Updated: / Posted: / By Sujatha Muralidhar
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'Crispy Baked Eggplant Recipe /Easy Crispy Eggplant' is a perfect recipe for snacks/appetizers. The best way of celebrating. Best for use as the main ingredient for makingsandwiches, lasagnas.
Yeah... Celebrating with crispy baked eggplant, I have upgraded to my domain "https://www.pepperbowl.com." Please continue to provide me the same support and assistance.. as usual. It has been an incredible journey from 'pepperbowl.blogspot.com' to 'pepperbowl.com', with the most enjoyable learning curve.
At first, I started my blog just as an album for my newly tried food images, but within a week, I was loaded with many pictures (I can't call them 'photographs' as they served ONLY as proofs of my cooking).
Blogging is pretty addictive and made me think it is a little serious... Ah. This is my story of 'how a blogger has become my Home Page.'
Looking for other vegetarian recipes? Have you looked into homemade baked tortilla recipe or baked hot pocket cookies?
This Delicious crispy baked eggplant is great for an appetizer. It goes very well with sandwiches and lasagna. Etc. If you try this, I'm sure you will repeatedly go in for this exact recipe.
Marinating the eggplant slices in salt releases a bitter black liquid, which changes the texture of the eggplant. This makes them rich in texture and crispy when eggplant slices are baked. Let's go to the recipe now.
How to bake eggplant crispy?
The critical factor that determines the crispy baked eggplant's crispiness is its moisture content. This eggplant becomes soggy when we do not address this issue.
The eggplants tend to be soft and moist after they get cooked. It is because the moisture prevents it from becoming crispy, so our first goal in this recipe is to remove its moisture. There are multiple ways to remove its water; the trusted method I depend on is ‘eggplants sweating.’
What does eggplants sweating mean?
The process of removing the moisture and the bitterness from the eggplant is called eggplant sweating.
Earlier, eggplant sweating was done primarily to remove its bitterness. But the hybrid varieties we get nowadays do not taste bitter, so it does not require sweating either. Forget the good old days; this crispy baked eggplant requires sweating to make it firm and crisp after baking.
Eggplants sweating can be done using salt. For this, sprinkle salt on the eggplant slices. And stack them together, and keep weight on top of them. This pressure helps to remove the excess moisture from the eggplant and makes perfect crispy baked eggplant.
How to serve crispy baked eggplant?
I love to have this crispy eggplant to serve the way it is. The nice crispy breaded crust with a hit of spices makes it perfect to serve as the snacking dish or as the meal's first course. But when doing it for others or yourself on a special occasion, here are some ideas to make easy, crispy baked eggplant ultimately delicious.
Ranch. The creamy texture would be a nice pair to these oven-baked eggplant slices.
Dijon mustard and white vinegar. This adds a nice kick and mild tang to crispy baked eggplant.
Sriracha Sauce. Thinking of making this recipe with a wow factor, serve them with a hot and spicy sauce like this.
Garlic dip. Combine onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper with melted butter.
Tomato ketchup. This is the classic companion that never fails.
How to make crispy baked Eggplant Recipe
The preparation- The first and foremost step is the same as any other recipe that starts with washing and cleaning. Wash and clean the eggplants well. I wash them with warm water to remove unwanted substances that coat the vegetable.
Cutting- Slice eggplant evenly to the same thickness. A quarter inch of consistency would be ideal for this baked breaded eggplant.
Eggplant sweating- For this, spread all the slices and sprinkle salt. Flip and do on the other side as well. Then, stack them one above the other.
Keep a cast iron pan or heavy-bottomed pan for about 45 minutes. This process will take out the moisture and bitterness. You could see thick black liquid as a residue around the eggplant slices.
Then, pat dry them with a paper cloth.
Make the crust- Add cornstarch, cayenne pepper, and salt with a bit of water in a mixing bowl. The mixture should be neither too thick nor too thin. Thicker corn starch will make it super hard and chewy.
Coat them- Set two bowls for corn starch mixture and fill the other with panko bread crumbs. First, dip it in the liquid bowl and cover it with the bread crumbs on both sides. Shook off the excess, if any.
Bake- The final step to make crispy baked eggplant is to grease the baking sheet or line it with parchment paper. Arrange the slices without crowding. Bake it in the preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Flip them occasionally.
Serve hot.
Other appetizer recipes you may like
- Deep-fried cauliflower
- Lentil stuffed peppers
- Baby potato fry
- Mini naan pizza
- Spicy appetizer recipes
Printable recipe card
Crispy Baked Eggplant Recipe
‘Baked Eggplant Recipe / Easy Crispy Eggplant’ is perfect recipe is great for snack / appetizer. Best way of celebrations.Best for using as the main ingredient for making sandwiches, lasagnas.
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour
Servings: 2 people
Calories: 249kcal
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant sliced to ¼ inch thickness
- 5 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt or as required
- ¼ cup water
- 5 tablespoon bread crumbs /panko bread crumbs preferably-or as needed
Instructions
For prepping
Slice eggplant for ¼ inch thickness.
Spread them apart and sprinkle salt on each slice.
Over chopping board, stack them together vertically, by having 4-6 slices in each stack.
Place a heavy cast iron pan(for its heavy weight) above all the stacked eggplant. Try adjusting the slices to balance the heavy weight pan.
Set it aside 30 minutes.
Take out the pan. Wipe off the black bitter liquid released by the eggplant.
Pat dry the egg plant slices with kitchen towel. Make sure you remove the black liquid.
For dipping
Set two bowl ready.
In the first mixing bowl, add cayenne pepper, cornstarch, salt, and water.
Combine well.
In the second bowl, add bread crumbs.
For arranging
Preheat the over for 350 degrees Farenheit.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Dip each eggplant slice in the first bowl liquid mixture.
And drop it in another bowl, coat the eggplant well with breadcrumbs.
Arrange them leaving 1-inch space in between.
Make and bake them in batches.
For baking
Bake it for 20 minutes in the 350 degrees in the preheated oven, by flipping them occasionally.
Remove it from the oven, and allow it to cool.
Serve as appetizer.
Notes
- This recipe is best suitable for appetizer/snack.
- The leftovers can be used to making eggplant lasagnas, casseroles.
Nutrition
Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 774mg | Potassium: 680mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 2258IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 2mg
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Author Sujatha Muralidhar
**Disclaimer: The nutritional information provided is an approximate estimate only.
Do not forget to check out another recipe for Apple Chips here at PepperBowl.
