This Ninja Foodi air fryer eggplant chips recipe is so good! Lightly breaded vegetable snacks or a side dish that will make you buy this purple veggie way more often. These are kinda’ like making our popular air fryer cucumber chips, but thicker.
Have you made air fryer eggplant chips yet? They are incredibly delicious, and one of our easy air fryer recipes we’ve made here on The Typical Mom blog. Sliced thick and made into chips you can get them crispy with breadcrumbs on the outside. (affiliate links present)
Air Fryer Fried Eggplant
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.
Ninja Foodi Eggplant Chips
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….
How do you choose a good eggplant?
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.
Air Fryer Eggplant Chips
If you love extra crispy food and quick recipes, here are some resources to start with:
- My Favorite models are this Cosori or for a dual machine, the Foodi.
- You can find more Ninja Foodi recipes here as well; bookmark them both!
- It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. this is how to preheat air fryer first.
- Here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
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. The general rule is that the darker the color of the plant the better it is for you. Other dark veggies you can make crispy that are also healthy for you would be our air fryer kale chips and spinach chips too.
If you haven’t started using this often you’re in for a real treat. From snacks to homemade dinner ideas too, you’ll get a new meal or snack to try each and every day with this crisper machine. 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 slicing it into small finger foods like our ever popular air fryer zucchini chips but with a new veggie. Olive oil cooking spray will make it ultra crispy. That is the key to cooking all the things.
Ingredients
- 2 shallow bowls to coat with breading
- Eggplant – cut into dials
- All purpose flour will coat the outside
- Egg should be whisked
- Panko bread crumbs we love over Italian
- Italian seasoning or seasonings of choice
- Salt and pepper are the basics
And other seasonings of your choice. You can add some into the breadcrumbs or just sprinkle on when it is done and ready to pop into your mouth.
Should eggplant be peeled?
Generally it is said that yes you should because the skin can be a bit bitter, we did with our air fryer eggplant fries. Since it is sliced this way there is very little on each piece and the breading masks any bitterness you might want to avoid. You will want it also so it doesn’t want to fall apart, it will keep it in tact in a sense with it on.
How to Make Eggplant Chips in Air Fryer
- 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.
- 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 and when it feels firm and no signs of it being soft or beginning to turn mushy.
Can you make gluten free fried eggplant?
Yes you could use a gluten free flour and alternative bread crumbs like these instead. If you left it off entirely it would have a very different flavor and texture for sure, but possible. That would be the lowest carb and calorie method, but not quite as good.
Using alternative methods and ingredients to make it safe for those with celiac disease to enjoy it quite possible, and others would likely not notice much of a difference. That way everyone can love on them together!
Want to make a whole meal with these babies in the same machine? You totally can throw in a few wings for finger food fun. Even if you forget to defrost dinner you can still make air fried frozen shrimp and cook to perfection tonight with this.
How to save leftovers
If you do have leftovers we talk about how to freeze eggplant raw or already cooked right here. You wouldn’t want to bread, fry and then save because the texture when reheated is just off and not worth saving. It is best saving just the slices uncooked for best results.
Other easy air fryer finger food recipes you’ll love
- Try air fryer frozen mozzarella cheese sticks!
- Our air fryer eggplant parm is done in bite sizes similar to this but not breaded.
- You can even make homemade air fryer 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.
Air Fryer Eggplant Chips
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
- 2 bowls
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).
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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!
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!
So glad it was a hit, you’re welcome.
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!
OH yay!!
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!
Sorry about that, made that tweak to the bottom one so it is correct in both locations. Glad it was a hit!!
Is it egg first, then flour, then breadcrumbs or flour, egg, breadcrumbs? Your instructions tell both ways.
I noticed that too. Last time I followed recipe but this time I’m going with flour first. We’ll see…
This recipe was absolutely what I was looking for! I added a few more spices of my own and they came out PERRRFECT! Spraying the Pam cooking spray on the tops was a nice tip because it helped them get a great crunch!
I will be adding eggplant to my regular diet now, so thanks!
I followed your directions by placing the cut eggplant into the egg first, then the flour and then the bread crumbs. The bread crumbs did not stick so I had to go back and put egg back on the eggplant and then added bread crumbs. Kind of a mess.
Yes you do need to gently press bread crumbs on depending on how fine they are. If they’re quite large it may need an extra dip.
these were delicious!!!
You don’t mention how or when to use the olive oil cooking spray. Do I spray each round, or the rack?
Sorry, added. Spray lightly when in basket so outsides crisp up well.
Love it. Will make again.