Ninja Foodi/Air Fryer Eggplant Parmesan

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I bought my Ninja Foodi a month ago, and I’ve finally taken it for a test drive with a lighter but still nicely crispy version of an Italian classic. Eggplant parm is one of my favorite comfort foods, wonderful with spaghetti or tucked into some crusty Italian bread. By using just a light spray of olive oil and air frying, you get that same light crispness without all of the extra fat of pan-frying. This disappeared faster than I could get a good photo, but it’s so good! Well, I could have put my creation behind some portrait box lighting, spritzed it with some water to gloss it up, run to the store for some basil for garnish and contrast for a pretty picture…but who has time for that? We needed to eat!

What you’ll need:

• Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker/Air Fryer or conventional air fryer
• Eggplant, flour, Italian-style bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, mozzarella, eggs, marinara sauce (if you’re using jarred sauce, Bertolli Organic Olive Oil, Basil, and Garlic is one of my favorites)
• Olive oil and olive oil sprayer

Recipe

Peel and then slice eggplant to about 1/4 inch slices. Lightly salt both sides.

Give it a light coating of all-purpose flour

Dip it into egg wash mixture

Coat each side lightly with Italian breadcrumb mixture

Spray top of cutlets with olive oil, then cook on Air Crisp setting at 380 degrees for about 8-9 minutes. Flip cutlets, spray with olive oil, and cook for another 4-5 minutes. I put a layer in the basket, inserted the Cook and Crisp layered insert that came with the Foodi, and then added another eggplant layer.

Top each cutlet with marinara sauce, mozzarella, and freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.

Place back in air fryer basket and cook 1-2 minutes, or place under broiler for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted and slightly browned. My eggplant was pretty large, so I opted for the broiler this time, to get them done all at once.

Recipe

• Servings: 4
• Time: 30 min
• Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
• salt
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
• 1 jar marinara sauce, or homemade
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese, grated or cut into thin rounds
• Freshly-grated parmesan cheese, to taste

Directions

1. Lightly salt eggplant slices.
2. Dip each slice of eggplant into flour mixture, lightly coating it to dry it out a bit.
3. Dip slices, one at a time, into beaten eggs, coating both sides.
4. Dip slices, one at a time, into breadcrumbs, lightly coating both sides.
5. Preheat Foodi/Air Fryer to 380 degrees F. Spray cooking surface of fryer basket, and place cutlets in a single layer inside fryer basket. Spray top layer of cutlets with olive oil. Cook for 8-9 minutes.
6. Flip cutlets over, spray with olive oil, and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes, until tender and lightly browned.
7. Spoon your marinara sauce over each cutlet. Add mozzarella, then a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
8. Close the crisping lid. Set to Broil and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until cheese is melted and slightly browned. Serve with pasta or as a sandwich on crusty Italian bread.