This is a recipe for how to roast eggplant in the oven so each piece is plump and juicy on the inside, and beautifully caramelised on the outside. Never again suffer through a tray of mushy mess!
Roasted Eggplant
The quickest way to elevate (almost) any vegetable is to roast it. And eggplant is no exception! It’s nothing interesting when raw – pretty tasteless actually.
But when you give it a good blast in a hot oven, it completely transforms. That moment when you bite through the gorgeous caramelised edges and the juicy flesh inside bursts in your mouth… UGH! So good!
Todays recipe is for roasting eggplant cubes. The two other common ways to roast eggplant is cut in half (like boats – here’s a recipe) or sliced into rounds (see this recipe).
What you need for roasted eggplant
Cross my heart, you don’t need anything more than salt, pepper and olive oil to roast eggplant. The caramelisation adds tons of flavour!
Eggplant roasting problems!
A common problem people run into when roasting eggplant cubes is that they turn into mush before they caramelise. Been there, done that!
The key to fix this is simple:
cut into large pieces – smaller pieces cook too quickly and turn into mush before the outside has a chance to caramelise; and
roast at a high temperature so the surface gets “sealed” and holds in the juice inside.
The other problem some people have is that when they go to flip or serve the eggplant cubes, the caramelised skin comes off. This happens if:
you’ve skimped on the oil; or
the flip you use doesn’t have a sharpish edge.
So if you’re a roasted eggplant newbie, parchment / baking paper is highly recommended – this will ensure you don’t lose any of that caramelised skin! (Seriously, it will make you cry if it all gets stuck on the pan)
How to roast eggplant
So with that said and done, here is how to cut and roast eggplant:
cut into thick 3cm / 1.2″ slices, then cut each slice into pieces to form cubes / rectangles
drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper then toss well in a bowl using a rubber spatula
spread out on tray and bake at 240°C/ 450°F for 20 minutes, flip, then for another 10 minutes, until the eggplant is super soft and caramelised on the edges
Peeling – if you’re bothered by eggplant skin (which I am not – I don’t find it at all chewy), peel “zebra tripes” down the eggplant like this. If you don’t leave at least some skin on, then the eggplant cubes are prone to collapsing and turning into mush – you need some skin to hold it together.
Bitterness & salting – In the past, the standard preparation method for eggplant including salting the eggplant to remove bitterness. The eggplant of today has largely had the bitterness bred out of it so unless you have a very old, very large one, you shouldn’t have this problem. I never have, and I only salt eggplant for specific recipes (like Greek Moussaka).
However, if you can’t get your head around cooking eggplant without salting it, here’s how: sprinkle the cubed eggplant with 1 tsp salt, toss, leave in colander for 30 minutes. Rinse then thoroughly pat dry, toss with oil and pepper (NO SALT), roast per recipe.
Select eggplants that are firm but have a bit of give, and feel heavy for their size (light = dried out inside).
Extra flavour and serving Roasted Eggplant
I truly mean it when I say that eggplant roasted with just salt and pepper is so good, you will be completely happy to eat it plain. And that’s certainly the way I serve it most of the time. It’s so juicy, you don’t even need a sauce!
But if you want to jazz it up a bit, here are a few ideas:
Thyme (my favourite, pictured below) – 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves sprinkled over. It goes so well with roasted eggplant, makes it taste almost buttery;
Parsley, chives or green onions – for touch of freshness and colour (not so much flavour);
Lemon juice – squeeze of fresh lemon juice (also great paired with thyme);
Balsamic vinegar (tiny drizzle) – pop of tartness is terrific! OR drizzle of balsamic glaze;
Dollop of yogurt – creamy yogurt pairs really well with the juicy eggplant flesh;
Pomegranate – plus yogurt. Looks spectacular!
Sprinkle of parmesan – reminiscent of Eggplant Parmesan.
More ways to use roasted eggplant!
And a few other ideas for ways to use roasted eggplant:
Dip / spread – Mash it (discard skin) then serve as dip or spread on toast;
On toast – Piled on toast slathered with butter (or ricotta) – try this crusty homemade bread;
Eggplant Parmigiana – Eggplant layered with rich tomato sauce, basil, and parmesan cheese, all topped off with stretchy, gooey mozzarella. Oh yeah!
Pasta – Pasta alla Norma!;
Stirred into curries (the roasting adds so much better flavour!) – try any of these curries but especially Thai Red Curry or Green Curry, this Coconut Curry Sauce; this epic Massaman Lamb Shank Curry. Just stir it in towards the end – it will absorb flavour fast and it will collapse if simmered in the sauce for too long
Stuffed into an omelette;
Tossed through a pasta salad;
Stirred into a stew or soup, like this quick Chicken Stew, this Chickpea Lamb Shawarma Soup, this hearty Beef and Vegetable Soup, Minestrone Soup, Lentil Soup (seriously amazing!) or this Brazilian Coconut Chickpea Stew.
