Craving Italian comfort food without the guilt? This Healthy Air Fryer Eggplant Parmesan is your perfect solution. Ready in under 20 minutes, this hearty, meatless meal delivers all the flavors you love in a lighter, healthier package.
With its crispy breaded exterior, tangy tomato sauce, and gooey melted cheese, this dish tastes just like it’s been fried—but it only uses a fraction of the oil. The air fryer works its magic, creating that signature crunch without the added calories. It’s an easy and satisfying dinner your whole family will enjoy, combining traditional flavors with modern, healthier cooking methods.
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Total Time
20 minutes
Ingredients
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1 medium eggplant
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2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
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¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese + more for topping
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1 teaspoon garlic powder
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1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
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½ teaspoon kosher salt
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¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
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2 large eggs
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1 cup tomato sauce
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1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
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Freshly chopped basil – optional for topping
Instructions
- Slice the ends off of the eggplant using a sharp knife, about ¼ inch from the stem. Then slice the eggplant into ½ -inch thick rounds and place the eggplant onto a small baking sheet or plate. Pro tip: you can also place the sliced eggplant onto a paper towel to let it dry a bit after slicing it if it looks wet.
- Make the breadcrumb mixture – Combine the breadcrumbs + parmesan cheese + garlic powder + Italian seasoning + salt & pepper into a medium-sized shallow bowl and mix to combine into a breadcrumb mixture.
- Set up a dredging station: crack the eggs into another medium size shallow bowl, season with salt & pepper and whisk well to combine. Then set up the breadcrumb mixture + the egg mixture+the sliced eggplant next to each other and dredge each piece of eggplant in the egg, then the breadcrumb mixture, pressing the breadcrumbs into the eggplant as you dredge them. Then place the breaded eggplant slices back onto the baking sheet. Continue until you have breaded all of the eggplants.
- Preheat the air-fryer to 390 degrees F (this usually takes 5 minutes). Once the air-fryer is preheated, spray the basket with olive oil cooking spray and place the eggplant pieces into the air-fryer, spraying each with olive oil cooking spray. Close the basket and cook for 8 minutes, flipping each piece over and spraying the other side with cooking spray halfway through the cooking time.
- Once they are done and super crispy, top each with some tomato sauce, then some shredded mozzarella cheese. Close the air-fryer and cook for 2-3 more minutes to melt the cheese.
- Remove, top with freshly chopped basil, and enjoy.
Notes
- Use good quality ingredients like grass-fed meat, organic veggies and good egg roll wrappers (Like Nasoya).
- Don’t skip the fish sauce! This is the umami ingredient that really ties all of the flavors together.
- While you are assembling the egg rolls, keep the assembled ones on a clean plate covered with a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out.
- Make sure not to overfill the egg rolls or they may crack. I used about 1-2 tablespoons of the egg roll filling in each one and it was the perfect amount.
- Roll and seal them pretty tightly so they don’t break open while cooking.
- Spray them with olive oil spray before and during cooking. This will get them super crispy and is still so much less oil than frying.
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