Eggplant may be one of the most underrated vegetables in the kitchen. It can be smoky and silky, golden and crispy, or hearty and almost meaty-and these Eggplant Recipes show just how versatile it can be.
Here you’ll find our readers’ favorite eggplant recipes from around the world, from Greek Moussaka and Chinese Eggplant to Italian Eggplant Parmesan, curries, dips, and smoky Baba Ganoush. Growing up with an Egyptian father, Baba Ganoush was a staple in our home, and his version is still one of my favorite ways to eat eggplant.
As a chef, I’ve always loved cooking with eggplant, especially in plant-forward meals. Its hearty texture makes vegetarian dishes feel substantial and satisfying, and it takes beautifully to grilling, roasting, baking, braising, and stir-frying. Whether you’ve brought home one eggplant from the market or have a garden overflowing with them, you’ll find plenty of delicious inspiration here.
What Can I Make with Eggplant?
Eggplant is wonderfully versatile. Choose your cooking style or jump straight to the recipes below:
Bake it: Bread it for Eggplant Parmesan, layer it into Moussaka, or stuff it for a hearty vegetarian dinner.
Roast it: For silky interiors and caramelized edges-perfect for dips, pasta, grain bowls, and salads.
Grill it: High heat gives eggplant a smoky flavor and tender, almost creamy center.
Stir-fry it: Eggplant soaks up flavorful sauces beautifully, making it especially delicious in Chinese and other Asian-inspired dishes.
Braise it: Slow cooking turns eggplant meltingly tender and allows it to absorb spices, tomatoes, aromatics, and sauces.
Our Most Popular Eggplant Recipes
Start here! These reader-favorite eggplant recipes have earned their place at the top-from smoky Baba Ganoush and crispy Eggplant parmesan to flavorful dishes inspired by cuisines around the world. But if I had to pick a favorite, it would be my Eggplant Lasagna. I love it!
Eggplant Parmesan
This easy Eggplant Parmesan recipe is made with layers of lightly breaded baked eggplant, flavorful marinara sauce, parmesan cheese and melty mozzarella. Robust and flavorful, this classic Italian dish is one your whole family will love.
Chinese Eggplant
Spicy Chinese Eggplant with Szechuan Sauce -a tasty, easy vegan dinner recipe you can serve over jasmine rice, cauliflower rice, rice noodles, black rice or even quinoa!
Stuffed Eggplant
This Stuffed Eggplant recipe is so cozy and warming! Succulent eggplant is filled with basmati rice, your choice of ground meat (or lentils), herbs, and Lebanese spices and baked until meltingly tender in a fragrant tomato broth. Vegan-adaptable.
Miso Eggplant
This baked Miso Eggplant is roasted in the oven until tender and succulent, brushed with a flavorful miso glaze, and broiled for delicious caramelization. A tasty vegan dinner or side dish.
Eggplant Lasagna
This Baked Eggplant Lasagna is one of our favorites! A cozy, hearty vegetarian meal similar to Eggplant Parmesan with a succulent texture in a flavorful tomato sauce.
Moussaka
Moussaka is one of my favorite eggplant dishes. It’s made with layers of roasted eggplant in a rich tomato sauce topped with creamy béchamel and parmesan cheese. Perfect for entertaining or serving at a special gathering. It’s like eggplant parmesan but taken up a notch.
Baked Sheet-Pan Ratatouille!
This baked Sheet-Pan Ratatouille with eggplant, zucchini, onions and peppers is easy, healthy and vegan! Bake a big batch of these roasted vegetables on Sunday then serve it during the busy workweek over pasta, polenta or even eggs!
Spicy Chinese Eggplant Video!
Easy Eggplant Recipes
These easy eggplant recipes are quick to make and have so much flavor! From Thailand to China to the Philippines, these flavorful eggplant recipes are incredibly delicious when served with rice.
Meltingly Tender Moroccan Eggplant
Slow-Baked Moroccan Eggplant with Ras el Hanout, caramelized garlic, shallots and tomatoes. A rustic side dish that can be turned into a hearty vegetarian main. Â Serve with Basmati Rice or homemade Pita, and Tzatziki Sauce. (This makes a big batch, feel free to cut in half.)