OR in this big, juicy lentil salad piled high with roasted eggplant that I also shared today.
Don’t run for the hills at the thought of lentils – you haven’t tried MY lentil salad yet! It is not your usual bland and boring lentil salad, that’s for sure! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Oven roasted eggplant (aubergine)
Ingredients
- 700g/ 1.2 lb eggplants (2 medium), aka aubergine
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt (kosher / cooking salt, or 1/4 tsp table salt)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 240°C / 450°F (220°C fan).
- Line a tray with parchment/baking paper (optional – recommended for first timers so you don’t lose the caramelised surface).
- Cut eggplant into large cubes – 3 cm / 1.2″. Place in large bowl, drizzle with oil, salt and pepper.
- Toss well, spread on tray, roast 20 minutes. Turn, roast for a further 10 minutes – edges should be caramelised, soft inside, but they’re not shrivelled up and dismal.
- Transfer to serving plate. Delicious served plain, but see below for some finishing options.
FINISHING OPTIONS:
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (my favourite!), drizzle of fresh lemon juice, parsley, chives or green onions (for touch of freshness and colour, not so much flavour), tiny drizzle of balsamic vinegar (pop of tartness is terrific! OR drizzle of balsamic glaze), dollop of yogurt (creamy yogurt pairs really well with the juicy eggplant flesh).
Recipe Notes:
Life of Dozer
Some people don’t find lunch at my place very relaxing….
Delicious roasted eggplant. Two things –
1- recipe calls for 1.2 pounds. That the total weight of the 2 eggplants? right?
2- Wouldn’t it be better to drizzle the oil over the eggplant after it’s in the baking pan? When adding it in the bowl it gets soaked up immediately. (I did add it to bowl though, and it came out great!).
thank you.
Cooked this last night, wonderful!
Easy, delicious recipe–I served drizzled with a chermouli sauce, so good!
Does the recipe work with Japanese eggplant?
Yes it should but you will need more of them as they are smaller. Just be sure to cut to the correct thickness. N x
Super easy & super tasty. Thanks again Nagi. Really fab!!
Adore this eggplant recipe!! Perfect every time!
Made this tonight. It came out a little burnt – I think 15 mins on first side would have been fine. Still pretty yummy though! I love eggplant and will be making this again.
Yes ovens can vary a bit. So glad you enjoyed it Silvia! N x
I made this and my husband and I loved the tasty recipe. Nice to have another way to eat eggplant.
Thank you!
Elizabeth Wolff
Hi Elizabeth..so glad you enjoyed it! N x
Enjoyed the eggplant, sans the “zebra tripes”. 🤭
Oops!! Added that one to the fixit list! N x
Can I make in advance and warm later?
I like the “Oven Roasted Eggplant” Recipe because I don’t know the cooking method for a long time until I find out your method of cooking eggplant, tks lot.
I would not use parchment paper since it’s usually only safe up to 425 degrees. Use nonstick aluminum foil..
This is a very nicely presented recipe — having had some of the problems highlighted here, I appreciate these fixes (which work!).
I appreciate how your presentation is a little chatty, but mostly just contains advice related to the recipe, as well as other ways to use the main ingredient.
Also, I know cooking sites always have ridiculously luscious close-up photos of their food, but even so, your fork-through-caramelized-eggplant is pretty spectacular.
One thing — you may be able to get away with smaller cubes of eggplant with a slightly lower temperature (400F). But really, the cubes contract, so 1/2″ ends up being a nice size.
Thanks again!
I mixed garlic, ginger, sambal olek, mirin and brown sugar, poured it over and roasted it. Voila – my own version caramelised chilli eggplant. Paired it with your cauliflower fried rice. So good!
Thank you, your recipe is very helpful to make eggplant different ways. And God bless you!
I enjoy preparing eggplant as a side dish for many of my favorite meals! It adds a lot of flavor to the overall experience!
It was delicious. I often have mushy eggplant. Not this time.
If you use parchment paper, at the temperatures listed, they’re won’t be any carmelization to lose. Just smushy eggplant that needs thrown into a food processor and rebranded as baba ganoush. I thought that sounded like bad advice, but tried it as described anyway. Total sludge, nothing like it should have been.
Hi Rika, sorry you had trouble here – there definitely will be caramelisation, sounds like your oven may run slightly cool? N x
Hi Nagi, I don’t ususally do this…send thanks or comments when I try an online recipe. Making an exception here: I thought your Roasted Eggplant Lentil Salad was fabulous…and it taught me a few things. Thank you!!! Bobbie
That’s so kind of you Bobbie, thanks so much!! N x
NYC Greenmarket eggplants say “yes!” (also, zukes).