Once you make this oven-fried crispy eggplant, you will never stand at the stovetop again, toiling over hot oil. This method allows you to make beautifully crisp breaded eggplant using very little oil and very little effort. Win-win.

A plate of crispy eggplant rounds.

I fell in love with America’s Test Kitchen‘s eggplant parmesan recipe for the method, which relies on the oven, not the stovetop. The eggplant rounds bake on preheated baking sheets with a small amount of oil— there is no standing at the oven, frying the eggplant batch after batch.

ATK developed the method to solve the oil-laden, pan-fried eggplant problem that leads to heavy, greasy eggplant parmesan. Oven-frying saves time to boot.

I love ATK’s eggplant parmesan, but rarely do I make the full recipe. Why go through all that effort to make irresistibly, utterly perfect, crispy eggplant only to soften it all in sauce and cheese? I do understand the appeal of the crispy-gone-soggy texture, but for me, nothing beats eating the just-fried eggplant on their own with a bowl of sauce on the side.

With a few slices of cheese, some fresh basil, and a hunk of bread, you can make a meal out of them. We do anyway.

How to Make Crispy Oven-Fried Eggplant, Step by Step

First, gather your ingredients. For this recipe, you need one eggplant, about a pound, or a few small eggplants:

two eggplants on a table

Slice the eggplant into rounds, then set up a breading station: flour, eggs, breadcrumbs:

A breading station on a table: bread crumbs, eggs, eggplant tossed with flour.

Once all of the eggplant rounds have been breaded…

breaded eggplant on a cooling rack

… transfer them to a preheated sheet pan spread with 3 tablespoons of oil:

just-baked breaded eggplant rounds on a sheet pan

Prepare some homemade sauce:

marcella hazan tomato sauce in a pot

Then serve the eggplant with sauce on the side or with some bread, cheese, and fresh basil.

A plate of crispy eggplant rounds, tomato, mozzarella, bread, and basil.

Heaven!

A plate of deconstructed eggplant parmesan.
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A plate of crispy eggplant rounds.

Crispy, Oven-Fried Eggplant

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4.9 from 16 reviews

  • Author: Alexandra Stafford
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 4 as an appetizer 1x
  • Diet: Vegetarian
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Description

Once you make this oven-fried crispy eggplant, you will never stand at the stovetop again, toiling over hot oil. This method allows you to make beautifully crisp breaded eggplant using very little oil and very little effort. Win-win.

Notes: 

This is a long-time favorite recipe from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. What I love about this recipe is that there is no standing over the stove frying the eggplant in seemingly never-ending batches. This step is eliminated by baking the breaded eggplant slices on preheated baking sheets. The eggplant emerge from this step crispy and golden and are irresistible. I love serving them with homemade tomato sauce (this one or this one), fresh mozzarella, and basil.

UPDATE: 8/28/2026: I recently made a half recipe of the original and found the breadcrumb and flour quantities were way more than needed. I also liked making a half recipe in general, so I re-wrote the whole thing as a half recipe. If you like the original version, find it here: Crispy Panko Eggplant. 

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup (32 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1.25 cups (84 grams) panko breadcrumbs 
  • 1/3 cup (38 grams) grated Parmigiano Reggiano
  • 1 globe eggplant, about 1 pound, sliced into 1/4– to 1/2-inch thick rounds
  • 3 tablespoons (42 grams) neutral oil such as avocado or olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • homemade tomato sauce, such as this one or this one, for serving
  • fresh basil, mozzarella, focaccia, for serving, optional

Instructions

  1. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the center rack of your oven, and heat the oven to 425° F. Place the flour in a large bowl. Beat the eggs in a shallow dish. Combine the breadcrumbs and Parmigiano Reggiano in a second shallow dish. 
  2. Place the eggplant in the large bowl with the flour and toss to coat. (Note: I like to use my lidded 4-Quart Pyrex bowl for this step, and I shake the bowl vigorously.) 
  3. Working with 2 to 3 eggplant rounds at a time, shake off any excess flour, dip into the eggs, then transfer to the breadcrumb-parmesan dish. Coat the rounds in the breadcrumb mixture, then transfer them to another dish. Repeat until all the eggplant rounds are breaded. 
  4. Remove the preheated baking sheet from the oven. Pour the oil onto the sheet, tilting it to coat it evenly. Spread the breaded eggplant in a single layer over the hot sheet. Season with salt. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the eggplant is well browned and crisp on the first side, about 20 minutes. Flip the eggplant slices over. Season with salt. Return the pan to the oven and bake until the second side is browned, about 10 more minutes.
  5. Let cool briefly, then transfer the rounds to a platter and serve with tomato sauce on the side, as well as mozzarella and fresh basil if using.
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Appetizer
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Italian