When a taco craving strikes, meet it with these delicious eggplant tacos! Breaded in a mixture of almond flour then panko mixed with taco seasoning, this baked-not-fried dish offers all the flavour and texture of take-out.

Ingredients for Crispy Eggplant Tacos

1 large eggplant
½ cup fine almond flour
2 large eggs, whisked
1 cup gluten-free panko
2 teaspoons taco seasoning
Avocado oil or oil spray
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
8 corn tortillas
1 avocado, diced
1 red onion, finely diced or pickled

For the sauce
6 garlic cloves
1 large serrano pepper or jalapeño; ribs, seeds and stems removed
1 cup fresh cilantro
¾ cup fresh parsley
½ ripe avocado
½ teaspoon salt
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon agave syrup or honey
2–3 tablespoons avocado oil

Directions For Crispy Eggplant Tacos

  1. Prepare the sauce. Add all the sauce ingredients to a food processor and process until nearly smooth. You may need to stop and use a spatula to scrape down any mixture collecting on the sides. Add more avocado oil or agave syrup as needed to thin the sauce. Refrigerate the sauce until ready to use.
  2. Make the eggplant filling. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Cut the eggplant into a classic French-fry cut or batonnet, which measures at least ¼ x ¼ x 2½ inches (6mm x 6mm x 6.25cm).
  3. Prepare three small bowls. Fill one with the almond flour, one with the whisked eggs, and one with the panko and taco seasoning mixed together. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray or drizzle with avocado oil as needed
  4. Working in batches with a few pieces at a time, coat the eggplant with almond our, shaking off any excess. Next, dip into the whisked eggs. Then fully coat the eggplant pieces with the panko mixture. Place the battered eggplant on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining eggplant.
  5. Place the halved tomatoes evenly spaced on the same baking sheet next to the eggplant.
  6. Bake the eggplant and tomatoes for 20 to 25 minutes, then increase the oven heat to 450°F (230°C) and bake for 5 more minutes or until the panko turns brown and crispy. You may need to remove the tomatoes early if they have sufficiently blistered.
  7. Build the tacos. Warm the tortillas in the microwave, spread a spoonful of sauce on each, then add baked eggplant, diced avocado, diced onion, blistered tomatoes, and, if desired, top with more sauce.

Excerpted from Honey, What Do We Got? by Tom and Rachael Sullivan. Recipe photography © Jessi Lancaster, 2025. Published by DK. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.