The Air Fryer Is Eggplant Parm’s Best Friend
Making eggplant Parmesan is an ordeal: slice it, drain it, bread it, fry it, all before layering it to bake. It’s worth it, but I often think twice before deciding to do it. Or I did – until I realized that to make the process a little easier and a lot faster, I could use an air fryer. This handy machine can take care of some of the most frustrating tasks and bring Eggplant Parmesan back into your regular diet.
A good eggplant parmesan has stacks of creamy eggplant coated in a light, crispy breading. These flavorful discs are then topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, resulting in a towering piece of texture on your plate. Unfortunately, I’ve had a few eggplant parms that were too greasy or even just soggy, which can happen if you don’t take the time to drain the eggplant before you start breading it.
And that, my friends, is what we call a pain in the ass. Luckily, an air fryer can help.
Use a deep fryer to prepare eggplants
Draining the eggplants can take 40 minutes to an hour. An air fryer simplifies this process. Instead of salting and draining the eggplant slices in a colander for an hour, you can place the slices in the air fryer at 350°F for five to seven minutes to produce ¼- to ½-inch slices.
The eggplant becomes drier and slightly flexible, but not dried out. Place the drained slices on a cooling rack and do the same with the next batch of slices.
Since you’ll likely have to dry the eggplants in several batches, start breading them in batches to keep the process going. While you coat the first batch in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, the next batch will cool on a wire rack and the third in the air fryer. Once all the slices are breaded, leave them on a wire rack to dry the egg a little. You can then start frying them on the stove or continue air frying for a lighter result.
You can also air fry instead of cooking in oil.
Frying eggplants in a pan with oil bothers me because the smell of cooking oil permeates my apartment. Air frying avoids this and requires much less effort. Working in small batches as you did when cooking, begin air frying the first set of breaded eggplants. Spray or lightly coat them with vegetable oil on both sides and toss them into the air fryer basket. Air fry them at 350°F for about 10 minutes, turning halfway through cooking, or until nicely golden brown. Cool the finished cakes on a wire rack while loading the next batch.
Once all your rounds are finished, you can continue layering and baking your eggplant parm as usual, but I wouldn’t blame you for dipping them in a little soy sauce and munching on them right away. Now that the eggplant slices dry much faster, you have time to make a second batch just for snacking.