Whole eggplants cooked in the air fryer, without oil or salt, ideal for making Eggplant and basil pesto, very soft eggplant and potato patties and eggplant and potato patties in sauce. For some time now I have been using the air fryer for recipes that need to be baked; in fact this small appliance offers some advantages that sometimes make it preferable to a conventional oven, often also for roasting peppers. In Sicily — and I don’t know if it’s done where you are — a tasty summer salad made with oven-baked eggplants and onions is prepared, which my husband adores. It’s a humble dish, once prepared by cooking the eggplants in the still-warm wood-fired oven after removing the bread. I always used the electric oven, but since getting the air fryer I realized that some things turn out better with this tool, which, by eliminating preheating time, allows faster cooking. Whole eggplants cooked in the air fryer peel easily, are drier and less watery, can be seasoned cold with salt, oil, vinegar, garlic and parsley, or used to make eggplant patties or the famous babaganoush. I absolutely recommend you try them and you’ll see you’ll love this cooking method that yields dry, not watery, and very flavorful eggplants. If you want to stay updated on all my recipes you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here)!
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 1 Minute
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Air frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer and Autumn
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants (large)
Tools
- Air fryer
Steps
To cook whole eggplants in the air fryer you simply need to rinse them and place them in the basket, set the temperature to 392°F and cook for 35 minutes if they are large, or 25-30 minutes if they are medium-sized, turning them halfway through cooking. Once cooked, you will be able to pierce them with a fork and the flesh will be soft. At this point let the eggplants cool slightly in the air fryer, then remove and peel.
The eggplant flesh can be used as a salad, seasoned with salt, oil, vinegar, parsley and garlic. It can be enjoyed as a spread or also used to make omelettes and patties; it keeps well in the fridge sealed in an airtight container and can be stored for up to 3-4 days.
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