Category Archives: Eggplant

Recently, I had an eggplant hanging around and I had some leftover spaghetti sauce, so it made sense to make eggplant parmesan. I didn’t really want to take the time to fry it — plus, I really hate the mess that frying makes. And, while I do LOVE fried foods, I’m also trying to be more conscious of what I’m shoving into my face.

So, I decided to oven-fry my eggplant — and it came out DELICIOUS! It made for fantastic eggplant parm. And tonight, I decided to oven-fry another eggplant and stuff it into pitas with hummus and call it dinner.

Ok, ok, I know you’re wondering, “What the hell is oven-frying!?!” Basically, by oven-frying, I’m referring to breading a product and then cooking it in the oven at a super high heat so that it gets a nice, crispy texture that’s somewhat close to the texture you’d get when frying. I do this a lot with poultry, fish, and veggies — this is the first time I’ve tried it with eggplant.

I think it might actually be the best version of oven-frying I’ve tried. It was super crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. Aside from eggplant parm, and pita stuffing, I this eggplant would also be great on homemade pizza or just munching on as a snack.

Crispy, Oven-fried Eggplant

1 eggplant, cut into 1/4” rounds
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup egg beaters (or a few eggs, beaten)
1/2 – 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Spread the eggplant out over a cookie sheet. Sprinkle liberally with salt and wait 15-20 minutes. The salt will draw out water from the eggplant and you will see water start pooling up on top of the eggplant. After 15-20 minutes, use a paper towel to dry off the water — this will also remove some of the excess salt.

Set up a breading station — flour, eggs, and bread crumbs. Dip the eggplant into the flour and shake off the excess. You only need a thin layer of flour. Then dip into the egg and then the bread crumbs. Evenly coat the eggplant with breadcrumbs.

Place the breaded eggplant slices on a cookie sheet that you thinly coated with oil (or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Flip the eggplant and bake for another 10 minutes. Eggplant should be brown and crispy.