Thai Eggplant Stir-fry
Thai Eggplant Stir-fry w/ your choice of protein, fresh veggies in a flavorful Thai stir-fry sauce with fragrant Thai basil.
Green Eggplant Curry
An easy, authentic recipe for Thai Green Curry with eggplant and your choice of tofu, chicken or shrimp.  A fast and easy weeknight dinner that can be made in 30 minutes!  Use store-bought green curry paste or make your own homemade green curry paste. Video.
Sinigang (Filipino Sour Soup)
Sinigang! Filipino Sour Soup with Salmon and Eggplant is bursting with umami flavor. Â Quick to throw together, loaded with veggies, and completely delicious. Â Serve with rice if desired. Â Vegan-adaptable and gluten-free.
Baked Eggplant Tikka Masala
Baked Eggplant Tikka Masala features tender, fan-roasted eggplant slathered in a rich, fragrant tikka masala sauce, baked until bubbling and golden. A cozy fall meal that is vegan-adaptable.
Grilled Eggplant Recipes
During the summer months, there is no better way to treat eggplant than grilling it! Here are a few of our favorite grilled eggplant recipes from around the globe.
Grilled Eggplant Slices with Greek Relish
Perfectly tender Grilled Eggplant with fresh Greek relish, Kalamata olives, and feta cheese, served over creamy polenta. Â An easy and healthy meatless dinner. Â Vegan-adaptable and gluten-free. Video! Â
Grilled Halloumi & Eggplant
Eggplant Salad with Grilled Halloumi Cheese, Tomatoes & a flavorful Mint Dressing- a delicious summer salad!
Grilled Eggplant with Gremolata
Grilled Eggplant Steaks with Fresh Tomato Relish and Gremolata -a zesty Italian herb sauce. Keep it vegan or add crumbled cheese. A simple, healthy meatless dinner recipe! Vegan, low-carb and gluten-free.
Grilled Eggplant Salad with Freekeh and Yogurt Dressing
Grilled Eggplant Salad with Freekeh, a smoked, ancient Middle Eastern grain, tossed with fresh herbs and served over a tangy yogurt dressing. Vegan adaptable!
Thai Grilled Eggplant Salad
This flavorful Thai Grilled Eggplant Salad is simple, light, and refreshing with a tangy, umami dressing made from fresh lime juice and fish sauce. Healthy and tasty, this Thai Salad comes together in 35 minutes! (Vegan-adaptable) Serve it with jasmine rice and make it a meal.
Eggplant Sandwiches and Wraps
Meaty, succulent eggplant takes the place of meat in these hearty wraps and sandwiches- a delicious healthy plant-based substitution!
Muffuletta Sandwich with Eggplant
How to make a Muffuletta Sandwich with Grilled Eggplant, roasted peppers, pesto, fresh mozzarella cheese, and ollive tapenade. Great for picnics, or summer gatherings.Â
Middle Eastern Eggplant Wrap
This vegan Middle Eastern Eggplant Wrap with a lemon juice-infused Kale Slaw with Creamy Tahini Sauce is super tasty! Keep it vegan or add feta! Simple, delicious and easy!!!
Eggplant Appetizers
These tasty eggplant appetizers are full of flavor, fun to make, and highlight beautiful eggplant! One of my personal favorites, this smoky baba ganoush recipe is best made on a grill, but we love it so much we make it all year long using the oven in the winter months.
Authentic Baba Ganoush
Learn the secret to making the BEST Baba Ganoush!  Made with only FIVE simple ingredients, this authentic Middle Eastern Eggplant Dip can be made on the grill or baked in the oven.
Eggplant Caponata(Sicilian Eggplant Appetizer)
This Sicilian Eggplant appetizer called caponata with made with grilled eggplant, red peppers, fresh basil, garlic olive oil and capers. Serve it as a healthy vegan appetizer with crostini.
Moroccan Eggplant Pickles
Moroccan Pickled Eggplant with garlic, coriander seeds and cilantro. A delicious way to preserve your garden eggplant just a little bit longer!
