Recipe: Spiced Aubergine (or Eggplant) Crisps (2024)

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Published on May 19, 2014 by Helen Best-Shaw 22 Comments
Last Updated on August 30, 2018

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This week is National Vegetarian Week and a time to focus on, and enjoy delicious meat free food. I think of it as a opportunity to focus on all the delicious things you can eat, rather than just thinking about not eating meat. It certainly is a more positive way to go about things.

I will freely admit that aubergines, or egg plants are often neglected in the Fuss Free kitchen – I probably buy one a month. It’s a shame as they are delicious and versatile, think of richly flavoured baba ganoush, a comforting vegetarian mossuka or a tasty caponata. Aubergines are far less bitter than they used to be and gone are the days of salting to bring out their bitter juices.

I coated my aubergines in a spicy, smoky sauce before dehydrating to make crunchy crisps, which can satisfy a craving for bacon. You can make this in a low oven – if the thermostat allows it – I’ve not had that much success in a gas oven.

I thinly sliced my aubergine using the OXO Good Grips Mandolin (RRP £12). It is certainly cheaper than the box style of mandolin. It is easy to use – the blade is sharp, there are three thickness settings plus a safety setting. It fits into A derawer so is perfect for frequent low volume usage. On the minus side it is tricky to apply even pressure when slicing larger pieces of food (you can see it did not always cut even slices) and it is very tempting to not use the food holder when you start to slice – although it is easier I do not recommend this as it would be very easy to give yourself a nasty cut. One the whole it is a great piece of kit.

I’ve had my Lakeland dehydrator for some time and am a huge fan. Simply line up your food, stack the trays, switch on and go. it sits on the work top and blows warm air over the food with a gentle hum of the fan. I like that it has easily washable trays, that can stack compactly, or more spaced. It is basic, there is only one heat setting, and no timer and because of the design you cannot make large sheets of fruit leathers in it. But at a penny short of £50 is is a fraction of the price of other dehydrators and a good way to start dehydrating. If you are that way inclined there are numerous craft prospects with slices of dehydrated oranges and lemons!

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4.85 from 13 votes

Recipe: Spiced Aubergine (or Eggplant) Crisps

A delicious, easy to make home made alternative to chips: dehydrated spiced aubergine slices.

Servings: 2 servings

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time2 hours hrs

Total Time2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Ingredients

1 tbs tamari
1 tbs olive oil
1 dsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp chilli paste – I used Gran Luchito
1 medium aubergine – very thinly sliced

Instructions

Simply whisk all the ingredients for the marinade together, put into a large bowl with the aubergine slices and gently toss together so the slices are coated.
Arrange the slices on your dehydrator racks and dehydrate until done, turning once. This took a few hours but will depend on your machine and the thickness of the slices.
Alternatively place the aubergine onto non stick baking trays dehydrate in a very low oven.
Store in an airtight container.

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Camilla @FabFood4All

I love aubergines and vegetable crisps so these sound delightful especially with all those lovely flavourings;-)
Reply
- Helen
  They are almost a bacon substitute!
  Reply
Lynn

Want! These sound excellent. I buy no end of aubergines (3 for £1 on the market) but I’ve never tried anything like this.
Reply
See Also
Gluten Free Crêpes | Sweet and Savory Recipe Ideas
Sarah, Maison Cupcake

I’ve been toying whether to get a dehydrator, making my own crisps is of huge appeal!
Reply
- Helen
  Go for it Sarah!
  Reply
Katie Bryson

This recipe sounds right up my street. I’m such a fan of savoury munchies and these look very healthy but with bags of flavour. I quite fancy trying a dehydrator… or maybe one of those crisp making gadgets they demo’d at the Lakeland press show once that you put in the microwave.
Reply
- Helen
  I used to have one of those gadgets….
  Reply
Deena kakaya

I love that lingering yet easy taste of Aubergine crisps, and it feels so clever to make them. X
Reply
Adam @ CorrChilled

I usually don’t like Aubergine but I’ve just made these are they’re delicious!
Reply
Heather Haigh

Just got a mandolin – will give this a go. I do have a dehydrator but before I got one I tried making things in the fan over with it on low and the door open a bit – seen this suggested in raw food groups. My oven fan conked out and cost me £60 and I still had to buy my dehydrator. Doh!
Reply
Jacqueline Meldrum

I must get over my fear of my dehydrator and start using it. I love veg chips, so these are going on my to do list.
Reply
- Helen
  Go for it Jac. It uses the same power as a slow cooker and is very very easy to work with.
  Reply
shaheen

Oh yum yum yum, I am not a huge fan of aubergine, but when crisped up namely in pakoras/onion bhaji’s I adore it. I know i will enjoy these. I have a Lakeland dehydrator too, not used yet – this recipe (and anotehr with courgettes) may get me to get it out of the box finally, Thanks for sharing on #ExtraVeg
Reply
- Helen
  That Lakeland dehydrator is amazing and remarkably effective. Get going with it!
  Reply
Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet

Oooh, now you have my attention. Is a dehydrator a worthwhile investment? Also, do the aubergine crisps come out crispy or are they slightly tough and a bit chewy?
Reply
- Helen
  I love the dehydrator, I’d wanted one for a while and I think this one is very good value. The crisps are crisp, but you can pull them out befor they get to the crisp stage if you prefer them chewy.
  Reply
NaynaKanabar

I have never made aubergine crisps, very innovative.
Reply
- Helen
  Go for it Nayna, they were very morish, and not too bad for one.
  Reply
Helen

These look fab! We cook with aubergines A LOT, as they are one of my DD’s fave vegetables. I’m sure she’d go wild for these as a snack. I’ll have to try them in a low oven – be nice to keep the kitchen warm in this grotty weather, too… :-)
Reply
- Helen
  Let me know who they go Helen. The bowl did not last us long at all.
  Reply
Jessica

Can you do this with any other flavors? They sound brill!!
Reply
- Helen
  I see no reason why not Jessica. I have lots of raw treats planned for later in the year.
  Reply