Vegan eggplant parmesan in the air fryer

Step 1

Start by making a breading work station with two plates. Put the vegan mayonnaise on one plate. On the other plate, combine panko breadcrumbs, dried oregano, dried basil, granulated onion, grated vegan parmesan, a pinch of salt, and dash of pepper.

Step 2

Coat each eggplant slice with mayo. It should be the thinnest of coatings. You don't want any mayonnaise dollops. It's just a sheer coating, so that the breadcrumb mixture can stick to the slices.

Step 3

Then dip each slice into the breadcrumb mixture. Make sure to coat it with breadcrumbs on every side.

Step 4

Put an even layer of slices into the air fryer basket. For best browning, don't overcrowd the basket with slices on top of each other. You want room for air to flow all around each slice. Depending on the basket size & eggplant slice size, you'll probably be able to fit 4 to 6 slices. Spritz the top of the eggplant slices with oil spray.

Step 5

Put the basket into the air fryer. Set it to 400 degrees for 12 minutes. Stop halfway through to flip the slices (or when they are nice & brown on top). Spritz the slices with oil spray again. Then continue air frying for four more minutes, or when the other side of the slices are nutty brown. At 10 minutes, add a spoonful of marinara sauce and a pinch of vegan mozzarella cheese to each slice. Then cook for the remaining 2 minutes. Remove the eggplant slices from the air fryer.

Step 6

Continue air frying the eggplant in batches until all of the eggplant has been air fried. Keep in mind that the air fryer cooks faster when it's hot. So the subsequent batches may need to be flipped earlier or cooked for a slightly shorter time. Keep an eye on them for burning, and trust your judgement when it's looking brown enough.