If you've never prepared eggplant before, you've come to the perfect place to learn how to make Roasted Eggplant. Whether you're making it in the oven, on the stove, in the air fryer, or even the Instant Pot, this guide covers it all.
If you've never roasted eggplant before, you're in for quite the treat! Whether you're preparing it for an appetizer, a side dish, a vegetarian snack or as a main dish, tons of eggplant recipes will have you roast it during the cooking process. This guide covers just about every method there is in order to roast eggplant. Just follow these simple steps and you're on your way to some delicious food!
How To Make Roasted Eggplant In The Oven
Oven-roasted eggplant is probably the most common way how to cook eggplant at home. It's quick, simple and doesn't require too much effort to make in the oven.
- Oil the eggplant. Smear the unpeeled, whole eggplant with oil.
- Place the eggplant in the oven. Place eggplant on a baking pan with an edge to catch all the lovely juices. Turn on the broiler and place eggplant close to the broiler.
- Roast. Roast at 400F until it is soft, about 20 minutes, moving every 5 minutes to a different side.
- Allow the eggplant to steam. Place eggplant in a paper bag and close the bag. Set it aside for 15 minutes, allowing the eggplant to steam.
- Peel the eggplant. Hold the roasted eggplant over the baking pan. Quickly peel the eggplant over the pan, letting the pan capture all the juices.
- Mash the eggplant. Use a fork to mash the eggplant. It is now ready for your recipe.
How To Make Roasted Eggplant On A Gas Stove Top
This method is the messiest of them all because you will have charred eggplant skin all over, but it is possible to roast eggplant on the stovetop. This method for roasting eggplant results in arguably the best char.
- Oil the eggplant. Smear the unpeeled, whole eggplant with oil.
- Char the eggplant skin. Turn on the gas on medium-high heat. Place the eggplant directly on the flame and allow it to char the skin.
- Continuously flip the eggplant. Keep turning the eggplant on all sides, until all the skin is charred and your eggplant is soft.
- Allow the eggplant to steam. Place eggplant in a paper bag and close the bag. Set it aside for 15 minutes, allowing the eggplant to steam.
- Peel the eggplant. Hold the roasted eggplant over the baking pan. Quickly peel the eggplant over the pan. letting the pan capture all the juices.
- Mash the eggplant. Use a fork to mash the eggplant. It is now ready for your recipe.
How To Make Roasted Eggplant In The Air Fryer
This is my favorite method as all the mess is contained in the air fryer, and you do not need to turn it halfway. So it requires no babysitting, yet you can get that lovely smoky taste we all want.
- Oil the eggplant. Smear the unpeeled, whole eggplant with oil.
- Air fry the eggplant. Place eggplant in the air fryer basket. Set the air fryer to 400F for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the eggplant.
- Allow the eggplant to steam. Place eggplant in a paper bag and close the bag. Set it aside for 15 minutes, allowing the eggplant to steam.
- Peel the eggplant. Hold the roasted eggplant over the baking pan. Quickly peel the eggplant over the pan. letting the pan capture all the juices.
- Mash the eggplant. Use a fork to mash the eggplant. It is now ready for your recipe.
Can I Roast Eggplant In The Instant Pot?
Why certainly! You can roast eggplant in the Instant Pot as long as you cook the eggplant in a single layer. I actually use this method for my Baba Ghanoush Eggplant Dip recipe as well as my Instant Pot Baingan Bharta recipe, amongst others.
- Char the eggplant. Heat the Instant Pot pot, and when it’s hot, put in a few tablespoons of oil. Once it's hot, put in one layer of eggplant slices.
- Let the eggplant be! This is the tough part now, do not mess with them until they are properly charred at the bottom. Without this char, you won’t get the smoky taste you need.
- Add additional eggplant slices. Once these slices char, they will shrink a bit and you can put in some more eggplant slices. At this point, you may need to put in more oil. This thing sucks oil, so just embrace that. Use a spatula or spoon and scrape up the char from the bottom as needed. This took me about 10-15 minutes to get it all charred.
- Pressure cook the eggplant. Pressure cook on High for 3 minutes, then release pressure quickly.
- Cook away excess water if necessary. If you have too much water at the bottom when you open it, turn your Instant Pot on sauté and let some of it cook off.
Eggplant Frequently Asked Questions
The short answer is no, as you want the peel intact to keep the juices in. As a matter of fact, you don't even have to peel the eggplant after roasting if you don't want to as the peel is entirely edible. But it can be a little tough with larger eggplants. I tend to peel the eggplant after roasting as I typically mash the eggplant for most of my recipes.
