Since I’ve been spending more time at home these past few months, I have been attempting to make my own snacks. For one, they are definitely more budget friendly and most importantly, you know exactly what ingredients is going in them! I tried making eggplant jerky for the first time in my air fryer and surprisingly, it turned out better than I expected after a few tries. It is super easy to make and ready in less than 15 minutes. It is gluten free and vegan and is packed with antioxidants and nutrients!
To make this recipe:
- Using a Y peeler like this one, peel your eggplant into thick strips
- Salt eggplant strips and let sit for 5-10 minutes and pat them dry. This helps to remove the water and bitterness
- Mix sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over the eggplant and coat well with a pastry brush
- Add the eggplant to the air fryer. You can overlap the pieces a bit and cook them at 360 degrees for 5 minutes
For this recipe, I used:
- Coconut Aminos: I love this ingredient because it adds a sweet and salty taste to the recipe. It’s only made with coconuts and salt and is a great soy sauce replacement
- Tahini: this adds a creaminess to the recipe and a subtle nutty taste
- Maple Syrup: this ingredient provides a sweetness to the recipe and compliments the other flavors
- Apple Cider Vinegar: this ingredient creates the tangy flavor
- Paprika: this adds a subtle spice, but still keeps the recipe more sweet than spicy
Tips:
- Use any leftover eggplant you have after the recipe in a curry or egg hash
- Begin making your jerky slices by laying the eggplant flat on one side and start peeling. As you get closer to the middle of the eggplant, you will need to flip the eggplant over and make your strips on the other side
- Make sure to preheat your air fryer. This leads to more consistent cooking and better jerky
- If the eggplant is not crispy (will depend on your air fryer and thickness of slices), add an extra two minutes
- I don’t recommend using a knife for this because the eggplant slices will be too thick.
Substitution Ideas:
Coconut Aminos: you can swap these out with liquid aminos or soy sauce
StorageÂ
- Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a week
Air Fryer Eggplant Jerky
Cooking & Baking Supplies
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant
- 3 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp paprika
- sprinkle of salt
Instructions
- Wash and dry your eggplant. Using a wide mouth peeler and starting lengthwise on the eggplant skin, peel even and long strips of eggplant. You will need to flip the eggplant as you reach the middle
- Lightly sprinkle the strips with some salt and let the jerky strips sit for 5-10 minutes with salt. Then pat dry with a dish cloth.
- While the eggplant sits, preheat the air fryer to 360 for 4 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, mix together coconut aminos, maple syrup, tahini, apple cider vinegar and paprika.
- Add the eggplant strips to the mixing bowl and coat well with sauce using a pastry brush
- Line your air fryer with eggplant strips, trying not to overlap the strips too much, but making sure there is enough so they won’t fly around.
- Cook for 360 and 5 minutes. Repeat until all eggplant strips are done cooking. You might need to add an extra 2 minutes to get them crispy.
- Move the jerky strips to a bowl and let sit for a couple minutes to crisp up, then ENJOY!
Did you make this recipe?Tag @girlswhoeat!
