Welcome! I am so happy you chose to gather around my table. My name is Mia Swinehart and I am a registered dietitian with a passion for simple healthy recipes, women's hormonal health, and overall wellness!
Super crispy cracker-coated eggplant bites. The perfect little gluten free side dish or appetizer!
These eggplant bites are simple to make and a healthy option for a satisfying side dish. Anything that gets dipped in some marinara and you can sign me up!
For marinara sauce, look for one with super simple ingredients. I make sure to get one without added sugar (lots of sauces will sneak in added sweeteners!), and no funky preservatives. If you want a creamy tomato sauce for these, you could make a half batch of my creamy vegan tomato sauce, linked here.
The first time I made these, Blake could literally not stop eating them– and he claims he doesn’t really like eggplant! I guess you really can’t turn down something coated in a delish crunchy cracker breading.
For the crackers, I love an almond flour based cracker, or any gluten free cracker you love! Just like the marinara, you want to look for one with as simple of ingredients as possible!
If you can get your hands on some organic eggplant from your local farmer’s market, I found those to typically be the perfect size! However, this will work fine with a larger eggplant. Just be careful not to slice too thick!
I can’t wait for you guys to try this perfect healthy side dish. Enjoy!
Crispy, crunchy, gluten free eggplant bites. Dipped in warmed marinara for the best gluten free side dish!
Ingredients
Scale
2 small eggplants (or 1 large), sliced into about 1/4″ thick rounds
2 eggs, whisked
2 cups paleo or gluten free cracker crumbs (measure after crushing in food processor or blender)
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp sea salt
black pepper, to taste
marinara sauce, for dipping
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper lightly with oil.
To make the cracker crumbs, add crackers to a food processor or blender and pulse until you have fine crumbs (some bigger pieces are ok). Measure ~2 cups after crumbs are made.
Have one bowl for the egg wash, and then in a separate shallow bowl combine the cracker crumbs, Italian seasonings, sea salt, and black pepper.
One by one, dip the eggplant slices in the whisked eggs and let any excess drip off, then dip in cracker crumbs until both sides are coated, then place onto the greased parchment paper.
Continue until all eggplant slices are coated, then bake for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Broil on high at the end for about 3 minutes to get the bites extra crunchy.
On the stove, gently heat your favorite marinara sauce for dipping.
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to tag @gatherednutrition on INstagram so I can see what you made! Leaving a rating and review on the site is a huge help too!
