This Roasted Eggplant Pasta is a celebration of late-summer produce. A light, and bright-tasting eggplant-tomato sauce cloaks al dente pasta to make the most delicious vegetarian meal.
Roasted eggplant and a fresh tomato sauce come together in this hearty vegetarian pasta. It riffs on the classic Sicilian Pasta alla Norma, that iconic Italian pasta dish which elevates the humble eggplant to be the star of the show.
I make pasta all Norma all the time, but here, the eggplant is roasted rather than fried, and uses fresh tomatoes instead of canned. This makes it slightly lighter than the classic, and a great dish for warm summer days. Once the outrageously savory sauce is tossed with perfectly cooked pasta, chopped fresh basil, and a shower of parmesan cheese, you’re left with a dish that tastes like Italy from afar.
For this pasta recipe, it’s worth using produce that is in season. Eggplants from your garden or the local markets, and tomatoes that have grown under the sun, will be your best choice. Pure and simple, this delicious pasta dish will not disappoint.
Recipe Ingredients And Notes
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this easy Roasted Eggplant Pasta:
Eggplant – Choose eggplants with shiny, taut skin and firm stems and stick to the medium/smaller-sized which will not be as watery as the large ones. When roasted, the eggplant cubes will shrink considerably so you will need two medium globe eggplants for this recipe.
Onion and Garlic – Though not essential, I like the sweetness a chopped onion lends to the sauce. Fresh garlic, on the other hand, is a must for a truly flavorful sauce.
Tomatoes – Here we are grating two large tomatoes to make the sauce. This step may sound fussy but it takes about the same amount of time to grate a tomato as it does to open a can. Alternatively, feel free to just chop them into chunks and blend until pulpy-smooth. Nothing against canned tomatoes, but this time of year, it seems a shame not to take advantage of tomatoes that actually taste of tomatoes. The dish will also taste lighter and more like summer. While the eggplant is roasting in the oven, I also throw in a tray of cherry tomatoes. Already sweet like candy, they become even sweeter when roasted for just 10 minutes or so.
Pasta: For this recipe I like to use shorter pasta shapes with ridges, nooks or crannies so they catch the sauce, making every bite extra flavorful. Penne rigate, rigatoni, orecchiette or similar, will all work.
Parmesan cheese: For delicious salty and umami flavor, always use freshly grated. I like to grate it with a microplane or star side of a box grater so it’s really fluffy and light. You can also use Pecorino or ricotta salata.
Fresh basil leaves – To finish, a generous amount of chopped basil will add brightness and a punchy fresh flavor.
Substitutions And Variations
Sauce – If fresh tomatoes aren’t available, go ahead and use good quality canned tomatoes or your favorite marinara sauce.
Add anchovies – If you don’t need this dish to be vegetarian, a couple of anchovies cooked with the onion and garlic will add loads of deep umami flavor. And no, it will not taste fishy at all.
Add capers and/or olives. This will take the dish into puttanesca territory, but if you love a salty, briny pasta, feel free to add some capers and olives when you add the pasta the sauce.
How To Make Roasted Eggplant Pasta
This is an overview of the recipe with step-by-step photos. The full ingredient list, and detailed instructions can be found in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Drizzle the cubed eggplant with olive oil and roast on a sheet pan until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
Step 2: Drizzle the cherry tomatoes with olive oil and roast on a small sheet pan until just starting to burst, about 10-12 minutes. Set aside.
Step 3: While the vegetables roast, make the tomato sauce. Cut a thin piece off the bottom of each tomato—the side opposite the stem. Starting at the cut end, grate each tomato on the largest holes of your box grater into a medium mixing bowl. Stop grating just before you reach the skin. Alternatively, you can roughly chop the tomatoes and blend just a few seconds until smooth but still pulpy.
Step 4: In a large skillet or frying pan, heat a generous amount of extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Cook the onion until slightly soft and translucent, then add the garlic and chili flakes; cook for 30 more seconds.
Step 5: Add the grated tomatoes to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes. Once the roasted eggplant is ready, add it to the skillet along with the roasted cherry tomatoes.
Step 6: Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package instructs. Save 2 cups of pasta water and drain the rest.
Step 7: Add cooked pasta straight from the pot into the sauce along with 1/2 cup of pasta water. It will seem like a lot of pasta water but the eggplant will soak most of it up. Let it gently bubble away, stirring often until the sauce has thickened and the pasta is perfectly cooked, about 2-3 minutes. If the sauce looks dry, add more splashes of water, as needed. Remove from heat, taste, and add more salt and/or pepper, if needed.
Step 9: Serve pasta drizzled with a little more olive oil, chopped basil, and a generous dusting of cheese.
Note: This recipe was adapted from the New York Times. The original recipe does not include cherry tomatoes but I find they add a lovely freshness and a pop of flavor to the dish. I also exclude the banana peppers (I don’t miss them here), the capers and butter.
Do you need to salt the eggplant?
No, for this roasted eggplant pasta recipe we do not salt the eggplant. It is true that salting eggplant draws out moisture which may be essential for some dishes. For this dish, I do not find it makes much difference at all so I am happy to eliminate this very fastidious step.
