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Tender slices of fresh eggplant are breaded and air-fried with marinara sauce and loads of melty mozzarella cheese for the perfect weeknight meal!
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Sweet eggplant, a crispy, savory breading, and loads of melty cheese make a classic trio of flavors!
- Skill Level: This easy recipe is beginner-friendly; just bread, air fry, and layer.
- Recommended Tools: The air fryer makes wholesome and delicious foods without the fuss and mess of deep-frying.
- Serving: Serve with spaghetti or a Caesar salad for a delicious meal!
Easy Eggplant Parmesan Ingredients
- Eggplant: Eggplant is super easy to prep; no peeling needed! Just rinse, pat dry, and slice evenly so it cooks up perfectly. Look for medium, firm eggplant without bruises for nice uniform rounds.
- Breading: Flour, breadcrumbs, seasonings, and parmesan cheese are all it takes for this simple breading. Try a panko mixture for more texture and garlic or onion powder for more flavor.
- Sauce: Buy your favorite brand or make your own marinara and have lots leftover for other recipes!
- Variations: Use chicken breasts to make a classic chicken parmesan in the air fryer. Don’t have an air fryer? Place the breaded eggplant rounds on a rack over a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 350°F for 10-15 minutes or until browned and crispy.
How To Make Eggplant Parmesan in the Air Fryer
- Bread: Dip eggplant slices in flour, egg, and breadcrumb mixture (recipe below).
- Spray: Coat each slice with cooking spray.
- Cook: Air fry in a single layer until golden brown, flipping halfway through.
- Top: Top with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and air fry until the cheese melts.
Garnish with parsley, basil, or a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and serve hot.
Leftover Love
Keep leftover air fryer eggplant parmesan in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Freeze portions without the sauce and cheese up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating in the air fryer with a scoop of extra marinara and fresh mozzarella cheese.
Enjoy leftovers tucked into a pita bread or a wrap for a hearty workday lunch, or serve on top of mashed potatoes, homemade egg noodles, or low-carb zucchini noodles.
More Ideas for Eggplant
Did you enjoy this Air Fryer Eggplant Parmesan? Be sure to leave a rating and comment below!
Air Fryer Eggplant Parmesan
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant or two small
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs beaten
- ⅔ cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup marinara sauce plus additional for serving if desired
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- thinly sliced fresh basil leaves or chopped fresh parsley for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 380°F.
- Slice eggplant into ½" slices and dry with a paper towel.
- Mix bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder in a medium bowl.
- Place flour in another bowl and whisked eggs in another.
- Dip the eggplant slices in the flour, then the egg, and finally into the bread crumb mixture.
- Spray each side of the eggplant with cooking spray and place in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
- Cook for 5 minutes then flip the slices over and cook for another 4-5 minutes.
- Place marinara sauce and shredded cheese on top and cook for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Garnish with fresh parsley or basil and serve with additional sauce if desired.
Notes
- Cook in batches, and do not crowd the air fryer basket.
- Store leftovers in the fridge in a covered container for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to a month.
- Reheat in the air fryer or under the broiler until heated through and crispy again.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Air Fryer, Appetizer, Dinner, Entree, Lunch, Main Course, Snack
Cuisine American, Italian
Diet Vegetarian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
These look so good that it makes me want to run out and get an Air Fryer!
This is now my favorite eggplant parmesan recipe – so much better than the oil-fryed pan version that Mom made! I made it just as described and it turned out perfectly, eggplant cooked just right and golden crumb crust. I did not spray all of the eggplant with oil, as I ran out of Pam spray, but it still turned out great. This is a keeper! Thanks!
So happy to hear that, Jenny! I am glad it worked out for you.
Made this tonight. Eggplant straight from the garden. It was delicious! All the flavor and so much less oil! Wonderful!!!
Ooooo, garden eggplant! Delicious.
it came better than my expectations & it is first attempt to make it in air fryer. with light crunch.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I am wondering how the best way to freeze the slices would be. Do you think cooking and then freezing, or freezing first? Thanks
We’ve tried freezing leftovers but haven’t tried freezing them before so I can’t say for sure. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out Terri!
Followed recipe exactly and got a crisp on the outside, tender on the inside result! And no salting of the eggplant beforehand to draw out moisture, just patted dry with paper towels. Terrific! And pretty dang fast as well!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Carol!
so good! I will definitely make this again. I also added more spices to the breadcrumb mixture (onion and garlic powder). I did use a larger eggplant so I didn’t get many out of it. I think next time I will get a few smaller ones.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Maddie!
Thanks for all the air fry recipes. Air frying isn’t just done in a counter-top appliance any more, though. My whole oven does air frying! I could air fry a turkey, if I wanted to.
It is a nice recipe. Thx
Worked perfectly! Thanks so much. Made it gluten free.
So glad you loved it Susan!
This is great! I made it with one small change…lower temp 370 and 6 mins on each side. Great and easy!
I had to cook on 400 to get it to brown, also added minutes. I think I would cut thinner also
Thanks for the feedback, Bonnie! You can definitely cut them to your preference, if cutting thinner just be careful not to overcook them!
Hi, so you dont have to dry out the eggplant first? Just slice and go? Awesome!
No need to salt or dry out the eggplant, just dab it dry before dipping.