Crispy Oven-Baked Eggplant Stack

Crispy Oven-Baked Eggplant Stack

Yummy eggplant!  I must admit I have a kickin’ eggplant Parmesan recipe, however, it would not be compliant for this blog!  Although I had lightened it up over the years, I’m always looking for ways to reduce ingredients.  Sometimes we make it hard to find the vegetable with all of that oil, cheese and sauce!

If you really want a stripped-down version, there is also roasted eggplant…that’s about as minimal as you can get. I like to add it to my Vegged-Out Pasta. But I do like it on the crunchy side, too.

So…if I don’t fry it, how do I get it crispy?

Here are some suggestions:

  • If you have convection, make sure you use it to “air fry” your eggplant
  • Use a basket or a crisping tray so air can circulate around the eggplant
  • Bread Crumbs vs Panko: I find if you use panko the crumbs are bigger and it takes more of it to coat the slices.  By using regular bread crumbs I was able to coat  9 eggplant rounds with only 1/3 cup!  That’s literally 5 tablespoons divided by 9 rounds = nothing!
  • Experiment with other coatings like corn meal or even whole grain cereal or crackers that have been pulsed a few times in the food processor.

These are great on their own, dipped in sauce or covered with a tomato-based sauce like my Lentil Ragu.

BEWARE – They are addicting!

I bet the small Japanese eggplants would make great appetizer-sized bites….hmm…next time.

Recipe – Serves 2 to 3

1 medium to large eggplant

Kosher salt

1/3 cup of seasoned bread crumbs

1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese

1 egg plus one egg white

Trim ends of eggplant and peel with vegetable peeler.  Slice into 1/2 inch rounds. Set slices onto baking sheet and sprinkle with kosher salt on both sides.  Let sit for about 20 minutes to draw out any bitterness. Rinse and pat dry the slices.

Set up a dredging station with egg and eggwhites whisked on one plate and the bread crumbs and cheese mixed on another. Dip each eggplant into the egg mixture and then into the bread crumbs mixture.

Place each round onto a crisping tray or baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees (25 degrees less if using convection) until they begin to brown and become crispy, about 15-20 minutes. Flip slices half way through cooking time.