These simple baked eggplant fries are the perfect snack or appetizer for a crowd. Crispy on the outside, velvety tender on the inside!
Eggplant fries with Greek Tzatziki sauce make the perfect Mezze (appetizer) for a crowd. Plus, they are easy to prepare and a great way to use up eggplant when your garden is bursting with them.
In this recipe, eggplant batons are coated in a simple seasoned breading and then baked in the oven. The eggplant softens while the breading stays crispy, resulting in perfectly crunchy, creamy (mildly addictive) eggplant fries.
Eggplant fries make a quick appetizer or snack with a dip. I went for cooling Tzatziki sauce, but there is no shortage of dips in the Mediterranean! I just recommend one that’s on the runnier side since the eggplant is so tender. Bring a tangy, rich flavor with whipped feta, a garlicky punch with Toum, a bright zing with your favorite store-bought marinara–the list goes on!
Ingredients for Eggplant Fries
Like many of my favorite eggplant recipes, eggplant fries just require a few simple ingredients.
- Eggplant: Look for a firm, medium-sized globe eggplant.
- All-purpose flour and breadcrumbs: coat the eggplant so it gets nice and crispy. Kate, my right-hand gal who is gluten-free, had great success with gluten-free breadcrumbs and flour when she tested this recipe!
- Eggs: Ensure the flour sticks to the eggplant.
- Seasonings: Garlic powder and dried Greek oregano bring a savory quality and Mediterranean flavor to the fried eggplant. Salt and pepper perk everything up.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Prevents sticking and encourages caramelization. Despite myths about its smoke point, EVOO is stable at roasting temperatures and adds great flavor. Any high-quality extra virgin variety will work well with this recipe.
- To serve: I love making creamy, garlicky Tzatziki Sauce while the eggplant bakes but store-bought works well too. For a dairy-free option, Marinara or Tahini Sauce would be equally as delicious.
How to Make Eggplant Fries
I poured Greek olive oil into this handy olive oil sprayer, which distributes the oil evenly across the eggplant fries. (We also tested this recipe with both a steady drizzle of oil and a gentle brush, and they turned out crispy and delicious, so no need to go out of your way.) Here are the steps:
- Get ready. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with a wire rack and spray or brush with olive oil.
- Prep the eggplant. Trim and cut 1 medium eggplant into 1-inch rounds. If you have the time, sprinkle on both sides with salt and set aside for 20 minutes (this will remove some of the natural bitterness). Pat dry. Now cut the eggplant slices into even-sized batons or “fries.”
- Bread the eggplant: Set up 3 shallow bowls. Add 3/4 cup flour to the first bowl. In the second bowl, lightly beat 2 eggs. In the third, combine 1 cup breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Dredge the eggplant fries in the flour, then dip them in the eggs, and finally coat them in the breadcrumb mixture.
- Bake the eggplant fries. Arrange the breaded eggplant top of the wire rack in a single layer. Spray with a little olive oil cooking spray, or drizzle or gently brush with olive oil. Space them apart so they aren’t touching, then bake until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes.
- Serve: Serve the eggplant fries hot or warm with Tzatziki sauce or a side of marinara. Enjoy!
More Eggplant Recipes
Sides and Small Plates
Open-Faced Eggplant Parmesan Sandwich
Middle Eastern
Smoky Loaded Eggplant Dip: Baba Ganoush
Italian
Eggplant Caponata Recipe
Browse all Mediterranean recipes.
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Crispy Baked Eggplant Fries
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Tzatziki Sauce or Marinara, for serving
Instructions
- Get ready. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with a wire rack and spray or brush with olive oil.
- Prep the eggplant. Trim and cut the eggplant into 1-inch rounds. If you have the time, sprinkle on both sides with salt and set aside for 20 minutes (this will remove some of the natural bitterness). Pat dry. Now cut the eggplant slices into even-sized batons or “fries.”
- Bread the eggplant. Set up 3 shallow bowls. Add the flour the first bowl. In the second bowl, lightly beat the eggs. In the third, mix together the breadcrumbs, garlic powder, oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Dredge the eggplant fries in the flour, then dip them in the eggs, and finally coat them in the breadcrumb mixture.
