temp to your specific air fryer. Also, there is several ways to remove the moisture from the eggplant. For example you can put in a colander and sprinkle with salt. However, this recipe I didn’t do that at all. Using the air fryer the eggplant didn’t’ get mushy at all.
Air Fryer Fried Eggplant
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, peeled or unpeeled
2 eggs, whisked
1 1/2-2 cups Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/2 T Italian seasoning
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
olive oil or cooking spray
Directions: Prepare the eggplant by slicing into 1/2″ rounds, discard the top. Add eggs to one deep bowl and season with salt and pepper and add the Italian bread crumbs to another bowl. Whisk in the cheese and seasonings.
First dip the eggplant rounds into the egg mixture, making sure to remove any excess egg. Next dip the eggplant into the breadcrumb mixture and fully coat on both sides and edges. Remove and set aside. Finish breading each slice of eggplant.
Preheat the air fryer. (Note: my unit preheats at 400 for 4 minutes) Spray the air fryer pan (or basket) with olive oil or olive oil cooking spray. Place the eggplant rounds flat as to not overlap. Spray the top of eggplant with olive oil. Place in the air fryer at 375 for about 12-16 minutes, flipping or shaking half way through. Once you flip the eggplant, if you feel the breading is a little dry spray with a little more oil. I would continue to watch the eggplant and cook to your desired crispiness.
Remove the eggplant from the air fryer and sprinkle with salt if so desired and enjoy. See below with how I served my fried eggplant. I served with fresh mozzarella and burrata. Just drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and some dried parsley and salt.
Note: I was fully prepared to cook my eggplant about 20 minutes or so, just based on a few recipes I’ve seen. However, after I started watching it, I decided to remove before it got to dark in color. Mine cooked rather quick. Just note that every air fryer is different. These times and temps are based on my specific air fryer.
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