My love for the vegetable eggplant has been a new discovery but wow am I so happy that I finally tried them again and tried them in different flavor variations! I think that’s one of the best things about eggplants is that similar to zucchini they really can be made into almost anything. They are a watery vegetable so they can take on a lot of flavor. They are also a very meaty vegetable which is perfect when subbing for actual meat in dishes.
I came up with this recipe after watching a tik tok about nachos and I have to say this experimentation did not disappoint at all! I’ve been obsessed with how eggplant chips taste and am super excited to play around with more flavors to top them with! I hope you enjoy this recipe and please share if you make it! Also if you have any feedback I’m always open to it even constructive criticism, I think that is a crucial thing in recipe developing. Being able to recognize when something didn’t work and being ok when told that is major. Like they say Rome wasn’t built in a day!!
Check out the recipe below and have fun! 😊
Ingredients
1 eggplant
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons Parmesan
1/4 cup fat free shredded mozzarella
2 tablespoons fat free feta crumbles
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Overall Prep
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grab a medium size baking sheet and line with either oil spray or parchment paper.
Prepping the Eggplant
On a medium sized cutting board, take the eggplant and cut off the end with the stem.
Next, thinly slice the eggplant about 1/16th of an inch. Repeat with the rest of the eggplant until there is no more to cut.
Grab a kitchen towel and lay it out fully on the counter.
Place all the pieces of eggplant flatly on the towel. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt onto the eggplants. (This will help “sweat” the eggplants and get rid of moisture so that a nice crunchy eggplant chip can be achieved!)
Let the eggplants sit for about 10 minutes. You will know the eggplants are done when there is a small pool of water droplets on the slice.
Grab another kitchen towel and pat the eggplants dry. If you want an extremely crunchy eggplant chip then flip the slices over and repeat on the other sides.
TIP: Sweating a vegetable is used to achieve a crunchier product and enhance the natural flavor. Salting a vegetable alters the structure of its proteins to make its cooking time shorter hence why you can achieve a nice crunchy chip without cooking it for an hour or dehydrating it. It’s an awesome technique!! This can also be used with zucchini’s, squashes, cucumbers, and many more veggies!
Eggplant Nacho Instructions
On a medium sized lined baking sheet place the slices evenly. Make sure there is no overlapping, overlapping will cause the eggplant on the bottom to not get cooked enough but they can touch each other so no worries if the sheet looks cramped. If overlapping occurs the eggplant on the bottom will not achieve the same crispiness as the ones on top.
Next, spray the eggplant slices with olive oil spray.
Then, take half of your garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and sprinkle evenly on top of the slices.
Place the sheet into the oven for about 10-15 minutes. Timing will depend on how crispy you want this side to be. (Note: Once you flip the slices and bake the other side the previous side will continue to bake so be aware of this so you don’t accidentally over cook them but also if you like some burnt parts then go for it! I always love a little burnt to my crunch).
Next, flip the slices and bake for another 10 minutes.
Pull the baking sheet out and add the shredded Parmesan. Place back into oven just until the Parmesan melts and starts to get golden brown. This will take about 3-5 minutes.
Once the Parmesan cheese is melted take the sheet out of the oven and move the slices into a pile. We want the pile to look like a mound of tortilla chips if that visual helps.
Next, sprinkle the shredded mozzarella, feta, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Place back into oven and cook just until the cheese is melted and browned to your preferred state. I put mine in for 3-5 minutes.
After the cheese has melted pull out of the oven and serve!!!
**** If your eggplants don’t seem to be browning as quickly as mine did try putting your oven on broil for a little bit. Each oven is different but these were the times that worked best for me!
This recipe has become one of my go-to’s for a dinner side or even dinner itself!! It’s super easy to make and most of the time is spent just letting the eggplant sit or cook! This recipe is also very customizable to your taste so if you want to make it like a traditional nacho plate then go for it! Honestly, that sounds SUPER yummy and I might have to try that soon.
As always happy cooking and do something crazy/ adventurous this week!! If you try this recipe make sure to tag me on Instagram at @hanshomemadeats and follow Han’s Homemade Eats on Facebook!!
Love, Han 💕
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