Fried Eggplant with Honey, or berenjenas con miel, is a popular vegetarian tapa in Spain. These eggplant sticks are deep-fried in olive oil until crisp and finished with honey and a sprinkle of salt.
Forget everything you thought you knew about fries! Prepare to be utterly delighted by these Eggplant Fries with Honey—known in Spain as Berenjenas con miel, a beloved tapas. Imagine tender eggplant sticks, crisped to perfection in the oven, then finished with a sweet drizzle of golden honey and a sprinkle of salt. It’s a magical sweet-and-savoury combination that’s incredibly simple and fast, turning a humble veggie into a star.
Deep Frying with Olive Oil
Knowing that common eggplants contain lots of water, which makes them often saggy once cooked, the only way to make them relatively firm and crisp is to coat them in a light coat of flour and breadcrumbs and fry them at high temperatures. An essential element to deep-frying the eggplant successfully is ensuring the oil is hot enough; this way, it won’t get absorbed and saggy.
Also, be careful not to add too many pieces simultaneously; you’ll end up cooling the olive oil and finishing with sad, greasy, and soft eggplant fries. So keep the oil temperature between 180-190°C (300-350F°). This way, the eggplant won’t absorb much oil and will keep the top layer of the fries crisp.
Yes! Olive Oil for Deep Frying!
If you are skeptical about deep-frying with olive oil, don’t be! Olive oil is one of the most stable and resistant to long cooking periods; it loses fewer volatile compounds than most oils and doesn’t alter the taste of anything, as many believe. It loses its flavour with the heat. It’s the base of
Spanish gastronomy uses olive oil for everything from salad dressing to marinating, cooking, and deep frying! Spaniards are second on the list of countries where people live the longest, so they must be doing something right. If you don’t reach the smoke point over 190°C (350F°), it’s perfectly safe. If you need more convincing, here is an interesting article about it.
Trick to Preserve Oil
Also, if you want to preserve the olive oil used for frying later, filter the completely cooled-down oil through a coffee filter, or a simple paper towel inserted in a fine-meshed sieve and voila! Conserve it in a cool, dark place. You’ll be able to reuse it a few times this way.
Eggplant Bitterness
Some people find eggplant has a bitter taste, but I’ve never had a problem with bitterness. This unpleasant taste mostly happens when the eggplant is too mature. Do not worry… There is a way to fix this problem. Soaking them in a salty bath for 30 minutes before you cook them will eliminate the bitterness. This step also gives an extra taste to the eggplant, but if you do not feel like waiting for an additional 30 minutes, omit this step and go right to the deep frying.
Smaller eggplants generally contain fewer seeds, resulting in less bitterness and a more tender, creamy flesh. This makes them ideal for dishes like these delicious honey-drizzled fries.
Honey or Cane Syrup
While this popular Spanish tapa, Berenjenas con miel, is traditionally served with a rich, dark cane sugar syrup (molasses), don’t let the name fool you into thinking it’s always honey! For this particular recipe, though, I’ve gone straight for the good stuff: a generous drizzle of top-notch honey over the perfectly cooked eggplant, finished with just a sprinkle of salt. Trust me, there’s nothing like that incredible sweet and salty combination!
Serving with
You can serve these as tapas with a lovely beer, wine, or vermouth. Here are a few other tapas that could go well with this:
- Pan con Tomate – The Ultimate Tapa
- Spanish Tortilla de Patata Violeta
- Squid Ink Croquettes (Spanish)
So let’s make some tapas!
Fried Eggplant with Honey
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants
- 3 tbsp flour
- 3 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 1 l olive oil (to fry)
toppings
- honey (to taste)
- coarse salt
Instructions
- Start by cutting the eggplant into thick (1cm) sticks (with the skin) and let it soak in salty (2 tbsp salt per litre) water for 30 minutes (add a plate over to immerse them all).
- In a deep enough pan, heat the olive oil to 180°C to 190°C (350°F to 370°F) degrees.
- Pat dry the eggplant sticks with a paper towel.
- Add the eggplant, flour and breadcrumbs to a big bowl, cover and shake the fries to coat them.
- Check the oil's temperature with a thermometer, or drop one fry to see if it gets fizzy. If it does, it's ready to go!
- Add a few eggplant sticks at a time, not to cool down the oil and let it fry for about 3 to 4 minutes until golden and crisp.
