Grilled Eggplant Salad with Freekeh. Loaded up with fresh herbs and served over a tangy yogurt dressing, this healthy salad is full of Middle Eastern flavor. Vegan adaptable!
If I had another life I would want to spend it all on some unstinting happiness. I would be a fox, or a tree full of waving branches. I wouldn’t mind being a rose in a field full of roses. Fear has not yet occurred to them, nor ambition. Reason they have not yet thought of. Neither do they ask how long they must be roses, and then what. Or any other foolish question. ~ Mary Oliver
In this eggplant salad recipe, Grilled eggplant is tossed with fresh herbs and freekeh, then served overtop a delicious yogurt dressing. To me, it’s heavenly, combing all my favorite Middle Eastern flavors together to make a delicious make-ahead salad that is vegan adaptable.
Wait, but what is freekeh?
What really makes this salad shine is the actual freekeh. Now this may just look and seem like a bigger, more coarse version of cracked wheat. But it is sooooooo far from it! Freekeh is actually smoked. The whole wheat kernels are picked when they are still young and green, then they are roasted and smoked over a wood burning fire, charring off the chaff, before being just lightly cracked. The smoke flavor subtly permeates the dishes and salads you make with it. AND that is why I loooooooooove it so much! Together with the grilled eggplant and tangy dressing, it tastes amazing! Freekeh is considered an ancient grain, and yes it does contain gluten.
This could easily be a main course salad.
To make this vegan, use a vegan yogurt or sour cream.
Fire up the grill before it gets too cold and grill the eggplants.
Toss the grilled eggplant with the fresh herbs and cooked freekeh and citrusy dressing. This will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge.
When ready to eat, serve it over the tangy yogurt dressing.
Top with fresh herbs and enjoy!
For more make-ahead salads be sure to go here!
PS. If you live in Spokane, you can find Freekeh at the International Food Store on East Mission. They also have amazing, thin whole wheat pita bread (frozen), Lebaneh, Halloumi Cheese, Zaatar Spice and Aleppo!
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Grilled Eggplant Salad with Freekeh and Yogurt Dressing
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: salad, eggplant recipes, freekeh recipes
- Method: grilled
- Cuisine: middle eastern
Description
Grilled Eggplant Salad with Freekeh, a smoked, ancient Middle Eastern grain, tossed with fresh herbs and served over a tangy yogurt dressing. Vegan adaptable!
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry Freekeh 2 1/2 cups water 1 large eggplant, sliced into 1/4 inch slices 1/4 cup mint, chopped 1/4 cup dill, chopped 1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped 3 scallions, sliced
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest 4 tablespoons olive oil 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon sumac (optional) 1/2 teaspoon aleppo chili flakes ( optional)
Yogurt Sauce:
- 1 cup plain thick Greek yogurt ( or sub vegan yogurt) 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill (or mint, or parsley) 1-2 garlic cloves finely minced 1/2 teaspoon sumac (optional) 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Instructions
Notes
Sumac gives the salad an earthy tangy quality. If you don’t have it, you may need a little more salt, and add some lemon zest.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 337
- Sugar: 8.3 g
- Sodium: 486.2 mg
- Fat: 17.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 42.5 g
- Fiber: 10.3 g
- Protein: 9.3 g
- Cholesterol: 8 mg
Hi Sylvia – Your Grilled Eggplant Salad was fantastic! My vegan husband loved it! I couldn’t find freekeh so I subbed farro and it worked. I will try freekeh next time. This recipe is a keeper! FAH is my go-to site for healthy and delicious recipes. Thank you!
Thanks Laura! So happy you liked it. Yes, if you. can track down Freekah, it is so lovely!
This is a great recipe! I’ve made it several times and always enjoy it. When I was out of freekeh I substituted farro and have also added grilled zucchini.
Thanks Robin! Glad you liked it!
Super easy and great flavors! As I made it, was not confident it was going to come out tasty, but it was a crowd pleaser! Roasted the eggplant instead of putting it on the grill, which I am sure would have elevated the recipe more, but still turned out great.
Thanks and glad you liked it!
WOW! This is sensational. I’m sure to make this again and again. As always, you’re recipes are the absolute best ever. I’ve tried so many of your recipes and each time they deliver a great outcome. Thanks Sylvia!
Thanks so much Lucy!
Loved this! I had to walk an hour to a Middle Eastern supermarket in Brussels, for the Freekeh, but totally worth it.
Thanks so much- glad it proved worthy of the walk!
Thank you!! This recipe is phenomenal! I put some zucchini in there and used coriander instead of mint as I didn’t have any but it was Magnificent!
Im so happy you liked this- I really enjoy this one too. The freekah is so tasty!
Our next step toward more meatless meals, am finding new-to-me grains like Freekeh. Made this last night–could have used large eggplant as directed, delicious & filling anyway! Next time–less lemon juice & herbs in sauce–try sumac which forgot to add.
Hi Sylvia,
Can you tell me where I can buy freekeh in Spokane? I want to try your grilled eggplant recipe that uses it.
Thank you for your weekly inspiration- I love Mary Oliver’s quote this week?
Patty Gates
Patty, you could try calling Huckleberries but I know they have it at the International Food Store on East Mission in Spokane. While you are there, they also have really yummy frozen pita bread – I like the very thin kind that is whole wheat. Also, they have Lebneh. AND HALLOUMI!!!;)
I’ve never really cooked with eggplant before but I’ve been trying to be more open to new food ideas so I’ll definitely give this one a try