You’ll never believe how crunchy & incredibly delicious Breaded Eggplant is until you make this homemade dish. You’ll be hooked in one bite!
Breaded Eggplant is an easy appetizer or main dish with a crunchy outside and a tender, flavorful inside! Coat each slice of eggplant in bread crumbs and spices, a little Italian dressing, and salty parmesan cheese, and with one bite, you’ll fall in love and be able to kick that fear of eggplant out the door!
Purple Power
I have heard many times over how many folks either don’t like eggplant or are too scared to try it because they don’t know how to prepare it. I get it, I do, but I can promise you that if you make eggplant well once, you’ll want to make it again and again. The flavors are light but savory, and the texture is filling without being heavy, which makes breaded eggplant excellent for appetizers or tasty sandwiches with lots of cheese! Pair this crunchy eggplant with a great salad or your favorite pasta dish for a meal the family will totally love!
The traditional and much-loved Eggplant Parmesan is another must-try, and every meal deserves Easy Pizza Dough Breadsticks!
Other Recipes to Serve with Breaded Eggplant
- How do you take the night from “meh” to “wow”? Make a pitcher of Simple Red Sangria to impress your guests!
- Serve up another crowd favorite with an easy-to-make dish of Baked Mozzarella Sticks!
Ingredients
Eggplant: When shopping for eggplant, choose smaller ones that are firm without feeling hard. Also, look for a green stem, so you know it’s fresh!
Breadcrumbs: For this recipe, you will need Italian-style breadcrumbs to bread the eggplant slices.
Dressing: Pick up Italian dressing for coating the eggplant slices.
Seasoning: Bring more flavor to the recipe by adding garlic powder and onion powder.
Cheese: Choose between grated parmesan cheese or a block of parmesan you can grate yourself.
How to Make Breaded Eggplant
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and grease a baking sheet with non-stick spray. Slice the eggplant into 1/2-inch slices and set aside.
STEP TWO: In a shallow bowl, whisk together the breadcrumbs, garlic powder, onion powder, and parmesan cheese. Add the Italian dressing to a separate shallow bowl. Now your dredge station is ready.
STEP THREE: Dip each eggplant slice into the Italian dressing and coat each side. Then coat the slices in the breadcrumb mixture. Place each slice on the baking sheet so that they are in a single layer.
STEP FOUR: Bake the breaded eggplant for 6-8 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Enjoy immediately!
Tips for Success
- Serve breaded eggplant with a variety of your favorite dips, such as garlic aioli, tzatziki, marinara, and more!
- Create your eggplant sandwiches by tossing a breaded eggplant slice on a roll and topping it with a slice of mozzarella and a healthy dollop of marinara sauce! You can even stick it under your oven’s broiler to melt the cheese.
- Store breaded eggplant in the fridge for 2-3 days or freeze them for up to 3 months.
Does eggplant need to be soaked ahead of time?
Soaking sliced eggplant has become more of an option as eggplants have become more tender due to hybridization. There are some who are adamant that eggplant should be soaked and then salted to make the eggplant more tender, absorb less cooking oil, and also to draw out any bitterness. Many believe that that process is no longer necessary as current breeds of eggplant are already pretty tender and ready to be cooked. The choice is yours, and you may have a preference after trying each way!
Do you peel an eggplant before cooking it?
When deciding whether to peel, the answer usually comes down to the size of the eggplant. Larger eggplants sometimes have thicker, more bitter peels, so peeling is a great idea. Smaller and younger eggplants do not have the same thick peels, so peeling is usually unnecessary.
More amazing veggie dishes to share!
- Sausage Stuffed Cherry Peppers
- Zucchini Fritters with Greek Yogurt Ranch
- Parmesan Garlic Cabbage
- Pesto Bruschetta
- Baked Parmesan Tomatoes
*This post was originally posted on 10/08/2012.
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant
- ½ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ¾ cup Italian dressing store-bought or homemade
- Fresh parsley chopped, for garnish
- Marinara sauce for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Cut the eggplant into 1/2-inch slices.
- Make a dredge station by combing the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and onion powder in a shallow bowl. Then pour the Italian dressing into another shallow bowl.
- Dip the eggplant into the salad dressing coating both sides. Then dip each side into the bread crumb mixture, making sure to get a good coating.
- Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. (You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your baking sheet.)
- Bake for 6-8 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve warm or at room temperature with marinara sauce for dipping.
Liz says
Sounded good…followed the recipe as given. Didn’t brown in the oven, so tried frying it a bit to brown it. Looked better but couldn’t taste the eggplant for the seasonings in the bread crumbs and dressing. Going back to my tried and true milk and egg dip.
Ginny says
looks yummy, will try for sure. Once, a very long time ago, convinced your dad that breaded fried egg plant was FISH and he ate it and loved it. Not sure he would have if he knew up front it was egg plant, but we were teenagers then, can’t fool him anymore, but he’s more open minded now, will let you know