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Home Veg and Salad Sides

Oven Roasted Eggplant (aubergine)

By:Nagi
Published:15 Jul '20Updated:18 Oct '21
189 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

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!

Close up of Oven Roasted Eggplant with caramelised edges

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!

Overhead photo of Oven Roasted Eggplant on a tray, fresh out of the oven

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!

Ingredients in Oven Roasted Eggplant

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:

  1. cut into large pieces – smaller pieces cook too quickly and turn into mush before the outside has a chance to caramelise; and

  2. 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:

  1. you’ve skimped on the oil; or

  2. 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

How to roast eggplant

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).

Close up of fork picking up Oven Roasted Eggplant

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.

Plate of Oven Roasted Eggplant

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.

Close up of Roasted Eggplant Lentil Salad

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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Close up of roasted eggplant cubes

Oven roasted eggplant (aubergine)

Author: Nagi
Prep: 5 minutes mins
Cook: 30 minutes mins
Sides, Vegetables
Western
5 from 88 votes
Servings4 – 5 as a side
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. 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. As oposed to a mushy mess, or shrivelled up and dismal! The key is: large pieces and high oven temp.
Eggplant is actually really bland when raw, but it completely transforms when roasted. You don't need anything more than salt and pepper, but I've added some suggestions!

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:

Peeling – if you’re bothered by eggplant skin (which I am not – I don’t find it at all chewy), peel “zebra stripes” 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.
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).
Keywords: baked aubergine, roasted eggplant
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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189 Comments

  1. mirte says

    December 1, 2023 at 4:08 am

    5 stars
    Thank you for the recipe and not having a 1000 word blog post (that no one is interested in) before getting to the cooking part.
    Here I am thinking roasted eggplant takes 2 hours minimum, I was so wrong.. this was great. Will definitely make again

    Reply
  2. Ricardo says

    November 15, 2023 at 6:12 pm

    Fantastic recipes I ❤️ thanks 🙏

    Reply
  3. Melissa H Sadowsky says

    October 9, 2023 at 7:39 am

    5 stars
    If you plan on making this for a recipe, then you’d better make a double batch because you’ll eat half of it as a snack as it’s coming out of the oven.

    Reply
  4. Giselle says

    September 10, 2023 at 10:04 am

    5 stars
    I’d never been able to successfully prepare eggplant (always came out undercooked or shiveled and dismal to use your words) until your recipe, and now I’m obsessed. If you’re wondering who the person is who keeps re-finding your page using the keywords “eggplant” and “dismal”, it’s me. Dismal eggplants no more.

    Reply
  5. Helen says

    August 30, 2023 at 2:56 pm

    5 stars
    My husband didn’t think he liked eggplant, but he gave this a ten out of ten. I’ll definitely be making this again

    Reply
  6. CK says

    August 29, 2023 at 1:24 pm

    5 stars
    Yum! I love not having to salt the eggplant. It always seemed weird to me, I never figured out whether it even worked.

    Reply
  7. James E Daniels says

    August 21, 2023 at 6:44 am

    5 stars
    The best eggplant I’ve ever tasted. Who would have believed it could be so simple?

    Reply
  8. Julie says

    August 19, 2023 at 2:30 pm

    5 stars
    This is the easiest, fastest and most delicious way to cook eggplant! It turned out perfectly, thanks to such excellent instructions! I recommend this method for after-work evenings when you are too tired to cook.

    Reply
  9. Omar says

    August 18, 2023 at 11:42 am

    I used white eggplant and did find it should have been peeled. It’s a variety I like but not sure if it is just this year’s that had tougher skin.

    Reply
  10. Darlene says

    August 14, 2023 at 10:48 pm

    5 stars
    So easy and so delicious. I’ll definitely be making this again and again!

    Reply
    • Karen W says

      August 17, 2023 at 7:27 am

      5 stars
      This was delicious!
      If I had known how easy eggplant was to cook, I would have eaten it every week. I always read the recipes that told you to salt eggplant, wait, and press it.
      With this simple recipe, I skipped all that, and my eggplant came out tender – in only 30 minutes. I did salt and pepper it before cooking, and your advice to use enough oil made a big difference. I finished with the drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Delicious!

      Reply
  11. Emlyn says

    July 22, 2023 at 12:59 am

    5 stars
    Excellent taste. Easy to prepare. Skin and all tastes good!! All tacit knowledge to prepare was given and video made it easy. Great eats!!

    Reply
  12. Cindy says

    July 21, 2023 at 9:36 am

    I have made this recipe over and over and over again, this is a gem. The key as you say is cutting the eggplant in large chunks. Thank you

    Reply
  13. Lynne Schreiber says

    June 22, 2023 at 11:15 am

    5 stars
    I’ll never make eggplant any other way, thank you!

    Reply
  14. leslie says

    June 18, 2023 at 7:31 am

    5 stars
    We eat a lot of eggplant and this was the VERY BEST eggplant I’ve had, and so simple. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.

    Reply
  15. JIWA says

    June 13, 2023 at 5:45 pm

    5 stars
    made this eggplant recipe for the 4-5th time again to night. Came out just perfect. I have gotten it down to perfection. We just ate the pieces for an appetizer whip fork in front of the TV. Your techniques are teh best. I have used this for both Indian and Thai recipes with great success. Hope you are having a great season. into fall as we go into summer.

    Reply
  16. Barbara says

    May 19, 2023 at 9:52 am

    5 stars
    This recipe was simply amazing, and delicious.
    We have a garden with plenty of eggplant, so I am making this recipe again.
    I think it will be one of my favorite recipes to make.
    Thank you!

    Reply
  17. Mark Tupper says

    May 7, 2023 at 11:30 pm

    5 stars
    Easy and delicious. I tried this with a leftover aubergine (eggplant) and a courgette (zucchini). It worked equally well for both.

    Reply
  18. RICHARD NOBLE says

    April 18, 2023 at 5:15 am

    5 stars
    Brilliant way to cook them I only had one so I mixed it up with 1 courgette and it was delicious just with oil,salt and pepper Yummy with Chicklen in a sauce!

    Reply
  19. Claire says

    February 10, 2023 at 4:08 pm

    5 stars
    Wow, this was so good! I’ve been looking for an easy eggplant recipe for non-grill season. This was the perfect done-ness without all the oil when frying in the pan. Thank you!

    Reply
  20. Anu says

    February 2, 2023 at 2:09 pm

    5 stars
    This was SO simple, but really delicious. Great way to make eggplant. Definitely going into my recipe book, in pen !

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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