Air Fryer Eggplant Pizzas are a fun and crispy snack or kid-friendly dinner with thick slices of eggplant, tomato sauce, and any of your favorite pizza toppings.
My friend Donna Kelly, of the Apron Strings Blog, recently released a new cookbook, 101 Things to Do with an Air Fryer. And I’ve been having a blast making her recipes! Naturally, I had to share one of my favorites with you.
These Air Fryer Eggplant Pizzas are fun to make and totally delicious. You can experiment with any of your favorite classic pizza toppings for a DIY dinner that the whole family loves. I think you’ll enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
By the way, if you love this recipe as much as I do, be sure to pick up a copy of Donna’s new book. It’s a must-have for air fryer lovers. I’ve also reviewed her fabulous Instant Pot book over on Pressure Cooking Today.
How to Make Air Fryer Eggplant Pizzas
The most important ingredient in this vegetable pizza recipe is the eggplant. Look for a nice large vegetable for this recipe to make satisfying pizzas on each slice. Of course, given the natural shape of eggplant, some slices will be larger than others.
It’s also important to salt your eggplant rounds after slicing the vegetable. This helps remove excess moisture in the eggplant, which will help your pizzas crisp up. Otherwise, you may end up with soggy pizza.
The eggplant slices should rest after salting for about 30 minutes. You’ll see moisture rise to the surface. Use a clean dishcloth to gently absorb this moisture.
Building Eggplant Pizzas
When you’re ready to start assembling your eggplant pizzas for the air fryer, you can use any of your favorite pizza topping, sauces, and cheese.
The recommended pizza toppings for this recipe are:
- Green and red bell peppers
- Olives
- Diced onions
- Sliced mushrooms
- Mozzarella, parmesan, or asiago cheese
- Crushed red pepper
- If you don’t want to keep it vegetarian, pepperoni is also a great addition
When you have your toppings prepped, assemble the pizzas in the following order:
- Marinara sauce. leave about ⅛ to ¼ inch around the edge of the eggplant slice. As it heats, the sauce will spread slightly.
- Green peppers. These tend to be larger so putting them on the bottom makes it easier to stack the rest of the ingredients.
- Black olives and onions.
- Cheese. Use a melty shredded cheese that will cover your other ingredients and hold them in place.
Then, sprinkle on parmesan for an extra level of texture and savory flavor as soon as the pizzas come out of the air fryer.
How to Use an Air Fryer for Vegetable Pizzas
The eggplant pizzas in the pictures were made using the Cuisinart toaster oven air fryer. I’ve also made them in my Instant Vortex Air Fryer or you could make them in your Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid.
Every air-fryer is different when it comes to timing.
Start checking your pizzas for melty, bubbling cheese after 5 minutes. If they’re not quite there yet, check back every two minutes or so. The pizzas took about 9 to 10 minutes in my oven.
Leftovers
You’ll want to enjoy these eggplant pizzas fresh out of the air fryer.
But if you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge. The longer the pizzas sit, the more the veggies (including the eggplant) will release moisture. So it’s best to enjoy them within a day or two.
Reheat the pizzas in a toaster oven or in the microwave in 30-second intervals until hot.
More Favorite Air Fryer Recipes
Love the crispness you get from air frying? Then try these other delicious recipes next:
- Garlic Parmesan Air Fryer French Fries are the crispiest, most savory fries you can make without a deep-fryer.
- Air Fryer Pizza Pockets are a flaky, pastry-crusted pizza recipe with melted cheese and pepperoni.
- Halibut Fish and Chips are perfectly crisp on the outside and flaky on the inside.
- Easy Low-Carb Keto Recipes from Air Fryer Fanatics
Air Fryer Eggplant Pizzas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ¾ cup marinara sauce
- 1 cup favorite pizza toppings such as sliced olives, diced onions, or peppers
- 1 cups grated mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Slice eggplant into 6 large slices that are ¾ -inch thick. Generously salt both sides of slices and let sit for about 30 minutes to remove bitterness and excess moisture. Rinse off slices and pat dry.
- Spray eggplant slices with cooking oil and place in wire basket. Bake in air fryer at 375 degrees F for 8 minutes. Turn slices over and bake another 3 minutes.
- Remove slices and spread each with 2 tablespoons marinara sauce. Scatter each slice with pizza toppings and cheese. Bake in air fyer about another 5 minutes, until bubbly. Serve immediately.
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