Football season is in full swing and I am soaking up every single minute of it. I generally cheer on my San Diego Chargers with a Bloody Mary in one hand and and a Soft Pretzel in the other, but this past weekend I was feeling inspired and dreamt up an original creation: Eggplant Parmesan Sliders.
Did you notice the perfectly circular eggplant patties? Those bad boys weren’t an accident, as all my fellow obsessive compulsive cooks can attest to the sense of satisfaction derived from stacking circular patties atop circular buns. No overhang. No excess. Just geometric glory.
Top off the patties with homemade tomato sauce and a slice of fresh, melted mozzarella and you just scored a touchdown with carnivores and vegetarians alike.
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants (2 ½ lbs)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 2 cups Italian-style breadcrumbs
- 1 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into rounds
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 2 cups tomato sauce, store-bought or homemade
- 2 dozen brioche slider rolls
Special Equipment:
- 3 inch round cookie cutter
Instructions
- Slice the eggplants lengthwise into ½-inch thick slices, then use the cookie cutter to cut out two rounds from each of the slices.
- Place the eggplant rounds in a colander and toss them with 1½ teaspoons salt. Let them drain in the colander over a bowl in the sink for 45 minutes to remove excess moisture.
- Bread the eggplant rounds in batches by coating them in the flour, then the eggs and then the breadcrumbs.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add enough oil to liberally coat the bottom of the pan. Pan-fry the breaded eggplant rounds in batches for 2 to 3 minutes, flipping them once until both sides are golden brown. Remove the cooked eggplant rounds and immediately transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate. Continue the pan-frying process, changing the oil as necessary, until all of the rounds are cooked.
- Halve the brioche slider rolls and add 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce to the bottoms of the rolls. Stack an eggplant round atop the sauce, top it with another tablespoon of sauce and a piece of sliced mozzarella. Repeat the assembling process with all of the buns, transferring them to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Turn your broiler to high and carefully slide the cookie sheet under the broiler just long enough until the cheese melts. Immediately cap off the sliders with the tops of the buns and serve.
Kelly's Note:
- Chop up the discarded eggplant from the cutouts and roast it for a simple side dish, or use it to make Pasta Arrabiata with Roasted Eggplant.
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Needed to use up some eggplant and came across this dish. It was excellent! Even my picky eaters (that includes my husband) went back for more. Thanks Kelly!
Woohoo! So glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe, Mary!
Great recipe, i use the extra eggplant to make a lentil, eggplant,zucchini sauted with tomatoes. Delish
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Urmilla!
Thank you for your great recipe.They r easy to make and tasty.I try most of them .will keep going!
So glad you are enjoying the recipes, Carly!
I would fry these in olive oil instead of vegetable oil for more flavor.
These look so delicious and I followed this recipe, exactly! The breadcrumbs just slid off, when frying and I ended up with burnt breadcrumbs, on the bottom of my skillet and oil soaked eggplant. Not sure why mine didn’t turn out.
I like to bake mine. The breading always stays put, and it cuts out all of that oil.
How long did you bake these for and at what temperature?
After coating them with the flour, eggs and bread crumbs, let them sit at room temp for about 30 minutes. You can do this with breaded pork chops to help keep the coating from falling off.
These were easy enough to make but very bland tasting.
They definitely need something…
Instead of plain tomato sauce, use marina sauce.
Any advice for making these ahead? I’m thinking of serving these the first time I host my hostess with the mostess aunt and it seems like it could include a lot of prep time away from hosting. Could I pre-cut the eggplant, bread and freeze them?
Thanks – excited to try it!
Where is the Parmesan in this recipe?!
Hello! That’s just the name of this dish. Eggplant Parmesan is a dish made with breaded eggplant, marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese :)
Kelly, Eggplant Parmesan is not just the name of the dish. The Italian way to make it is to mix parmesan cheese in with the eggs to coat the eggplant. We do not use crumbs.For this dish maybe it’s OK, but not the Italian way.
How much Parmesan? Or is it just the name? They look lovely!
It’s just the name of the dish!
Hi Kelly,
This is amazing spin on eggplant. Genius! I love it. I am gonna try it. Thanks for sharing.
Best,
Devi
Thanks so much, Devi!
I should have sliced the eggplant like you did before cutting out the circles… I felt bad about wasting so much of it.
But- What a delicious recipe! It was SO GOOD. Definitely adding this to the meal rotation. Thanks for sharing!
So simple, but so gorgeous. I can’t wait to try them. The buns look good too!
These look great. I bet you could use Asian eggplants, and just slice them, no need to use a cookie cutter, maybe just peel them b/c the skin can be kind of tough. What do you think? I have to try this recipe.
These were deeeeeeeelicious! Not complicated *at all* to make, and actually kind of fun! Even my spectacle family members thought they were good-though the 14-yr-old brother got a little tired of the eggplant, but hey. He’s a teenage guy. He still ate at least 3 or 4 ;) These are definitely worth trying and I’m sure if it was a demand, chicken wouldn’t be hard to substitute in!
Thanks a million for such a great recipe!
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Kim!
These are adorable and look delicious. TY! My only question is what you do with the left over eggplant (or did I miss that in your post)? Do you do something creative with it or not?
Thanks, Lea! I usually take all of the leftover eggplant, chop it up into bite-size pieces, toss it with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast it at 350F until tender. Eat as is, or stir into marinara for a heartier sauce!