- Take out the fries with a slotted spoon, sprinkle salt and reserve them on a paper towel while you cook another batch.
- Just before serving, drizzle with good-quality honey.
Notes
- Cutting Variation: For a different presentation or if you prefer them thinner, cut the eggplant into round slices instead of sticks. Adjust baking time as needed for thinner pieces—they’ll likely cook faster.
- Traditional Touch: In Spain, this tapa (Berenjenas con miel) is often served with a dark cane sugar syrup (molasses) instead of honey, even though the dish is still called “eggplant with honey.” A drizzle of molasses would also be delicious if you want to try a more traditional approach!
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41 Comments
Beautifully demonstrated! Loved it!
Zucchini and eggplants are probably the best vegetables to fry (and potatoes of course), always delicious!
Double yum, here! We adore eggplant, and there are never enough ways to prepare it! Thank you for a great tapas idea!
Glad you guys like it!
I am not a big eggplant fan, but I have to admit those look quite delicious. This is a great post to read. Took me back to Spain and all the wonderful Tapas bars I used to enjoy as a student. Thank you.
my pleasure! 😉
I *never* would have thought to turn eggplant into fries. What a great idea! I bet they are wonderful with the honey – sweet & salty + crunchy is basically the ultimate combination.
Magic fries!
Oh yummy! I’m going to be looking out for these on the menu when I go to Spain next week
Enjoy your trip in sunny Spain!
This may be just what I need to start eating eggplant! I don’t like traditional dishes (eggplant parm etc) but this sounds so yummy I have to give it a try. And the Honey sounds like quite the lovely addition.
It might change your mind about eggplants! Enjoy!
Isn’t it strange eggplant is a love it or hate it food. It wasn’t until the last few years I have really started experimenting with eggplant. These look great. It is on my LOVE IT list.
Yes I agree, eggplants is a love it or hate it veggie. But I hope I can switch a few guys on the love side with those fries;)
Wow! This is amazing! I love a good salty sweet combo and I love fried eggplant. What a delicacy!
A spanish classic;)
I’ve never had eggplant fries, but now I need to try them! They look delectable and I love the sweet and salty combo.
I love this idea. We get loads of eggplant in our farm share and I’m always looking for new ways to use it. I tend to get lazy and just throw it on the grill. I love the drizzle of sweet honey at the end.
Glad you like it
This sounds so good, and I don’t really like eggplant! haha I love the addition of good honey. Yummy!
Believe me… this could change your mind about eggplants;)
This looks right up my alley. So much eggplant in the summer and I never know what to do with it!
How delicious, I love the idea of sweet & salty aubergine with a crunch. I like how you use olive oil for frying them, I’ve always steered clear of using it for deep frying for fear of burning it, will have a go now after reading your post.
I totally agree with your points on olive oil and love your tips on deep frying aubergine. I have to try this.
Olive oil is super stable at high heat and doesn’t deteriorate like any other oil types. Only thing is to keep it below 190°C. Enjoy!
I love eggplant in every way, and these fries look terrific!
Oh yum! This sounds so interesting and they look amazing! I bet the flavors are out of this world.
Great flavor for sure!
I’ve never been a huge fan of eggplant but I would totally give these a shot!
These will make you change idea about them! Guaranteed!
This sounds so different from the deep fried eggplants in the Indian style. I must try it when I’m in Spain next weekend.
I bet it’s great too the Indian style! Going to check it out!
Nice post… In India we eat it in a little spicy way… by deep frying then putting salt, turmeric, red chilly, dry mango powder and dry coriander powder… it tastes yumm will try your recipe too…
That Indian version sounds dreamy! I’ll try it out next time! although mango powder I might have trouble finding it.
Let me know how it tasted… just add less
I’m going to dehydrate a mango tonight… maybe next week I’ll try it and let you know;)
Oh my! This looks like one of those appetizers that you can keep eating and eating until you forget to eat the main thing :. So moreish!
Delicious indeed;)
Oh my goodness, I just love the idea of these eggplant fries! I am definitely trying them out soon!
I’ve never heard of eggplant fries before! It sounds delicious and I’m so glad I found your post. I love cooking and Spanish cuisine so this seems like a great recipe to make 🙂
Simple dish! But tasty one!