These eggplant fries are perfectly crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and delicious dipped in a homemade curried cashew aioli. And they couldn't be easier to make!
These Panko-Crusted Eggplant Fries are one of my favorite ways to enjoy eggplant. They make a great appetizer or snack. But honestly, I'm guilty of just eating the whole batch for dinner.
These eggplant fries are:
- Simple to make with just a few ingredients.
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Great kid-friendly finger food!
- Ready in under an hour.
Tips & Tricks
Use Baby Eggplants
I used baby eggplant because I find smaller eggplants to be less bitter, so I can cut out the step of salting them. Older eggplant can be bitter too, so buy local if you can because it's spent less time traveling to your grocery store.
Dipping Sauce
It would be a travesty to serve delicious, crispy eggplant fries without a sauce, so I whipped up a Curried Cashew Aioli for dipping. It's kind of the same idea of my Cashew Mayo , except with a heaping teaspoon of sweet curry powder added to it.
If you don't want to bother with the dipping sauce, jarred marinara sauce works too.
Flax Eggs for Baking
Can we talk about the miracle of flax eggs? You might not be able to whip them into an omelet or use them in a quiche, but I've been experimenting with them a lot in vegan baking lately and they work really well. Better than I expected, even.
I rarely have eggs on hand because we just don't eat them very often, so now when I bake something, I usually make it vegan by substituting ground flax and water for the eggs, almond or coconut milk for the dairy milk, and coconut oil for the butter.
Unlike traditional baking ingredients, which I'd have to add to my shopping list, these are all things that I always have on hand nearly all the time - which I guess might be a bad thing because that means I'm eating a lot more baked goods! 😉
So how does flax work as an egg substitute? It's magic! Okay, I'm lying, it's not magic.
I don't really know exactly how it works. But when you whisk ground flax seeds with water and let the mixture sit for a few minutes, it gels up and feels a little bit eggy.
It's not quite as strong when it comes to binding ingredients together, and it can't be substituted for eggs in every recipe (like the aforementioned omelets), but it's a nice, natural way to replace eggs in a lot of different dishes.
Ingredients
Panko-Crusted Eggplant Fries
- 3 tbsp warm water
- 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
- pinch of salt
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 2 baby eggplant about 1 lb
- 1 cup panko
- olive oil mister or cooking spray
Curried Cashew Aioli
- ½ cup raw cashews soaked in water for 4 hours and drained
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp sweet curry powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Panko-Crusted Eggplant Fries
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a large baking sheet with oil or cooking spray.
- Whisk together the warm water and flax seeds in a shallow bowl; set aside.
- Cut the ends off of each eggplant, then cut them into thirds lengthwise. Cut each third into fries. (Mine are about ½-inch thick.)
- Stir a healthy pinch of salt and cayenne into the flax mixture. Place the panko crumbs on a plate, then roll each eggplant fry in the flax mixture, followed by the panko crumbs. Transfer the finished fries to the prepared baking sheet and spray the tops with additional oil.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the fries are tender and golden brown on the outside.
- Serve with Curried Cashew Aioli.
Curried Cashew Aioli
- Place the cashews, water, lemon juice, garlic, and curry powder in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on 22 August 2013.
Asmita says
Eggplant is my favorite vegetable and am constantly looking for new ways of cooking it. This looks absolutely delicious!!!
Kiersten says
Not many people say eggplant is their favorite vegetable! 🙂 I really like it too--it's definitely under-rated!
Kelly @ A Girl Worth Saving says
These look delicious. I'm going to have to sub the breading but at least I won't have to share, lol. The hubs is as anti-eggplant as they get (unless it's Baba Ganoush).
Kiersten says
I saw some GF pinners mention subbing almond flour or coconut flakes. I know almond flour wouldn't work for you, but maybe coconut flakes?
Daniel Moura says
Great recipe! Im going to do at the year's end party! Gotta love eggplants!
Cheers!
Genevieve says
This is so helpful to know! I've wondered about vegan substitutes for things like zucchini fries or other breaded veggies...I tried almond milk with breadcrumbs once and it didn't work very well, so now that I know flax works, I'll have to try that next time! I like the idea of pairing these fries with a curried cashew dip too for something different!
Kiersten says
Yeah, I tried almond milk once too--it was for baked onion rings and when I took them out of the oven, the breading had slid down to the bottom of each ring. I think you need something stickier and flax definitely does the trick. 🙂
Robin Gagnon says
Dang these look good! I am getting a small Japanese eggplant crop. (along with the carrots and a few lame still green tomatoes...lol)
Kiersten says
Ooh, Japanese eggplant would be perfect for fries!
vegeTARAian says
You can't beat panko for extra crunch. Love this Japanese inspired snacku
Stephanie says
SO glad I stumbled upon your site! I am a vegan & love finding new veggie-based blogs. Can't wait to try this eggplant panko recipe in particular!! 🙂
~Stephanie @sostephaniesays.com
Santa Rodriguez says
have always wnted to taste eggplant and this recipe sounds delicious
Deryn @ Running on Real Food says
While I've got the eggplant out for my sandwich, I might as well make these too! Mmm! Thanks for sharing!
Nancy says
Sounds delicious! Can't wait to try these. I really, really wish you would include nutritional info with the recipes. I can rarely cook things for my family without the nutritional info due to health issues.
Lauren Vaught says
Oh yes! I just made these tonight from my farmer's market haul over the weekend that included a big, beautiful eggplant. I needed to use more flax covering and panko (to which I added crushed cereal). These were beyond delicious and the aioli is perfect! Wish I could include my own photos. Thank you for your amazing recipes.
Kiersten Frase says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! I think I'm getting some eggplant in my CSA box this week, so I need to make this one again too. 🙂
mika says
these came out fantastic and were so easy to make! the recipe was also very simple compared to many others i found, adding to the likelihood that these will become a staple in my kitchen. thank you!
Baldi says
This is good if you eat it with chili sauce