I generally love meatballs, but eggplant and zucchini cooked in an air fryer are among my favorites. A few simple ingredients for a delicious, flavorful bite. I don’t know about your home, but in mine, balls are an absolute must… whether meat-based, vegetable-based or made with rice, they’re always a success!
These Eggplant Balls in the air fryer are very simple and quick to prepare: start with the eggplants, roasted in the air fryer with a few tablespoons of oil. Once ready, mix them in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients, form the balls, roll them in breadcrumbs and immediately bake in the air fryer for a few minutes. For the gooey center I used latteria cheese cut into cubes, which can be replaced with another soft cheese of your choice or mozzarella, while I added sharp provolone to the mixture—perfect with eggplant. I made fairly large balls, but you can shape them smaller to get more portions. If you don’t have an air fryer, you can fry them in a pan with oil.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Cooking time: 16 Minutes
- Portions: 7 eggplant patties
- Cooking methods: Air frying, Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer and Fall
Ingredients
Ingredients for 7 eggplant balls made with Eggplant
- 1.3 lb eggplants (2 medium)
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 slices stale bread (or white bread (about 1 cup torn))
- 1.5 oz sharp provolone (grated)
- 1 egg
- 6 leaves basil (fresh)
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
- to taste salt and pepper
- 1.5 oz latteria cheese (or mozzarella)
- to taste breadcrumbs
- A few sprays oil
Tools
What you need to prepare the Eggplant Balls in the Air Fryer
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Non-stick baking tray
- 1 Air fryer
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Air fryer
- 1 Grater
- 1 Knife
Steps
How to prepare Eggplant Balls in the Air Fryer
After washing the eggplants well, dry them. Move to a cutting board, remove both ends and dice them into not-too-large pieces. Transfer the eggplants to the non-stick tray with the 4 tablespoons of oil and the clove of garlic. Mix well.
Place the tray in the air fryer and roast at 356°F for 18–20 minutes. Stir occasionally during cooking. If the eggplants look dry, spritz a little oil.
While the eggplants cook, tear the bread and put it in a bowl with water. Let it soften for a few minutes.
In another bowl, place the cooked eggplants, remove the garlic clove and wait a few minutes for them to cool slightly; toss and mix. Once cooled, add the rest of the ingredients: the egg, the grated provolone, the torn basil leaves, a pinch of salt (don’t overdo it—the provolone is already flavorful) and pepper to taste. Also add the bread well squeezed of water to the other ingredients. Mix well; if the mixture is too soft, add 2 level tablespoons of breadcrumbs.
Scoop some of the mixture, as in the photo, create an indentation and insert a nice cube of cheese (previously cut) in the center. Close with a bit more mixture to form the ball. Continue until all the mixture is used. You can make smaller balls according to your preference.
Roll all the balls in breadcrumbs and place them on the air fryer tray or rack lightly oiled, then give them a few sprays of oil.
Cook at 356°F for 16 minutes or until the surface is golden.
Here they are! Gooey and delicious 😍😍
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Storage of Eggplant Balls
Eggplant Balls can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days in an airtight container or well covered with plastic wrap.
Pan-frying the Balls
If you don’t have an air fryer you can cook the balls in a pan, starting from the eggplant preparation. In this case, you should pat them dry with paper towels before adding them to the rest of the ingredients to remove excess oil.
