Air Fryer or Oven Crispy Eggplant Chips with Spiced Yogurt Dipping Sauce

Eggplant chips coated in a seasoned rice flour batter and air fried or baked until crisp. Served with a spiced yogurt dipping sauce for a gluten free vegetarian appetizer.

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Crispy baked eggplant chips with spiced yogurt dipping sauce are a perfect vegetable appetizer for early Fall. You're going to coat eggplant slices in seasoned rice flour, dunk them in an egg & milk mixture, then bake in an air fryer or oven. I like to have a vegetable appetizer set out to snack on while I'm fixing dinner and this one is a favorite this time of year. (Want more vegetable appetizers? Check out my Clickable Collage of Vegetable Appetizers or follow my Awesome Veggie Apps and Snacks board on Pinterest.)

Click here for my How to Make Air Fryer Crispy Eggplant Chips video on Youtube!

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This recipe is my go to snack in that window before the first frost--when the garden and the farmer's markets and the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm shares are still producing--and you're not afraid to turn on the oven and heat up the house.

Choose Your Adventure! (Choose your seasoning)

Since I make this dish fairly often I have experimented with a variety of seasonings for the spiced flour and the yogurt dip (although I pretty much stick with parmesan cheese). My standard combination is a seasoned salt and Italian herbs.


Sometimes I'm in a Mediterranean mood and I like to use Greek Seasoning (I buy mine from Penzey's). Other times I'm in an Indian mood and I'll use curry powder and serve this as an appetizer before we eat curry with rice and naan. (You could also roast an eggplant and make my Indian Spiced Eggplant & Yogurt Dip recipe.)

Photobomb by Vincent Barbarino.

We are all products of our life experiences.

This recipe is a result of several of my life experiences. I learned about eggplant chips from my 2nd farm share farmer, Becky of Blenheim Organic Gardens. I even shared a recipe for Eggplant & Feta Spaghetti Casserole using Becky's easy technique.

After we moved to Ohio I tried the eggplant fries appetizer at Wheatpenny restaurant. The idea for the yogurt dip and inspiration to use rice flour as a coating came from there.

The last piece of the recipe puzzle fell into place while I worked as a prep cook in a fancy Italian pizza place and made countless full sheet trays of baked eggplant slices--burning the technique into my muscle memory so that I don't even think about it any more.

Put on some good music, fix yourself a drink (a straw is a good idea, since your hands will get dirty) and try this recipe when you're not in a rush to eat--it takes a good 20 to 25 minutes to get ready to go in the oven.  I think the prep time is worth it--you can relax while the chips are baking and then snack to your heart's content.

This recipe is a good addition to a mezze platter--have some hummus, dipping vegetables, olives, cheeses, stuffed grape leaves set out. After the eggplant chips have baked you can use the hot oven to warm some pita bread and everyone can dig in.

Seasoning Combinations

• Penzey's Greek Seasoning (use as is, no need to blend)
• 1½ teaspoons Italian herbs + ½ teaspoon seasoned salt & pepper blend (I like Jane's Krazy)
• ½ teaspoon curry powder + ¾ teaspoon salt + ¼ teaspoon garam masala + ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic + ¼ teaspoon granulated onion

Notes: Yogurt dip can be made up to a day ahead and keeps for several days. The eggplant chips will keep for several days but are best served warm. Reheat in an air fryer at 350˚F for 3-5 minutes or in a conventional oven on a baking sheet at 350˚F for 10 minutes.

For more recipes using eggplant, please see my Eggplant Recipes Collection. It's part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

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Crispy Baked Eggplant Chips with Spiced Yogurt Dipping Sauce
By Kirsten Madaus

Eggplant chips coated in a seasoned flour batter and air fried or baked until crisp. Served with a spiced yogurt dipping sauce for a gluten free vegetarian appetizer

Prep time: 00:25
Cook time: 00:15
Total time: 00:40

Yield: 4-6 servings, depending on what else you're offering
Ingredients:
1 eggplant
about ½ teaspoon salt (I use kosher)
1 cup rice flour
2 teaspoons seasoning, divided (see List above)
2 eggs
½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 cup milk or cream--whatever you have
1 cup plain yogurt (I like full fat Greek style)
up to 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise

Instructions:

You'll need 3 bowls and 2 rimmed baking sheets. I cover my baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper sprayed with vegetable oil. Settle in with good music.

Slice the ends off the eggplant, slice it in half longways, and slice each half into ¼ inch thick half moons.

Throw the eggplant slices into the largest bowl, sprinkle with salt, and toss to coat. Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk flour and 1 teaspoon of seasoning together.

In a small bowl whisk eggs and milk together.

Now you're going to make an assembly line to move the eggplant slices a few at a time from the flour mixture to the egg mixture to the parchment paper. It's best to have one hand moving the dry eggplant slices from the large bowl, to the flour, into the egg mixture, and save your other hand for transferring the wet coated slices from the egg mixture to the prepared baking sheet. See this video for my wet hand/dry hand technique.

Once all the eggplant slices have been coated with flour and egg, sprinkle them with a bit of shredded parmesan cheese.

Preheat an air fryer or a conventional oven to 375˚F.

If air fryering, spray the eggplant slices with oil spray (top side only is fine). Air fry for 5 to 8 minutes, then shake the basket or rotate trays, and continue checking every 3 to 5 minutes until the eggplant and cheese is lightly browned--total of 10-15 minutes depending on the size.

If using a conventional oven, bake the eggplant slices for 20 to 30 minutes until the cheese is browned. Meanwhile, make the yogurt dip.

In a medium bowl combine yogurt, mayonnaise, and remaining seasoning. Chill until ready to serve. You can make this a day ahead if you like.

Serve eggplant chips warm with chilled spiced yogurt dipping sauce.