This delicious Air Fryer Eggplant has a crispy coating and a meltingly tender center. It’s a wonderful and healthy way to serve this tasty low carb veggie!
If you love eggplant, and you love your air fryer, then this recipe is right up your alley. It was certainly right up my alley! I am actually munching on a few slices as I write this.
This Air Fryer Eggplant recipe is a re-make of an old favorite that I haven’t touched in years. And now I wonder why on earth I waited so long. I took slices of eggplant, dipped them in an egg wash, coated them in low carb parmesan coating, and air fried the golden brown perfection.
So tasty, easy, and quick! They are delicious as a side dish, an appetizer, or even as part of a healthy keto breakfast.
Why you will love it
It can be tough to get a truly crispy coating with keto ingredients. Pork rinds can do a good job and I’ve used them in recipes like Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops and Keto Chicken Tenders.
But this time I used a different method that I have experimented with in the past. I used a combination of almond flour and whey protein powder for dredging the eggplant slices. This creates a lovely light coating that crisps up nicely in the air fryer.
Add in some garlic powder, a touch of paprika, and plenty of grated Parmesan, and you get so much wonderful flavor in each bite. The eggplant slices become wonderfully tender inside, and almost melt in your mouth!
Ingredients you need
- Eggplant: Get a nice-sized eggplant, about 14 ounces or so, for this recipe. You could also use two smaller eggplants. Make sure the skin is firm and unblemished.
- Salt: You do want to salt the eggplant for a little bit before cooking. I like to use kosher salt.
- Almond flour: You could presumably use any nut flour here, although it will change the appearance a little.
- Whey protein: Use unflavored protein powder. I don’t know if other protein powders will work, although egg white protein is probably your next best options.
- Parmesan: Finely grated parmesan helps make for a flavorful crisp exterior.
- Avocado oil spray: This helps grease the air fryer basket. But I also sprayed a little on each slice of eggplant to help it brown and crisp up. You could use another healthy oil spray option.
- Seasonings: Garlic powder, paprika, cayenne.
Step by Step Directions
1. Salt the eggplant: Slice the eggplant into 1/3 inch thick slices and arrange in a single layer. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and let sit 30 minutes, then blot dry with a kitchen rag.
2. Prepare the coating: In a shallow bowl, whisk together the almond flour, protein powder, Parmesan, garlic powder, paprika, remaining salt, pepper, and cayenne.
3. Whisk the egg: In another shallow bowl, whisk the egg with the water until well combined.
4. Dip the slices: Dip each slice of eggplant into the egg, shaking off the excess, then dredge in the almond flour mixture and shake off the excess.
5. Arrange in the air fryer: Preheat the air fryer to 360ºF and spray the air fryer rack(s) with the oil. Arrange the eggplant slices in one layer. You may need to work in batches, depending on the size of your air fryer.
6. Air fry the eggplant: Lightly spray the tops of the slices with more avocado oil spray. Air fry for 12 to 14 minutes, flipping once during cooking, until the coating is browned and crisp.
Tips for Success
I know I am going to get questions about replacing the whey protein so let me head you off at the pass. You can use crushed pork rinds and it should turn out well. You can also simply use more almond flour, but in my experience, the coating doesn’t crisp up as nicely.
How many slices you get will depend on the size and shape of your eggplant. The one I used was a classic Italian eggplant, and I got 15 slices. Some were wide and others were smaller.
Make sure that the eggplant is fully coated in the almond flour mixture, but also make sure it isn’t too thick. You don’t want thick layers of coating as it doesn’t cook through as well.
If you don’t have an air fryer, you can simply fry these in a skillet. You will need 2 tablespoons of oil for each batch, and you will want to wipe out the skillet between batches so it doesn’t burn in the pan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Many recipes call for salting eggplant prior to cooking. The usual logic is that this makes it less bitter. But most modern varieties of eggplant aren’t very bitter at all. This Air Fryer Eggplant has you salt the slices simply to reduce some of the moisture before cooking, so that the coating can crisp up better.
You do not need to peel eggplant before frying or cooking. For this recipe, I recommend leaving the skin on, as it holds the eggplant together better after frying.
This crispy keto eggplant recipe is best served fresh, but it can be stored in a covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can re-crisp the rounds in a toaster oven or air fryer at low heat.
More keto air fryer recipes
Air Fryer Eggplant Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant, (about 12 to 14 ounces)
- 3/4 tsp salt, divided
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup whey protein powder, unflavored
- 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp water
- Avocado oil spray
Instructions
- Slice the eggplant into 1/3 inch thick slices and arrange in a single layer. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and let sit 30 minutes, then blot dry with a kitchen rag.
- In a shallow bowl, whisk together the almond flour, protein powder, Parmesan, garlic powder, paprika, remaining salt, pepper, and cayenne.
- In another shallow bowl, whisk the egg with the water until well combined.
- Dip each slice of eggplant into the egg, shaking off the excess, then dredge in the almond flour mixture and shake off the excess.
- Preheat the air fryer to 360ºF and spray the air fryer rack(s) with the oil. Arrange the eggplant slices in one layer. You may need to work in batches, depending on the size of your air fryer.
- Lightly spray the tops of the slices with more avocado oil spray. Air fry for 12 to 14 minutes, flipping once during cooking, until the coating is browned and crisp.
Notes
Nutrition
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Imloved these, my husband too, but he would like a dip to gomwith it. On the picture above I see you have a dip. Which dip would you recommend?
That’s just some homemade marinara sauce! 🙂
Thank you!
Love all your recipes!
Can I use my conventional convection oven, with a rack on cookie sheet?
Seems like you will need to experiment, since I don’t know how your oven works.
Thank you for this recipe! I love eggplant and this was so good. I am looking forward to trying this with green tomatoes. From the south, I’ve been missing my fried green tomatoes since switching to keto. I think this coating will taste great on tomatoes as well!
Let me know how it goes!
I have not tried this yet – but sounds yummy and I do love eggplant. I have a question, since this is one of your older recipes. How do you think this would do in an air fryer? Love your blog and look forward to receiving my daily emails.
I honestly can’t say without trying it myself but give it a go!
Excellent results. Delicious taste and texture. Easy prep.
This is my first time having eggolant sine i was young.. I tried it when i was young and didnt like it. I thought my taste might have changed and decided ti try ir again. I absolutely loved it. I did not have parmesan cheese, so after i fried them i grated some mozerella cheese on them and cooked them in the oven until the cheese melted. Thank you for giving me a new taste for eggplant. Cheers!
I used zucchini instead of eggplant. It was delicious!
Great recipe. I baked my rounds on a greased cookie sheet @425 for about 20 minutes each side. Wonderful
Since I don’t fry anything, I’m trying your idea. Thanks for the suggestion.
Thank you for the recipe!! I can’t wait to try it!
Awesome recipe! I found that the discs soaked up a lot of the oil. I didn’t deep fry them, I shoulda kinda!
But they were a definite hit! Thanks! I love your blog!
Can anyone suggest a good sauce to partner…
Hi Carolyn
How many eggplant slices should one be eating? Im just worries because while it is low carb each slice is 271 calories? Surely 1 slice would not fill anyone up. I would probably eat 4 which a consumption of 1084 in one meal :/ Does this seem right? Or is 271 calories the total 6 serves you make?
It’s about 2 slices per serving, but it’s meant to be a side dish, not a full meal. So pair it with some protein or something and you should have a nice dinner.