Crispy Oven Baked Eggplant Steaks

Front view of a crispy eggplant steak propped up on vegetables on a rectangle plate. Blue bowl of veggies in the background.

5 from 1 vote

Crispy Oven Baked Eggplant Steaks

Delicious sliced eggplant breaded and baked in the oven until crisp. This easy to make vegan entree has tons of flexibility. Change up the sauce and way of serving up this easy to make eggplant recipe for a new and different meal each time.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword eggplant recipe, meal building block, vegan comfort food, vegan recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Salting time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings people

Calories 212kcal

Author Lyn Croyle

Ingredients

Eggplant

2 large eggplant
Salt
2 tablespoons flax meal
½ cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Breading

½ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup cornmeal
1 tablespoons sesame seeds
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425° F or 220° C.

Prepping the eggplant

Slice lengthwise into ½ inch thick slices.
Lay the eggplant out on a baking tray or pan lined with a tea towel or paper towel. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
Let eggplant stand for 30 minutes to remove any bitterness. When time has elapsed, rinse the eggplant with water and then pat dry to remove all excess moisture.

Prepping the breading for the eggplant

When the salting of the eggplant is almost done, mix together 2 tablespoons of flax meal and ½ cup of water. Stir to combine and let sit for five minutes.
Combine the breadcrumbs, cornmeal and spices in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Mix well. Place the flax egg in a separate plate.

Breading the eggplant

Brush the baking tray for the eggplant with a liberal amount of olive oil.
Place the slice into the flax mixture, turning to coat both sides and the edges. Shake off any excess and then place eggplant slice into the breadcrumbs, pressing down gently. Turn the slice of eggplant over and repeat on the other side and the edges too.
Place the eggplant on the baking sheet pan. Repeat with remaining eggplant.

Cook the eggplant

Place into the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes, then remove and flip each piece over. Cook for an additional 10-12 minutes on the other side. The eggplant should be golden brown and crispy and the inside should be cooked through.
When ready, remove from the oven and serve as desired.

Notes

Tips for BEST results

Take the time to sweat the eggplant. It removes the bitter flavor and also helps the eggplant cook up more crispy.

Rinse the eggplant after the salting so the final preparation isn’t overly salty. Pat it dry with a towel after rinsing and before proceeding with the breading process.

Keep the peel on the eggplant for more nutrition. The breading doesn’t stick as well to the peel but it provides added nutrition that I think is an excellent tradeoff for keeping it intact.

To bread the eggplant, make sure the flax egg covers the top, bottom and all the sides so the breadcrumbs stick to it.

When breading the eggplant, try to ensure that there are no globs of flax on the eggplant when you get ready to dip in the breadcrumbs. If your flax egg is too thick, add a bit more liquid to thin it out. Too much flax meal will prevent the crust from getting crispy.

Be sure to preheat your oven. That way the crust begins to crisp up immediately when the eggplant begins to cook. A hot oven browns and crisps up the outside the best.

Eat immediately. It’s really best the first go around but if you do have leftovers, simply lay them back out on a baking sheet tray uncovered and heat again for 5-8 minutes on each side.

Nutrition