This simple vegan eggplant recipe with chickpeas and tomatoes is all the comfort! And you'll love the Greek flavors thanks to a little extra virgin olive oil and a combination of warm spices including oregano, paprika, and a pinch of cinnamon.
Eggplant is one versatile ingredient you can use in many delicious and satisfying ways.
Roasted. Fried. Stuffed. In hearty dinners like eggplant rollatini, eggplant parmesan or moussaka. You can even make eggplant fries. Yes, I said fries!
You can also turn an eggplant into one wholesome stew like in today's vegan eggplant recipe with chickpeas and tomatoes.
I've been making a lot of simple vegan recipes from pantry staples lately, and this eggplant recipe totally fits the bill--easy, comforting, and it takes one pot.
Why this recipe works? The quick braising process cooks the eggplant to tender perfection, it seriously melts in your mouth. Plus, you'll love the Greek vibes thanks to a little extra virgin olive oil and earthy, warm flavors including oregano, paprika, and pinch of cinnamon.
A few important eggplant tips before we get to this tasty recipe.
Tips for buying and preparing eggplant
Some are intimidated by eggplant's spongy texture. And many worry about the likelihood that their eggplant dish will taste bitter. Regardless of what eggplant recipes you try, a few tips are helpful to follow before you start:
- Choose eggplants with smooth, shiny skin that are uniform in color. If the eggplant skin looks shriveled or somewhat discolored, do not buy it.
- Choose eggplants that are smaller and feel heavy for their size. Smaller eggplants tend to be less bitter and they have thinner skin and less seeds.
- Test your eggplant for ripeness before buying. Lightly press a finger against the skin and if it leaves an imprint, the eggplant is ripe.
- Salt your eggplant before cooking. I've talked about this before. Salt the cut eggplant and let it "sweat" for a few minutes (or an hour, if you have the time) before cooking. Some don't think this step is necessary, but it can help in a couple of different ways: salting will draw out moister and help break down the spongy texture of eggplant. It can also rid the eggplant of some of it's bitterness.
Ingredients for this Eggplant Stew
This recipe takes three humble ingredients--eggplant, chickpeas, and canned tomatoes--paired with a few spices and some extra virgin olive oil. Here's what you'll need:
- Eggplant- about 1 ½ pounds of globe eggplant (that's 1 large eggplant or 2 smaller ones)
- Yellow onion, green pepper, carrot, and garlic- these chopped veggies are sauteed with the spices in extra virgin olive oil to form the flavorful base for this recipe
- Spices and such- dry bay leaf, dry oregano, sweet paprika (or smoked paprika if you prefer), coriander, cinnamon, hint of turmeric, and black pepper. This combination of earthy and warm spices is really what makes this dish so comforting. If you don't have all the spices, don't let that deter you from making this easy dish. You can omit some of the spices and do more of the ones you have. (You can find all-natural and organic spices at our online shop).
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil- I used Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil to cook this vegan stew. And if you want the full Greek effect, drizzle some of this tasty EVOO to finish this comforting dish. (You can learn about this olive oil at our online shop here).
- Chopped Canned Tomatoes- one large can of chopped or diced tomatoes with their juices brings this stew together and provides sweetness and beautiful umami
- Chickpeas- canned chickpeas are a great option here. They're ready to use, no need to soak overnight.
- Fresh Parsley (optional)- If you have it, a little fresh parsley or mint is a great garnish to add to this dish. Totally optional.
Greek-style eggplant recipe: step-by-step
Step 1: Salt eggplant
Cut up the eggplant into cubes or large bite-size pieces. Sprinkle with some kosher salt and leave in a large colander in your sink or over a bowl. Let it sweat for 20 to 30 minutes or up to 1 hour, then rinse and pat dry.
Step 2: Sautee chopped onions, veggies, and spices
Warm up some extra virgin olive oil and add onions, peppers and carrots. Toss around for a few minutes, then stir in garlic, bay leaf and spices (paprika, coriander, paprika, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, and black pepper). Cook just briefly till fragrant.
This is this is where all the flavor in this recipe comes from.
Step 3: Add chopped tomatoes, eggplant, and chickpeas and bring to a boil
Now, pour in the chopped tomatoes, chickpeas (and chickpea liquid or water), and eggplant. Bring this party to a boil for a good 10 minutes (this is the start of the braising process).
Step 4: Transfer to oven
Now to finish cooking, cover the eggplant stew and transfer it to a 400 degree heated oven. Let it cook to tender perfection for another 45 minutes or so. Tip: be sure to check on the eggplant stew part-way through cooking, adding a little liquid if you feel it needs it.
Step 4: Serve
When ready, fish the eggplant stew with a generous drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil (I used Private Reserve Greek EVOO). Add a garnish of fresh parsley, if you like.
