Description
No need to bread and fry the eggplant, because when smothered in sauce and melted cheese, there’s no reason for the extra step-or the extra fat and calories. This dish combines excellent nutrition and cheesy goodness with a sneaky omega-3 crunch from walnuts.
Ingredients
- nonstick cooking spray
- ¾ cup walnuts, crushed
- ¼ cup dry bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 large eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- sea salt to taste
- ¾ cup marinara sauce
- 8 ounces shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 pinch dried oregano, or to taste
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat an air fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) according to manufacturer’s instructions. Liberally coat basket with cooking spray.
- Combine crushed walnuts
- bread crumbs
- and basil in a bowl. Set aside.
- Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer in the prepared air fryer basket (slight overlapping is okay). Mist the tops of the eggplant slices liberally with cooking spray and lightly sprinkle with garlic powder
- black pepper
- and sea salt. Top with walnut bread crumb mixture.
- Air-fry the rounds until eggplant is soft and golden brown. 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from the air fryer and top each slice with about 1 tablespoon marinara sauce and 1 heaping tablespoon mozzarella cheese. Then
- sprinkle the slices with Parmesan cheese
- dried oregano
- and red pepper flakes.
- Air-fry until the cheese is hot and bubbly
- 5 to 7 minutes.
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 25 mins
Servings: 2