Eggplant Margherita Puff Pastry Tarts

Melted mozzarella, lightly breaded eggplant, and fresh tomatoes baked in a puff pastry tart. An absolutely irresistible appetizer!! Make these Eggplant Margherita Puff Pastry Tarts for your next dinner party or family dinner.

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Is anyone else battling with too much eggplant this time of the year?

We've been getting 2 eggplants a week from our CSA for a few weeks now. I made this awesome appetizer not too long ago, and I wanted to try something new today.

So I made these eggplant margherita puff pastry tarts, and they came out delicious. I mean, there's no way food can be anything other than delicious when there is a flaky crust, breaded eggplant, and melted mozzarella cheese.

Related recipe: Air Fryer Puff Pastry Toaster Strudel

I think Aldo mentioned how good this was after every bite. He also couldn't decide if it tasted more like eggplant parm or margherita pizza, hence the name: Eggplant Margherita Puff Pastry Tarts.

So here's the recipe. We *still* had too much eggplant so while I was at it, I made a few stacks of eggplant-tomato-cheese without the puff pastry, and those were really good too.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Eggplant Margherita Puff Pastry Tarts

Melted mozzarella, lightly breaded eggplant, and fresh tomatoes baked in a puff pastry tart. An absolutely irresistible appetizer!!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4

Author: Kate

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Ingredients

• 1 lb sheets puff pastry - , (2 sheets) thawed
• 2 small eggplant - (or 1 medium/large eggplant)
• ¾ cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs - , beaten
• salt and pepper - , to taste
• 4-8 tablespoons vegetable oil - , for frying eggplant
• 2 large tomatoes, such as beefsteak - , sliced
• 16 oz fresh mozzarella log - , sliced
• 1 handful fresh basil leaves

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400F. Put some parchment paper on a large baking sheet (or 2 medium ones for both puff pastry sheets) and spray with non-stick spray. Thaw the puff pastry and lay it out on the parchment paper.

   
• Prepare the eggplant: Slice the eggplant into thin ¼ inch circles. Set up two small bowls near the stove - one with Italian breadcrumbs, and one with beaten eggs. Add a generous pinch of salt and pepper to the beaten eggs. 
• Dip the eggplant in egg and then into the breadcrumbs, make sure both sides are evenly coated. 
• Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet pan and fry the breaded eggplant slices for about 2 minutes on one side, or until nicely browned. Carefully turn over the eggplant slices, add more oil if needed. Fry on the other side for 2 minutes until nicely browned. Remove the eggplant and place on a paper towel to absorb the extra oil. Repeat until all the eggplant is cooked.  
• Did the puff pastry thaw by now? OK, good. Arrange the eggplant on the puff pastry, leaving about a ½ inch edge of puff pastry all around. Add the tomato slices on top. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and top with basil leaves. 
  
• Bake at 400F for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the tray from the oven. 

  Add the mozzarella slices on top, and place in the oven for another 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the puff pastry has puffed up and turned golden brown on the sides. Slice each puff pastry into 4 pieces and top with more fresh basil.

   

Notes

If you have extra fried eggplant, tomato, and mozzarella cheese, you can make a few eggplant-tomato stacks and bake them for the same amount of time as the puff pastries - top with mozzarella cheese for the last 5 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 1243kcal (62%) | Carbohydrates: 77g (26%) | Protein: 47g (94%) | Fat: 80g (123%) | Saturated Fat: 23g (115%) | Cholesterol: 82mg (27%) | Sodium: 614mg (26%) | Potassium: 152mg (4%) | Fiber: 3g (12%) | Sugar: 2g (2%) | Vitamin A: 160IU (3%) | Vitamin C: 0.6mg (1%) | Calcium: 65mg (7%) | Iron: 4.4mg (24%)

The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.