Transfer to serving bowl over my 15-minute couscous or just a side of warm pita bread. A dollop of Greek yogurt or even Tzatziki sauce and some olives make a great addition here. And, to keep with the Greek theme, you can start with a traditional Greek salad.
More eggplant recipes:
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Easy Greek-Style Eggplant Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb eggplant cut into cubes
- Kosher salt
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil I used Private Reserve Greek EVOO
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper stem and innards removed, diced
- 1 carrot chopped
- 6 large garlic cloves minced
- 2 dry bay leaves
- 1 to 1 ½ teaspoon sweet paprika OR smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon organic ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon organic ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 28- oz can chopped tomato
- 2 15- oz cans chickpeas reserve the canning liquid
- Fresh herbs such as parsley and mint for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place eggplant cubes in a colander over a large bowl or directly over your sink, and sprinkle with salt. Set aside for 20 minutes or so to allow eggplant to "sweat out" any bitterness. Rinse with water and pat dry.
- In a large braiser, heat ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil over medium-high until shimmering but not smoking. Add onions, peppers, and chopped carrot. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly, then add garlic, bay leaf, spices, and a dash of salt. Cook another minute, stirring until fragrant.
- Now add eggplant, chopped tomato, chickpeas, and reserved chickpea liquid. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a rolling boil for 10 minutes or so. Stir often. Remove from stove top, cover and transfer to oven.
- Cook in oven for 45 minutes until eggplant is fully cooked through to very tender. (While eggplant is braising, be sure to check once or twice to see if more liquid is needed. If so, remove from oven briefly and stir in about ½ cup of water at a time.)
- When eggplant is ready, remove from oven and add a generous drizzle of Private Reserve EVOO, garnish with fresh herbs (parsley or mint). Serve hot or at room temperature with a side of Greek yogurt or even Tzatziki sauce and pita bread.
Video
Notes
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- Slow-cooker instructions: you can prepare the recipe up to step #3 as written. Then transfer ingredients to your slow cooker. Add 1 cup water and the remaining ingredients from step 4. Cook on low for 4 hours or until eggplant is very tender.
- Visit our Online Shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including extra virgin olive oils and all-natural and organic spices used in this recipe.
Nutrition
*This post first appeared on The Mediterranean Dish in 2018 and has recently been updated with new information and media for readers' benefit. Enjoy!
This recipe was my gateway drug into your collection of dishes. SO tasty
Thanks, Megan! This is always a great one to start with :).
Delicious! Velvety smooth and great with basmati rice. Will definitely make again.
Thanks!
This is a delicious recipe but for calorie-counters, the nutrition information is misleading as it doesn't seem to include any of the oil used in cooking or as drizzle. (The recipe says to cook with 1/4 cup of oil - that alone would add 80 calories to each serving, without the drizzle!)
The good news is that when we made it, we found 1/8 cup of oil was more than enough to cook the vegetables - less may even be possible - and the dish was so tasty as it was that we were not tempted to add an oil drizzle. This helped us keep the calorie count much closer to the nutrition as published.
Definitely a recipe worth repeating and a great way to eat more vegetables, whether as a main or a side!
Sam, I cooked mine in the crockpot and only used a tablespoon of olive oil.
It turned out great but I felt it needed some more spice than what was listed, it tasted a little bland. So I increased by 30% the coriander, paprika, salt and pepper and this helped a lot. I also added more garlic, 10 cloves or one full bulb. Not sure if my adding mushrooms was why more spices were needed but I added about 16 oz of fine chopped mushrooms (shiitake, lion's mane, oyster, and maitake) to the dish in said crockpot. Since I was using uncooked beans I soaked them overnight first and cooked everything together for about 15 or 20 hrs. I had to add the tomato's at the end since there was too much liquid and much needed to be boiled off first. Oh and the egg plant dissipated even though they were added after 12 hrs of cooking. Next time I'll probably only add eggplant in the last 30 min before I eat it.
This is honestly one of my favorite dishes ever! It’s delicious and satisfying. The recipe makes a lot but my family tends to go through it pretty quickly because it’s just so good. Can’t recommend enough
Yay! I love hearing that! Thanks, Michele!
I made this dish last night. I have to say this recipe sounded great and tasted even better. The combination of spices was extremely flavorful. My wife, daughter, and I all loved it. We are very eager to try your other recipes!
Awesome! Thanks, Tom!
Hi, if I don't want to use the oven, can I just continue to cook it on stove with a low heat for 45 minutes instead? Thank you
Hello! Sure! You can cook it on the stove the entire time. Just watch the liquid amount, adding more if needed until the eggplant is fully cooked to tender.
Hello. Instead of the Chopped Canned Tomatoes, if I I use chopped fresh tomatoes, do I need to add any other spices to make it better? Thank you.
Hi, Nancy! I don't think so, but you can always taste test part of the way through and add more of the spices if necessary.