- Bake the eggplant fries. Arrange the breaded eggplant top of the wire rack in a single layer. Spray with a little olive oil cooking spray, or drizzle with olive oil. Space them apart so they aren’t touching, then bake until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes.
- Serve: Serve the eggplant fries hot or warm with the Tzatziki sauce or a side of marinara. Enjoy!
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including the olive oil and oregano used in this recipe.
- Make ahead: You can prepare the Tzatziki Sauce a day in advance, if you like. Simply store in an airtight container in the fridge. Before serving, give it a quick stir to refresh.
- Nutrition calculation does not include the Tzatziki Sauce.
Nutrition
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*This post has recently been updated with new information for readers’ benefit.
Could these be frozen and reheated at a later date?
Hi, Jill. We’ve never tried freezing this one, so it’s hard to say if the fries would survive that thaw very well. If you decide to give it a go, please let us know how it turned out for you! We’d love to know!
I’m wondering if these could be made in an air fryer.
Hi, Jacqui. We’ve never tried these in an air fryer before, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. If you give it a go, please stop back and share your thoughts!
After growing eggplants in my garden this year and getting bumper crop, I needed different recipes for eggplant. I found this recipe and made them. After tasting them I knew this was a keeper recipe. This is so much easier [and healthier] then deep frying eggplant. We love them and have made this recipe so many times over the summer.
Hi, Alice! I’m Summer and I work here at The Mediterranean Dish. I’m a gardener too so I totally understand the having to figure out what to do with a bumper crop. I’m glad you liked the Baked Eggplant Fries Recipe. We have a ton of Eggplant recipes on the site if you need some more inspiration. This Eggplant Parmesan Sandwich and Braised Chicken with Eggplant are two of my favorites.
Is there a way to convert the oven bake temp/time to an air fryer?
Hi, Donna. I’m sure this recipe can be cooked in an air-fryer. We’ve never tested it this way, though, so unfortunately I don’t have specific setting recommendations for you. Your best bet would be to take a look at your air-fryers instruction/recipe book for guidance. If you give it a try, we’d love to hear any suggestions/feedback you have.
I baked the fries but I felt like the eggplant disappeared from inside. Did I bake too long? Or was the eggplant fries I cut too thin possibly (1/2”)?
I’m anxious to try this recipe THIS EVENING 😃
Hope you loved it!!
I made these for dinner and absolutely loved them. Except, I kept them in the oven for 18-20 minutes.
There is an eggplant hater in the house who you converted to an eggplant fries lover. I made an Asiago & sun dried tomato tapenade as a topping. Really good! Thank you.
Yay!! Thanks, Ams!
Planning on making these tonight!
Do I need to peel the eggplant for this recipe?
Hi, Anna! You do not need to peel the eggplant.
Really easy and yummy! I chose your recipe because it didn’t look complicated. I sorinked parmesan cheese when finished baking and dipped them in Rocky Rocco pizza sauce. A keeper recipe!
Awesome! Thanks, Robin!
Interested in making these but I don’t have a wire rack to put the fries on. Is it really necessary?
Thanks
Hi, Karl! The wire rack helps to elevate the fries above the moisture. The recipe would probably work without it, although they might not be as crisp.
Love your recipes! Is white vinegar the same things as distilled white vinegar? Thanks….
Hi, Staci! They are a little different. White vinegar is a bit stronger than distilled vinegar, although both can be used for cooking.
This was quick and easy , and it hit the guilt free indulgence. I recommended seasoning the breading really well because that is where the eggplant will get it’s flavor. I liked serving with marinara sauce.
Thanks for sharing that tip, Doreen!
This was tasty, but it was a pain to make due to the amount of fries there is to “bread”. My eggplant was big 😉 and larger than what you called for so it probably made more fries than your dish. It would probably be just as good just breading the rounds to decrease the time or just roast the fries without breading. I made a cilantro lime yogurt sauce to go with this.
I made these tonight and they were so delicious! I doubled the batch so we have leftovers that I’ll pop in the oven tomorrow. Yum!
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed them!