Za'atar Roasted Eggplant

5 from 1 vote

This za’atar roasted eggplant is a tasty side dish or appetizer with Middle Eastern flavors. It’s a healthy and delicious dish you can make with only a few minutes of preparation!

Prep Time4

Cook Time20

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Middle Eastern

Keyword: dairy free, easy, eggplant, nut free, quick, vegan

Servings:

Calories: 86kcal

Author: Tonje

Cost: Cheap

Ingredients

2 eggplants
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 teaspoon za'atar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C / 165°C fan oven.
Slice a fresh eggplant in ¼ inch slices. Try to keep them the same thickness, as this will allow them to cook in the same amount of time.
Add the eggplant slices to a baking sheet covered baking tray. Drizzle some vegetable or olive oil and rub it over the eggplant slices. Then, sprinkle a pinch of za’atar over each slice.
Place the baking tray in the oven, and bake until the eggplant has softened, about 20 minutes. Be careful not to roast them too much, as you don’t want them to dry out.

Notes

Is this recipe suitable for my dietary requirements? – Za’atar roasted eggplant slices are dairy free, egg free, nut free, gluten free, soy free and generally allergy friendly. It is also suitable for most diets, including weight watchers, slimming world, whole30, paleo, low carb, low calorie and keto. It is also vegan.

Can I use frozen eggplant? – Absolutely! If you have frozen sliced eggplant available, you can totally use those.

Can I omit the oil? – The oil helps to keep the eggplant sliced moist and juicy, and prevents them from drying out in the oven. Feel free to omit it, but the results may not be as good.

Leftovers

Storing. Keep any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat them in a microwave before serving them with any main course of your choice.
Freezing. You can freeze leftover roasted eggplant for up to 6 months. Thaw them in the fridge overnight, then reheat them in the oven or an air fryer to both warm them up and give them that roasted feeling before serving.
In other dishes. You can dice the leftovers and use them in other recipes, such as eggplant and mozzarealla pasta bake or chicken and eggplant curry.

Top tips

This recipe is so simple, it’s hard to get it wrong. Here are my top tips on how to successfully roast eggplant:

The eggplant is done as soon as the slices have softened throughout. They will typically not change their apparence much other than looking softer.
When you drizzle the oil on top, you might notice that the eggplant absorbs the oil quickly. This is perfectly fine! You might not be able to feel a coating of oil around the slices, but it will still keep them from drying out.
Although we use za’atar in this recipe, you can make roasted eggplant with any seasoning on top. Try making it with Italian seasoning, ras el hanout or other spice blends that you like.

Nutrition