Mediterranean Roasted Eggplant Dip
My Mediterranean Roasted Eggplant Dip bursts with flavor from roasting the vegetables to bring out their natural sweetness. Inspired by baba ghanoush but without tahini. Vegetarian and vegan, it features delicious spices, along with roasted tomatoes, onion, and garlic. This dip takes eggplant (or aubergine) to a whole new level.
Table of contents
How to roast eggplant/aubergine
Roast eggplant to add tons of flavor to this otherwise bland vegetable. Serve it best with toasted pita chips—cut pitas into triangles, brush them with oil, and bake for 10–15 minutes at 350°F (180°C).
There’s a little preparation involved when cooking with eggplant. The recipe starts with sliced eggplant. The slices are sprinkled with salt and allowed to sit for about 15 minutes.
This process does two things: it draws out extra moisture for better browning when roasting, and it removes any bitterness from the eggplant. I also like to leave the skin on so the dip shows flecks of purple when processed. You can peel the eggplant if you prefer—it’s a personal choice.
Spice blend
Sprinkle the eggplant slices, quartered onions, and garlic cloves with a delicious spice blend, then roast them in a hot oven. I add the tomatoes during the last 10 minutes of cooking to avoid mushiness—we just want them to burst and soften.
Once the veggies are done roasting, allow them to cool for a few minutes so you can handle them, then into the food processor (or blender) they go. I pulse until they are slightly smooth but still have a little texture.
More Eggplant Recipes:
If you’ve made my Roasted Eggplant Dip please leave a star rating in the recipe. You can also leave a comment or ask a question below.
Mediterranean Roasted Eggplant Dip
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pounds (471 grams) eggplant, cut into ½ inch slices
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt, divided
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon mild chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 8 ounces (225 grams) onion, peeled and thickly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- Olive oil
- ½ pound (239 grams) cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.
- Spread the eggplant slices onto a large baking sheet. Sprinkle evenly with 1 teaspoon salt and leave for 15 minutes to draw out excess liquid. Pat the slices dry.
- To a small bowl combine the 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, chili powder, coriander and cumin. Set aside.
- Dry the eggplant. Add the onions and garlic to the baking sheet with the eggplant in an even layer. Drizzle the vegetables with the olive oil. Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over the vegetables, reserving a small sprinkle for later when you add the tomatoes. Mix well using your hands. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes.
- Drizzle the tomatoes with oil and remaining spice mix and add to the eggplant on the baking sheet.. Continue to roast for 10 minutes longer, just until the tomatoes soften. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
- Add all the vegetables to a food processor or blender and pulse until almost smooth but still slightly chunky.
- Serve with baked pita chips, crackers or toasted bread.
My way of making this dip is very different- it is roasted on a burner of a gas stove, stuffed with garlic and one hot chili. It is then cooled and the flesh scraped from the skin, including the garlic and chili.
Finely chopped fresh onions is added with a tablespoon of organic coconut oil, salt to taste then hand blend. A favourite in my country and it is call Bigan Choka
This sounds delicious, thank you for sharing.
Hi Janette! I made this a couple of weeks ago for a movie night with my girls. Everyone loved it, myself included! It’s a great recipe. Thank you for sharing!
This is wonderful Svenja. It’s nice to get great feedback on my recipes. Thank you so much.
Delicious!! Its very similar to what we prepare in India..”baingan Bharta”..YUM!!
This dip looks so tasty, I can’t wait to try it. Pinning!
Absolutely adore roasted veggie and your dip looks amazing!
Well, this is one of my favourite foods already, Janette, so you don’t need to convince me, but I LOVE that you’ve added roasted tomatoes and garlic to the mix. I’m going to try it this way next time I make it!
Oh my goodness, this looks so good! I have never roasted eggplants before, but I am loving the sound of it!
I just want a big spoon! I love eggplant, and with all the other roasted veggies, this dip sounds divine!
This is my new favorite snack. thank you
Mmm…I love roasted eggplants! And I particularly love dips that I can indulge in without feeling guilty – excellent recipe.
Your dip sounds just so tasty. Spread lots of love.
I love eggplants but I never thought of making my own eggplant dip although I love it in restaurants. Thank you for sharing this fantastic recipe, can’t wait to try it!
Always enjoy a simple and healthy appetizer like this! Thanks for the tip on how to prepare eggplant before roasting, will try it out next time!
Looks fantastic, great recipe!! Would be great with warm naan bread!
This dip sounds really delicious, Janette! What a beautiful combination of the roasted egg plant with those lovely spices. YUM! 🙂
I love eggplants and these eggplant dip is exactly what I was looking for. Roasting the eggplant is such a wonderful idea. It brings out their flavor and also makes it easier to work with. It is a wonderful idea to use curry powder in this dip. I can imagine eating this on Papadum or even with Naan. This dip has so many uses.
Oh yes it would be so good on papadum or naan, great ideas Rini 🙂
I adore everything about this dip and can’t wai to try it!
Thank you
This looks great! I love how you roasted all the veggies for this dip. Brings out the caramelization and the deep flavors! This would be great for a party spread! Yummed the recipe for later.
Thank you Debi, I agree with the roasting it’s the best.
Mmmm – lovely eggplant dip and this looks fabulous – Janette.
Your dip looks fantastic. I love eggplants and this is such a great way to serve them!
Thank you April, roasting them is my favorite way to eat them 🙂