This Roasted Eggplant spread has a rich, smoky flavor from perfectly roasted eggplant, bell pepper, and onion. Creamy and vibrant, it’s silky smooth against a slice of crusty bread or fresh veggies, and seems to just wake up the entire table. It can definitely star on it’s own, but it’s also versatile enough to be paired with sandwiches, pasta, or grilled meats. This one brings serious flavor!
Eggplant can be tricky to work with, but luckily I am a sucker for roasted vegetables. Also, I am a sucker for dips and spreads. Good news for me? It’s pretty much impossible to mess up roasted eggplant (especially when you purée it after you roast it).
Ingredients Needed
- eggplant
- bell peppers
- red onion
- garlic
- extra-virgin olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- tomato paste or puréed oven-roasted tomatoes
How to Make Roasted Eggplant Spread
- Roast chopped eggplant, peppers, onion, and smashed garlic with olive oil, salt, and pepper until tender and golden.
- Let cool slightly, then pulse in a blender or food processor with tomato paste or roasted tomatoes to your preferred texture.
- Serve warm as a spread for bread or on a pita, or toss with pasta for a simple vegetarian meal.
Storage & Other Tips
- Roasting: be sure to roast your vegetables in a single layer on the baking sheet for even caramelization.
- Pulsing: pulse just a few times in the blender or food processor. You want a spreadable texture with some body, not a completely smooth purée.
- Serving: Serve the dip warm with slices of baguette, sourdough bread, Rosemary Focaccia, Naan, pitas, pita chips, your finger, a spoon, whatever. This would also be an amazing, flavorful vegetarian sauce to toss hot pasta in for a light summer meal straight from your garden
- Refrigeration: Cool the spread to near room temperature, then store in an airtight container in the fridge. It keeps well for 3 – 4 days.
- Serving leftovers: Bring it back up to room temperature or warm it slightly, and give it a good stir before serving again; it will probably separate and thicken up in the fridge.
- Freezing: not sure on this one since we’ve never tried it, but in theory it should work. The texture will definitely shift a bit. If you try this, let us know how it goes! Thaw it in the fridge a day before you’d like to serve it.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a common technique when working with fresh eggplant. However, it’s not required in this recipe. Roasting caramelizes the eggplant and removes bitterness naturally.
Yes, it actually develops more flavor after resting in the fridge for a few hours. Just warm it slightly before serving.
I tested freezing this recipe and it worked great! The texture when serving again might change a bit, so stir it well before enjoying for the second time.
Roasted Eggplant Spread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant medium
- 2 red bell peppers
- 1 red onion medium
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste or puréed oven-roasted tomatoes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉ and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set aside.
- Chop eggplant, peppers, and onion into 1″ cubes. Smash the garlic. Toss together the vegetables and then drizzle them in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to evenly coat the vegetables and then spread them over the prepared baking sheet.
- Place the pan in the oven and roast the vegetables for 20 minutes. Flip and stir the vegetables with a spatula and then roast for another 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and browning. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
- Place the roasted vegetables along with the tomato paste or roasted tomatoes into a blender or food processor and pulse until the desired consistency is reached.
- Serve warm with slices of sourdough bread, pita chips, flatbread, or Rosemary Focaccia. You can also toss this sauce with hot pasta for a light vegetarian meal.
Questions & Reviews
This was great with baked greek meatballs and a greek salad. YUM!
I went right home and made this last night and it’s DELICIOUS! I, of course, ate a little more than I should have last night, but I loved it. I brought some to share with co-workers today, but I don’t know how much I’ll actually let them try 🙂
Thank you! What a great, healthy recipe. Now I have something to do with the abundance of all these eggplants in Japan:)
The other day I had an eggplant that I did not know what to do with! This would have been so great! 🙂 Now I’ll have to buy another one!
HA! 🙂
We have been getting eggplants for the past 3 weeks in our Bountiful baskets and I have had no idea what in the world to do with them but this looks super yummy and fabulous! Plus it’s healthy which is what I am going for right now 🙂 Thank you!
I have been searching for a good dip or spread to use up the eggplants that I get in my Bountiful Basket. This looks so delicious. Thank you!
Right there with ya on the garden thing, except I do it every year. Slow learner, very slow, I’ve lived in LA my whole life and I will probably do it again next year too. I can’t even grow herbs. Oh well that’s what the grocery is for 🙂
This looks AMAZING! Something very similar was my most favorite thing to eat when I was in Bulgaria. 🙂
This sounds delicious. We have another eggplant recipe that is unbreaded which I love. I think it would be delicious also with zucchini and yellow squash – yummmy – now to buy an eggplant at the Farmer’s Market tomorow!