I made this for my husband and I yesterday. He took one bite and said, "this recipe is a keeper!". I followed the spices exactly as the recipe calls for and luckily i had smoked paprika in my cupboard. I can't wait to make this for my vegan, college-aged daughter. It is a wonderful recipe, thank you!!!
Yay!!! Thank you, Joann!
I am making this tonight I only have Jasmin rice how would you think that would taste? I am lucky as I had everything in my cupboard. The only change was I only had crushed tomatoes it was a 28 oz can do I just used that (fingers crossed) Smells good, as I have it cooking in my crockpot.
Hi, Darlene! I'm so sorry I'm just seeing these questions. I'm not always able to get here everyday to answer. I think jasmine rice would be great with this recipe. Also, the crushed tomatoes should work fine in a pinch.
Really good!!! Would highly recommend it. Wish I added a little curry powder
Just tried this recipe last night. It was excellent!! Followed the recipe exactly except used 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes instead of chopped. I also only had to bake 25 minutes instead of 45 in the oven. The flavor was so good and the consistency was perfect. It was very thick due to using the crushed tomatoes which I really liked. I also only had to use liquid from one can of chick peas instead of both cans. I am so excited to make this again. Didn’t serve with anything it was perfect on its own!!
Thanks for sharing, Kathleen!
Delicious. I topped it with a little tahini. Also, after tasting it, I thought that it could use a little sweetener so I added a drop of honey. That brought out more of the flavors.
Thanks, Ted!
I tried this recipe this morning. Turned out to be amazing. It even gets better as it sits. Thank you so much for sharing ❤.
My pleasure, Marianne! So glad you enjoyed it!
Has anyone tried to make this only on the stove top (as in without putting it in the oven)? I don't have a large enough oven proof dish at the moment and I was hoping to make it work without?
Hi, Annita! If you prefer to cook the stew on the stovetop the entire time, that will be fine. Still watch the liquid amount adding more if needed until the eggplant is fully cooked to tender.
What about using fresh basil leaves in it/on it?
I've never added basil to this one, so it's hard for me to say. If you do, please stop by and let us know what you think!!
Hey delicious recipe. How much evoo to add while cooking and later for drizzling please? How much evoo does the nutrition panel consider?
Hello! The recipe calls for 1/4 cup olive oil in step 3. This is the amount included in the nutrition panel. The drizzle is optional and to taste. Hope you enjoyed it!
Mine turned out flavorless and mushy! 🙁
I followed all the directions.
It seemed almost over cooked after the 10 minutes of boiling. Maybe the extra 45 minutes wasn’t necessary? Could it have destroyed the flavor of the spices?
I ended up adding 1 total cup of water. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that!
Same here re flavour but I think it is just a preference. The amount of spices compared to the amount of vegetables called for is very very small. The basic combination here is good, but if you enjoy stronger flavours this one is not for you. I ended up tripling the spices and adding a considerable amount of other things after the initial tasting and cooking because I simply found the flavours too mild for my preference.
Can we use fresh tomatoes instead of canned? And home cooked chickpeas instead of canned?
Sure! Both would work here!
I did both! I made it with two containers of organic grape tomatoes which I roasted first. I've done that as a substitute for canned tomatoes before and it works out great! It's not quite as liquid but I deglaze the roasting pan with a little bit of water or wine or beer or whatever I have on hand. Not too much, just think about how much liquid there would be in a can of tomatoes and make it about equivalent. Worked out great!
I also used chickpeas I cooked from dried because I think the canned ones are icky
and the dried ones have a lot more flavor. It doesn't take that long if you don't like them mushy and you don't need to soak them overnight. If you insist on doing something like that, you can put them in a pan of water, bring them to a boil, and let them boil for 2 minutes, then take them off the heat and let them stand covered for an hour before cooking them. That shortens the cooking time as much as cooking soaking them overnight does, if not more. But it really only takes a little longer to cook them straight from the bag, especially given the extra 45 minutes they have in the oven with this recipe. I don't like beans mushy, I prefer them kind of al dente if you will, so you may need to cook them longer. I I roasted the grape tomatoes and cooked the chickpeas while I was prepping the other ingredients and starting to cook them.
I missed the step about boiling it for 10 minutes until I already had it in the oven, and it worked out fine. I don't think I'd want to cook it that much longer.
Toward the end of cooking, I added about a teaspoon of dried cilantro and about half the contents of a packet of peppermint tea (probably also about a teaspoon) because I didn't have any fresh mint or cilantro. I also substituted whole coriander for ground because I didn't have any ground and I didn't feel like taking the time to grind it. I put that in the pan first, even before the olive oil, as is often done in Indian cooking, and cooked it until I started to smell the spice.
I garnished it with some celery leaves that I tore up and some crumbled Mexican cotija cheese which is not that far from feta. It's delicious! I might bump up the spices a little next time, but otherwise it was great.
Thanks for sharing, Beth!!