If you’re a fan of eggplant, this roasted eggplant salad will quickly become one of your favorite dishes. It’s a light and refreshing salad that doesn’t take long to prepare. It’s vegan-friendly and tastes great when served with pita.
It’s no secret that I love to include Middle Eastern influences in a lot of my home cooking. Not just because it is part of my culture but also because the flavor combinations are just completely delicious! And this can be seen, once again, in this delicious grilled eggplant summer salad.
What is Eggplant Salad?
This incredible grilled eggplant (aubergine) salad combines eggplant with tomatoes, green onions, and more to make for the ultimate light go-to lunch or a side dish for the warm weather. It’s full of flavor, easy to prepare, naturally gluten-free, and super nutritious. The grilled eggplant brings a delicious smoky flavor while the tomatoes and pomegranate seeds add a certain sweetness and tartness to the dish. And of course, the mint adds the final fresh touch.
This aubergine salad is super simple and can be put together in under 30 minutes with ingredients I’m sure you already have. And if you are looking for other fresh summer salads, why not check this avocado cucumber tomato salad, Lebanese creamy cucumber yogurt salad, or pineapple cucumber salad.
How to Make Eggplant Salad?
Learn how to cook eggplant and easily make this roasted eggplant salad with more than enough flavor to keep you feeling satisfied.
The Ingredients
- Eggplants: Make sure you choose ripe egplants with meaty texture. Globe eggplants are good candidates for charring .
- Tomatoes: The tomatoes add a slightly acidic touch that pairs well with the eggplant.
- Pomegranate seeds: Give this salad a naturally sweet addition with the use of pomegranate seeds.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley is best to use when you’re putting this Mediterranean eggplant salad together.
- Green onion: Chop your green onion into small pieces when preparing this dish.
- Mint: Although optional, a touch of mint complements the other flavors in this delicious eggplant salad.
- For the dressing: Olive oil, lemon juice, salt, sumac, garlic. The fresh dressing tastes better than any bottled dressing.
How to Roast Eggplant on a Gas Stove Top?
Char the eggplant over a naked flame on a gas top for about three-five minutes on each side. Do this until the entire skin is blackened. If you want to do this on the grill, feel free to do so! Check the FAQs below for the oven method.
How to Peel a Charred Eggplant?
As soon as the eggplants are charred, place them in a bowl and cover it with a plate. Allow them to steam for about 10 minutes. This will make them really easy to peel. And they will get a distinct smoky flavor from this process.
After steaming, peel the skin. It should come off easily but use some paper towel if needed. Then roughly chop the eggplants into chunks before combining them with other ingredients in a bowl.
Prepare the Salad Dressing
In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and sumac. Mince the garlic or grate it directly in the bowl. Whisk well to blend all ingredients together. Taste test and adjust if needed adding more salt and pepper or lemon juice, etc.
Assemble the Grilled Eggplant Salad
Chop the tomatoes, green onions, and parsley. I like to keep the mint leaves whole but feel free to chop them too.
Add all the ingredients to a large bowl, and toss well until well combined. Make sure to cover your ingredients for the eggplant salad with the homemade dressing.
Serve it with pita bread to complete the meal. It’s perfect for lunch or dinner!
How to Store Roasted Eggplant?
After you’ve roasted your eggplant, you can place it in an airtight container and then put it in the fridge to keep it fresh for up to five days.
If you want to make this recipe in advance, prepare your dressing and store it in one container and then prepare your veggies and store them in a separate container. Mix them together shortly before serving.
If you have any leftovers of the assembled salad, keep them in the fridge and consume them within 1-2 days.
FAQs
Keep an eye on your eggplant while you have it on the stove. It shouldn’t make a mess because of the skin surrounding the eggplant, but if you’re keeping an eye on it and flipping the eggplant with tongs, you shouldn’t have a problem with things getting messy on you.
If you don’t have a gas stove, you can cook the eggplants in the oven.
For a similar effect to the flame, pierce the flesh of the eggplant with a knife/fork a few times and use the oven broiler (grill) on the highest setting. Place your eggplant as close to the grill as possible and turn halfway through, for charred skins. This method will take longer than the open flame.
Otherwise, roasting the eggplant is an option. Pierce the eggplant, place it on a baking sheet and then bake it in the oven for about 30-40 minutes at 200ºC/400ºF. To get the smoky flavor, finish it off by grilling/broiling the aubergine for a further 5-10 minutes, until the skin is charred.
It’s not necessary to drain the water. Just keep in mind that the salad might be a bit more soggy. Otherwise, put the peeled eggplant in a colander for a few minutes to release the extra water.
More Salad Recipes
- Fattoush Salad
- Easy Chopped Greek Salad
- Easy Beet and Carrot Salad
- Vegan Lentil Salad
- Middle Eastern Vegan Chickpea Salad
- How To Make Oven Roasted Eggplant
If you try this salad with roasted eggplant recipe, I’d love to hear your thoughts/questions below. Also, I’d appreciate a recipe card rating below, and feel free to tag me in your recipe recreations on Instagram @Alphafoodie!
Grilled Eggplant Salad
Ingredients
- 1.9 lb eggplants 2 medium-sized
- 13 oz tomatoes 2 medium-sized
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1 oz parsley 1 small bunch
- 1 oz green onions 3 stalks
- few fresh mint leaves
For the dressing
- 3 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 1 lemon 3 tablespoon juice
- 0.25 oz garlic 2 cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sumac
Instructions
Roast the Eggplant
- Char the eggplant over a naked flame on a gas top for about three-five minutes on each side. Do this until the entire skin is blackened. If you want to do this on the grill, feel free to do so! See the Notes below for the oven method.
- As soon as the eggplants are charred, place them in a bowl and cover it with a plate. Allow them to steam for about 10 minutes. This will make them really easy to peel. And they will get a distinct smoky flavor from this process.
- After steaming, peel the skin, then roughly chop the eggplants. You can chop them into chunks before combining them with other ingredients in a bowl.
Prepare the Salad Dressing
- In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and sumac. Mince the garlic or grate it directly in the bowl. Whisk well to blend all ingredients together.
Assemble the Grilled Eggplant Salad
- Chop the tomatoes, green onions, and parsley. I like to keep the mint leaves whole but feel free to chop them too.
- Add all the ingredients to a bowl, and toss well until well combined. Make sure to cover your ingredients for the eggplant salad with the homemade dressing.
- Serve it with pita bread to complete the meal.
Notes
Otherwise, roasting the eggplant is an option. Pierce the eggplant, place it on a baking sheet and then bake it in the oven for about 30-40 minutes at 200ºC/400ºF. To get the smoky flavor, finish it off by grilling/broiling the aubergine for a further 5-10 minutes, until the skin is charred. Check the blog post for more tips and answers to top FAQs!
jen
Overall, I’m obsessed, but I felt like it needed a bit more salt, and I would opt for the oven method next time as it was a bit of a clean-up on the gas stove.
Support @ Alphafoodie
Thanks for your comment, Jen! Glad you liked it. Cooking it in the oven also works great, especially if you char it a bit at the end with the grill.