Vegan Eggplant Recipes
South Indian Vegetable Curry
This South Indian vegetable curry features end-of-summer vegetables in a fragrant, spice-infused coconut-tamarind curry sauce. Perfect for using up your garden veggies! Vegan & gluten-free.
Eggplant Puttanesca with Spaghetti Squash
Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Eggplant Puttanesca Sauce- a rich, robust vegan dinner recipe that is low in carbs, keto and gluten free! Easy and simple.
Traditional Ratatouille
Learn how to make classic Ratatouille, the way they do in Provence, with clean flavors and succulent summer vegetables.
Moroccan Eggplant Tagine
A simple, delicious Tagine Recipe with Eggplant cubes and Chickpeas infused with Moroccan spices served over cinnamon-scented couscous. This flavorful Eggplant Chickpea Stew is vegan and gluten-free! Video included.Â
Roasted Eggplant with Zaatar
Roasted Eggplant with Zaatar, served over rice or grains with lemony tahini sauce, plain yogurt, or tzatziki sauce. Vegan, Gluten-free!
Brinjal Curry (Indian Eggplant)
A flavorful recipe for Brinjal Curry (Indian Eggplant) gently simmered in a fragrant Masala Sauce until meltingly tender.
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A Chef's Guide to Cooking Eggplant
Eggplant can be smoky, silky, creamy, crispy, or wonderfully meaty depending on how you cook it. The key is to cook it until fully tender-undercooked eggplant can be spongy or rubbery, while properly cooked eggplant becomes meltingly soft and succulent.
Don’t undercook it! This is my most important tip. Whether roasting, grilling, sautéing, or braising, cook eggplant until the center is completely tender and creamy. It will look translucent.
Choose the right eggplant. Globe and Italian eggplants are meaty and versatile-great for roasting, grilling, Eggplant Parmesan, Moussaka, and Baba Ganoush. Japanese and Chinese eggplants are slender, thin-skinned, and especially tender, making them ideal for stir-fries, braises, and grilling. Small varieties like Fairy Tale eggplant are wonderful roasted or grilled whole or halved.
Choose eggplants that are firm and glossy. Look for smooth skin, a fresh green stem, and an eggplant that feels heavy for its size. Smaller eggplants tend to have tender skin and fewer developed seeds.
Salting is usually optional. Today’s eggplants are generally less bitter, so I rarely salt them unless a particular recipe benefits from removing excess moisture. I have repeatedly tested salting vs not salting, and as “uncheffy” as it sounds, I rarely salt these days.
There’s usually no need to peel. The skin is edible and helps the eggplant hold its shape. For large eggplants with tougher skin, peel away alternating strips for a nice balance of tenderness and structure. You can see this technique in my eggplant parmesan video.
Eggplant Recipes FAQs
Salting eggplant is optional. With especially large or bitter eggplant, salting will help remove the bitterness through “sweating” but this is generally not mandatory. You can also soak the eggplant in salted water, again, this is optional.
No need to peel eggplant as eggplant peels are edible and soften after cooking. If new to cooking eggplant or uncomfortable with the skin- feel free to remove part of the skin using a vegetable peeler, peeling in stripes.
If salting the eggplant- depending on the recipe you may need to rinse, or only pat dry. Refer to the particular recipe.
Eggplant is a versatile vegetable in the kitchen and be cooked in many ways. Most typically, it is grilled, baked, or stir-fried. But other methods work great too- smoked eggplant is heavenly, as well and pickled!
We love all the classic eggplant dishes, but when you have a garden full of eggplant to use up- it’s the perfect opportunity to get creative! Make eggplant pizza, eggplant meatballs, or a roasted eggplant salad. You could even try it in the air fryer!
