This eggplant air fryer recipe is so good! Lightly breaded vegetable snacks or a side dish that will make you buy this purple veggie way more often.
Have you made eggplant air fryer dials yet? They are incredibly delicious, and one of our easy air fryer recipes we’ve made here on The Typical Mom blog. (originally published 5/20, affiliate links present)
I have both a Ninja Foodi machine and traditional electric air fryer too. It doesn’t matter what brand you have, the directions are the same for them all.
NOW you’ll be able to get that great crispy deep fried taste with just a light spray of oil. No submerging or extra calories needed to get that great crunch!
First grab one of these babies from the store….
If you don’t know what to look for you should just choose a medium size. Feel around the outside and make sure there isn’t a soft or mushy spot.
Think of it like a big bell pepper kinda’, as far as the texture. If there’s a wrinkled or soft area you don’t want that. Nice and firm and not too large.
If you love air fryer recipes too, here are some resources to start with:
- THIS is my Favorite Air Fryer!
- You can find more Air fryer recipes here, we have Ninja Foodi recipes as well; bookmark them both!
- Grab the best air fryer cookbook here.
- Here’s a printable air fryer cook times chart here for your fridge.
- It has temp. and times for making the best frozen foods for air fryer too.
- Then join our Facebook page where you can share and find more ideas you’ll love. We have a Foodi social media group as well.
What are the benefits of eating eggplant?
They are actually rich in a number of important nutrients and high in antioxidants.
- It is said that this vegetable may reduce the risk of heart disease and promote healthy blood sugar control.
If eaten simply without breading it could help with your weight control and may have cancer fighting benefits as well.
Before you go any further, make sure to LIKE our air fryer recipe Facebook page here.
There you’ll get a new meal or snack to try each and every day. All will be simple and include “normal” ingredients found at your local grocery store.
- I think this large purple vegetable is highly underrated and overlooked. If you’ve been intimidated to try and cook it you’ve gotta’ try this!
- It is similar to our ever popular air fryer zucchini chips but with a new veggie.
Air Fryer Eggplant
- 2 shallow bowls
- Eggplant – cut into dials
- All purpose flour
- Egg
- Panko bread crumbs
- Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper
Olive oil cooking spray will make it ultra crispy.
We will with the eggplant sliced into 1/4 inch slices. Make sure each piece is the same thickness. They will likely be different sizes as the top is generally narrower than it’s base but that is okay.
Should eggplant be peeled?
Generally it is said that yes you should because the skin can be a bit bitter but in this case we didn’t.
Since it is sliced this way there is very little on each piece and the breading masks any negative flavors.
Then a quick trip into the flour to coat the outside and into the egg it goes.
- Next you’ll want to dip your air fryer eggplant into your seasoned breadcrumb mixture so each piece is nicely coated.
- you could add a bit of grated parmesan cheese into the mix too for more of an eggplant parmesan taste
I always like to preheat my machine for 5 minutes at the correct temperature beforehand so the food cooks evenly.
Lay them into your air fryer basket in a single layer so they’re not overlapping. This will ensure you get that crispy crunchy fried eggplant texture.
- Set to 380 degrees for 8 minutes, then flip to the other side for a 3 minute cook time. This will give the ultimate air fried crunchy texture on both sides.
- Remove when they are golden brown to your liking and enjoy as is or with some marinara sauce for dipping.
How do you know when a mini eggplant is ripe?
Ideally you should pick them when skin is glossy. Dull fruit indicates that it may be over ripe already.
Both under and over ripe picks tend to taste more bitter. Pick white eggplants before skin turns yellow
Could you make gluten free fried eggplant? Yes you could use a gluten free flour and alternative bread crumbs like these instead.
That way everyone can love on them together!
Eggplant air fryer recipe
And if you forget to defrost dinner you can still make air fried frozen shrimp to perfection tonight.
If you love this then we have a few more goodies you need to try out next:
- Try air fryer frozen mozzarella cheese sticks!