You only need to salt the eggplant before roasting if you are cubing or slicing before roasting in order to get rid of some of the moisture. It's very common for people to salt eggplant before roasting it. It is widely believed that salting it before roasting it takes some of the bitterness in the eggplant. In my experience, it doesn't seem to have any bearing on removing any of the bitterness in eggplant. So if you're cubing or slicing, salt away, but if you're roasting with the skin on, you can skip the salt.
Eggplant actually has a myriad of health benefits. It's chock full of nutrients like protein, fiber, potassium, vitamin K and vitamin C. It's rich in antioxidants which could help prevent heart disease and cancer. Due to the high fiber content of roasted eggplant, it can help lower blood sugar by slowing the rate of digestion and absorption of sugar in the body. Eggplant is also quite low in carbs, with only 8 grams of carbs in a 1 cup serving of chopped, cooked eggplant.
Looking For Some Easy Eggplant Recipes? Check These Out!
- Instant Pot Baba Ghanoush Lebanese Eggplant Dip - Quick, flameless, and tastes delicious!
- Indian Baingan Bharta - Wonderfully smoky and made in your Instant Pot.
- Malai Baingan - A creamy, spicy, hearty Indian Instant Pot recipe.
- Tomato Eggplant Soup - A great vegan soup recipe.
- Instant Pot Eggplant Pasta - One of the best pasta dishes I've ever had, and I don't say that lightly.
- Roasted Ratatouille Recipe - All the flavor of a traditional ratatouille without all of the work!
Now that you've learned all the various ways to prepare roasted eggplant, it's time to start churning out those delicious eggplant recipes! Let me know what your favorite recipe is in the comments.
Also, make sure to share this guide with your friends on Pinterest and Facebook so they can start enjoying roasted eggplant as well!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Eggplant
Instructions
How To Make Roasted Eggplant In The Oven
- Smear the unpeeled, whole eggplant with oil.
- Place eggplant on a baking pan with an edge to catch all the lovely juices. Turn on the broiler and place eggplant close to the broiler.
- Roast at 400F until it is soft, about 20 minutes, moving every 5 minutes to a different side.
- Place eggplant in a paper bag and close the bag. Set it aside for 15 minutes, allowing the eggplant to steam.
- Hold the roasted eggplant over the baking pan. Quickly peel the eggplant over the pan, letting the pan capture all the juices.
- Use a fork to mash the eggplant. It is now ready for your recipe.
How To Make Roasted Eggplant On A Gas Stove Top
- Smear the unpeeled, whole eggplant with oil.
- Turn on the gas on medium-high heat. Place the eggplant directly on the flame and allow it to char the skin.
- Keep turning the eggplant on all sides, until all the skin is charred and your eggplant is soft.
- Place eggplant in a paper bag and close the bag. Set it aside for 15 minutes, allowing the eggplant to steam.
- Hold the roasted eggplant over the baking pan. Quickly peel the eggplant over the pan. letting the pan capture all the juices.
- Use a fork to mash the eggplant. It is now ready for your recipe.
How To Make Roasted Eggplant In The Air Fryer
- Smear the unpeeled, whole eggplant with oil.
- Place eggplant in a paper bag and close the bag. Set it aside for 15 minutes, allowing the eggplant to steam.
- Hold the roasted eggplant over the baking pan. Quickly peel the eggplant over the pan. letting the pan capture all the juices.
- Use a fork to mash the eggplant. It is now ready for your recipe.
How To Make Roasted Eggplant In The Instant Pot
- Heat the Instant Pot pot, and when it’s hot, put in a few tablespoons of oil. Once it's hot, put in one layer of eggplant slices.
- This is the tough part now, do not mess with them until they are properly charred at the bottom. Without this char, you won’t get the smoky taste you need.
- Once these slices char, they will shrink a bit and you can put in some more eggplant slices. At this point, you may need to put in more oil. This thing sucks oil, so just embrace that. Use a spatula or spoon and scrape up the char from the bottom as needed. This took me about 10-15 minutes to get it all charred.
- Pressure cook on High for 3 minutes, then release pressure quickly.
- If you have too much water at the bottom when you open it, turn your Instant Pot on sauté and let some of it cook off.
Hsk
Tried the air fryer method..worked great! Thank you.
Roxana Lopez
I'm a little confused here...
First, the oven method says to use the broiler, but then says to roast at 400F. Which is it? Those are two different instructions.
Second, why are we mashing the eggplant after roasting?
Next, how do we get some beautiful charred slices like you show in the recipe photo? I don't see any instructions that will result in that beautiful presentation.
Lastly, what are we doing with all those lovely juices? I was hoping the blog post would have a little more information on these instructions. Thank you for clarifying.
Alexandra
Thank you for the recipe. Is this the same way to roast peppers?
URVASHI PITRE
Yes exactly the same way