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Have a favorite eggplant recipe? Let us know in the comments below. Sign up here to join our community and receive our latest recipes and weekly newsletter! xoxo Sylvia
25+ Easy Eggplant Recipes
- Prep Time: 40
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 9 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
25 delicious eggplant recipes the whole family will love- from Moussaka and Baba Ganoush, to the Best Eggplant Parmesan (recipe below), you’ll find inspiration here!Â
Ingredients
- 2 extra large eggplants, cut into -1/3 inch thick rounds ( 24 or 27 slices)
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/4 cups panko breadcrumbs (panko is lighter than traditional breadcrumbs)
- 1 3/4 cups parmesan cheese (divided) save 1/2 cup for assembly.
- 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
- Spray olive oil or olive oil for drizzling
- 28 ounces Marinara Sauce (store-bought or make your own)
- 2 fresh mozzarella balls, thinly sliced (or use 8 ounces grated)
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, optional
- Garnish: fresh basil, chili flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Slice eggplant into â…“ inch slices.
- In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk eggs, water, salt and pepper. In another wide shallow bowl, mix equal parts panko and parmesan.
- Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Dip the eggplant slices into the egg mixture, letting excess drip off, then dredge each side into the panko/parm mixture. Place on the sheet pans, repeating until all are done. Sprinkle any excess panko-parmesan mixture over top. Spray or drizzle generously with olive oil. Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden and crispy. The goal here is to get the eggplant golden and crispy, so be patient here. All ovens are different, this may take longer- feel free to use your boiler.
- Assemble: Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. Cover the bottom with ¾ cups marinara sauce. Saving the best-looking pieces for the top, place a layer of crispy eggplant on the bottom. Drizzle with ½ of the remaining marinara, add ½ the mozzarella and half the parmesan. Add fresh oregano if you like. Add the final layer of eggplant, cover with remaining marinara, sprinkle with remaining parmesan, and top with mozzarella. Season with salt and pepper and chili flakes.
- Bake at 400 F uncovered for 20-25 minutes until beautifully golden and edges are bubbling.
- Garnish with basil ribbons.
Notes
Storage: Leftovers Eggplant Parmasan will keep up to 4 days in the fridge for freeze for up to 6 months.Â
Salting: Feel free to salt the eggplant before making this- slice and salt each piece, let stand 30 minutes. Rinse an pat dry. Â
Parmesan: Use high-quality fresh grated parmesan if possible and even though this is called “Eggplant Parmesan” I love using half-pecorino cheese here for optimum flavor.Â
Lightened-up version: You can roast the eggplant without any breading, or just bread one side for a lighter option.Â
Gluten-Free Use gluten-free bread crumbs, or use roasted eggplant instead of breaded eggplant.Â
Nutrition
- Serving Size: about 1 cup
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 11.9 g
- Sodium: 1398.8 mg
- Fat: 10.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.6 g
- Fiber: 7.7 g
- Protein: 27 g
- Cholesterol: 68.8 mg
Made this for dinner tonight, scaled it by half since I only had one eggplant. I also subbed seasoned breadcrumbs (which is what I had on hand)… but still added lots of parm. 🙂 It was great!
great to hear Jenny!
Hey very interesting post!
Glad you like it!
This Eggplant Parmesan is absolutely wonderful! I did alter it just slightly because I didn’t have quite enough Parmesan cheese on hand. I substituted some of the cheese used in the eggplant ‘coating’ with nutritional yeast and it worked brilliantly! I love the lightness of the Panko crumbs too. And the eggplant was melt-in-your-mouth divine!
My husband told me it was the best Eggplant Parmesan he’d ever tasted! So thank you Sylvia! This recipe will definitely be on repeat at this home.
Awesome Rennie! Great idea with the nut. yeast.
The tagine is a favorite!
Great to hear!
Your photos are so gorgeous and show the beauty and versatility of eggplant. I want to make each of these recipes. Thank you for sharing!
Awww…thanks Brigette!
We have eggplant growing in our garden and have made many of these. Some of our favorites are the Baked Zaatar Eggplant, Baba Ganoush and the Asian eggplant stir-fry. Looking forward to trying the Lebanese Eggplant. Bob
Great to hear Bob!
Thanks for all the eggplant recipes. We made the Lebanese Stuffed Eggplant this weekend and we all agreed, it was one of the best eggplant dishes we’ve had!
Awesome Sara- so happy you enjoyed this!