Salting eggplant is also said to help tone down their natural bitterness. Nowadays, eggplant is bred to be more mild in flavour and essentially bitter-less so it is no longer necessary to salt them for this reason.
Expert Tips
Undercook the pasta. The success of this pasta dish will rely on perfectly cooked pasta. The past will fisnsh cooking in the sauce so you will want to cook it 2-3 minutes less than what the package instructions call for.
Generously salt the pasta water. Most dry pasta is made without salt so salting the water it will cook in, is the only chance you’ll get to season the pasta. It will make a huge difference in flavor to the finished dish so make sure you salt the water generously. For a large pot of water, I use two tablespoons of Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. If using table salt, you can reduce this by half.
Save some pasta water. The starchy pasta water is an essential ingredient for this sauce. Without it, the dish will be too dry so make sure you scoop out the water before you drain it.
Don’t worry about keeping the eggplant cubes intact. In this recipe, the roasted eggplant braises for a few minutes with the tomato sauce until meltingly tender.
Recipe FAQ’s
Any pasta shape will work here, but I like to use a tubular pasta like rigatoni. The sauce gets caught in their hollow center making each bite extra delicious.
If you use a vegan cheese, or simply omit the cheese, this pasta dish is completely vegan.
As written, this recipe serves 4. You can easily double the sauce (including the eggplant) but it is hard to double the pasta unless you have a very large skillet. If you really need to make a large batch, you will need to use two pans.
Serving Suggestions
We enjoy this pasta dish with a very simple green salad. Just toss some spring mixed greens with a little red wine vinegar, a generous drizzle of good olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Can’t beat it.
If you’d like a heartier side, serve the pasta with these juicy Grilled Chicken Breasts, or this Chicken Milanese.
More Delicious Pasta Recipe To Try
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Eggplant and Fresh Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 3/4-2 pounds pounds globe eggplant (about 2 medium) cut into 1-inch cubes
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes (any color or variety will work)
- 2 very ripe large tomatoes
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste (optional)
- 12 ounces pasta such as rigatoni, ziti, paccheri, canneroni, or any short, tubular shape
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving
- grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF. Place cubed eggplant on a large, rimmed sheet pan and drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Toss, and spread the eggplant in an even layer (use two sheet pans, if possible). Season with salt and pepper to taste and roast for 25 – 30 minutes until golden, tossing half way through.
- About 15 minutes before the eggplant has finished roasting, place cherry tomatoes on a small sheet pan and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Roast until just starting to burst, about 10-12 minutes. Set aside.
- While the vegetables roast, make the tomato sauce. Cut a thin piece off the bottom of each tomato—the side opposite the stem. Starting at the cut end, grate each tomato on the largest holes of your box grater into a medium mixing bowl. Stop grating just before you reach the skin. Set aside. (Alternatively, you can roughly chop the tomatoes and blend just a few seconds until smooth but still pulpy.)
- In a large skillet or frying pan, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Cook the onion until slightly soft and translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and chili flakes, if using; cook for 30 more seconds.
- Add the grated tomatoes to the onion mixture and season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a simmer and simmer until tomatoes have thickened slightly, about 10-15 minutes.
- Once the eggplant is ready, add it to the skillet along with the roasted cherry tomatoes. Reduce heat to very low while you cook the pasta.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package instructs. Save 1 cup of pasta water and drain the rest.
- Add the cooked pasta along with 1/2 cup of pasta water to the skillet and increase heat to medium. It will seem like a lot of pasta water but the eggplant will soak most of it up. Let it gently bubble away, stirring often until the sauce has thickened and the pasta is perfectly cooked, about 2-3 minutes. If the sauce looks dry, add more splashes of water, as needed. Remove from heat and add the chopped basil. Taste, and add more salt and/or pepper, if needed.
- Serve pasta drizzled with a little more olive oil, chopped basil, and a generous dusting of cheese.
Notes
- Undercook the pasta. The success of this pasta dish will rely on perfectly cooked pasta. The past will finish cooking in the sauce so you will want to cook it 2-3 minutes less than what the package instructions call for.
- Generously salt the pasta water. Most dry pasta is made without salt so salting the water it will cook in, is the only chance you’ll get to season the pasta. It will make a huge difference in flavor to the finished dish so make sure you salt the water generously. For a large pot of water, I use two tablespoons of Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. If using table salt, you can reduce this by half.
- Save some pasta water. The starchy pasta water is an essential ingredient for this sauce. Without it, the dish will be too dry so make sure you scoop out the water before you drain it.
- Short cuts: If you’re short on time, you can use a good quality store-bought marinara sauce instead of fresh tomatoes. Just make sure to still add the roasted cherry tomatoes which contribute a lot of sweet, fresh flavor to the dish.
- Make-ahead option: If you’d like, you can prepare the sauce and roast the eggplant and cherry tomatoes one day in advance. Store each component separately in the fridge.
- Leftovers & Storage: Though best eaten right away, leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
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