The Best Air Fryer Eggplant Fries (2024)

Posted: Nov 4, 2020 · Updated: Nov 4, 2020 by Tonje

Air fryer eggplant fries are a fantastic eggplant side dish that you can make in a matter of minutes. Quick, simple and tasty - perfect for weeknight meals!

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Eggplant is probably one of my favorite vegetables, and I absolutely love preparing it as a side dish.

Air fryer eggplant fries are so easy to make, and only require a few minutes of preparation. They are also incredibly flavorful, and pair excellently with a variety of meals.

As the dish has very simple ingredients, it's healthy, vegan, vegetarian, low carb, keto friendly, dairy free, gluten free and nut free - in other words the perfect dish if you're catering for multiple dietary requirements!

Ingredients

For this simple recipe, all you need is a regular eggplant, olive oil and your choice of seasoning. In this recipe we use salt, paprika, garlic powder and cumin, but you can find other seasoning suggestions below!

You will also of course need an air fryer. I use a small air fryer with a basket, which works really well for this recipe.

Instructions

Start by preheating your air fryer to 360 °F / 180 °C. Meanwhile, slice your eggplant into sticks as seen below. Try to keep them all at the same thickness to allow them to cook evenly.

Add the eggplant sticks to a bowl, and add olive oil and seasoning. Toss to coat evenly. If you want to change up the seasoning, or add any extra flavors, this is the time to do so!

Transfer the eggplant to your air fryer, and air fry for about 8-10 minutes depending on the size of your eggplant. Shake the basket halfway through the cooking time to ensure that it cooks evenly.

Serve the eggplant fries immediately, optionally with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and parmesan.

Top tips

Here's all of my best tips to succeed with this recipe:

• Make sure not to overcrowd the air fryer basket. Keep the air flowing to ensure that the eggplant cooks evenly.
• Shake the basket halfway through the cooking time. This is again a big part of ensuring that the pieces cook evenly.
• Cut the eggplant into fries of the same thickness.

Serving suggestions

Serve your air fried eggplant as a side dish with your favorite main courses. Here are some of my recommended pairings:

• Lemon Pepper Chicken Breast - These simple, but juicy chicken breasts are so good.
• Pan Seared Pork Loin Steaks - Super easy boneless pork chops cooked in a skillet.
• Air Fryer Pork Belly - Crispy pork belly with lots of flavor.
• Olive Salad - A tasty Mediterranean salad with olives and feta.
• Chicken and Bacon Pasta Bake - This hearty pasta bake is perfect for family dinners.

Variations

If the seasoning suggested isn't quite your thing, here are some other variations you might want to try:

Honey and garlic: Garlic powder and honey makes the eggplant sticky and sweet.

Lemon and thyme: Lemon zest, lemon juice and thyme is a great Mediterranean flavor combination that works really well with eggplant.

Spicy: Add a little chili powder or harissa paste if you prefer the eggplant to be spicy. This is probably my favorite variation to make the dish!

Leftovers

Leftover air fried eggplant can be stored in a sealed container in a refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can serve it cold if you like, or reheat the fries in a microwave or air fryer.

I also like to use any leftovers in other dishes. You can easily add the eggplant pieces to salads, curries, stews and more. This is a great way to make sure that your leftovers are used, and to avoid food waste!

Frequently asked questions

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• Air Fryer Baked Potato
• Air Fryer Carrots
• Za'atar Roasted Eggplant
• Air Fryer Cauliflower
• Air Fryer Zucchini Chips
• Air Fryer Broccoli

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