- You can even make homemade french fries in your handy dandy kitchen appliance in under 20 minutes now.
Air fryer green beans rock too. You may not believe it but my kids love these so much they’ll eat an entire plate as a snack.
Want to see a few of my favorite things you might want to write on your Christmas list this year??!! 😉 Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!
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Eggplant Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant sliced 1/4" rounds
- 1/2 c all purpose flour
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 c Panko breadcrumbs
- 1.5 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/8 tsp salt
- olive oil spray
Instructions
- Use 3 shallow bowls. Whisk the egg in one, put flour in another and mix Panko breadcrumbs with seasonings in the third.
- Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Slice stem end off, discard. Slice into 1/4" rounds. One at a time dip into the flour, then into egg, then press breadcrumbs on both sides so they're nicely coated.
- Put into preheated air fryer basket so they're not overlapping, spray lightly with olive oil spray.
- Cook for 8 minutes, flip and spray tops lightly, then cook for another 3 minutes (times will vary depending on how thick they are and how brown you want them).
Diana
Monday 12th of April 2021
You may all think this is crazy but here goes......My husband and I went on a bread making and eating frenzy when covid started. It only took a short time to realize we were getting huge! Nothing goes better with homemade soup than oven fresh crispy bread until......I made these eggplants as bread substitutes with our soup. I followed the recipe except cut them a little thinner. Now when we have our soup, we look forward to crispy and tasty without bread. Give it a try!
Kendra King
Monday 22nd of February 2021
Good afternoon! I made this recipe yesterday using Panko & Italian breadcrumbs & I threw in some of my own seasoning and it turned out amazing. The flour coating before the egg wash really helped with the eggplant's moisture - otherwise it just normally can slide right off. My husband loves fried eggplant and would love for me to make it more, however, I'm not big on fried food at all. It's just so much oil & heavy grease. I'm very health conscious and will bake or grill as much as possible. We bought a Ninja Foodi Combo Air Crisper/Pressure Cooker this summer and have really enjoyed how easy it is to make healthy dishes in half the time. I decided to see if I could use it to make air fried eggplant and found your recipe. It worked like a charm! The real proof was how quickly he was eating the slices of eggplant as fast as I could make them. They were perfectly crispy on the outside while still tender on the inside, but not greasy from being fried in a gallon of oil. And no mess. What a relief. With such an easy recipe for the air fryer, I just put in our grocery order and included 2 more eggplants so I can make more for his lunches for work. Thank you so much. This is a great recipe that anyone can make, it's super healthy and is easy to customize. It's definitely one that I'll be adding to our regular menu, which makes my husband super happy. And for anyone asking, don't skip on the cooking spray - it really crisps them up - spray on each side when you flip, you won't be sorry. Perfection! (insert chef's kiss!)
Have a great week!
The Typical Mom
Monday 22nd of February 2021
So glad it was a hit, you're welcome.
Jenna
Thursday 18th of February 2021
Well done! I’m vegan so I used Just Egg instead of real eggs and added some different spices and my fiancé said it was probably the best dish I’ve made thus far. Thank you!
The Typical Mom
Thursday 18th of February 2021
OH yay!!
Nichole
Wednesday 10th of February 2021
Love this! You did say flour then egg to bread crumbs! Went back to make sure that I wasn't losing my mind! LOL! You wrote it correctly at the top of the page, but then said egg, flour and bread crumbs down at the actual recipe. Looking forward having it again!
The Typical Mom
Wednesday 10th of February 2021
Sorry about that, made that tweak to the bottom one so it is correct in both locations. Glad it was a hit!!
Sue
Tuesday 15th of December 2020
Is it egg first, then flour, then breadcrumbs or flour, egg, breadcrumbs? Your instructions tell both ways.
Jennifer
Thursday 28th of January 2021
I noticed that too. Last time I followed recipe but this time I'm going with flour first. We'll see...