Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini
When eggplant and zucchini are in season, it’s time to bake up a batch of this Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini! It’s a simple, hands-off side dish to prepare for any night of the week and it takes less than 30 minutes!
Table of contents
Why We Love This Recipe For Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini
After refreshing my Roasted Eggplant Salad recipe I thought it would be good to share more ways to incorporate eggplant into our lives. We’ve already done Roasted Eggplant with Pomegranate Molasses Feta and Mint (a personal favorite) and Smoky Ratatouille with Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts (give me all the goat cheese!), but I wanted to scale it back a bit and really highlight the pure flavor of the fruit.
That’s right – fruit! Did you know that eggplant is technically classified as a berry? That means this Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini side dish is actually a serving of both fruits and vegetables – if you pair it with a protein we’re covering nearly all of our bases here!
While eggplant and zucchini are very different, they’re actually a natural pairing. Not only are they both in season at the same time, but they also cook at the same rate which makes it so easy for us to throw them on a sheet pan together and let them roast to the perfect tenderness at the same time.
Throw this simple dish together and pair it with something like grilled Greek boneless chicken thighs, or garlic herb grilled chicken, and then come back here and tell us how you’re an eggplant convert!
If you love this recipe, please try our grilled zucchini recipe and this zucchini soup.
Key Ingredients for This Recipe
Zucchini
Zucchini is a chameleon ingredient in the sense that it can work in such a wide variety of recipes, but it can sometimes be tricky to cook. It has a really high water content and it doesn’t brown as easily as we all want it to, so for this recipe, we’ll cook it at a high temp for a shorter amount of time. To help things along, make sure your zucchini is cut into chunks of about 1-inch.
Eggplant
When choosing your eggplant, it should feel firm but have a little bit of give. Sort of like a ripe avocado. To prepare it for this dish, peel the skin (or don’t!) and then chop the remaining eggplant into 1-inch cubes. Eggplant is also very absorbent, so make sure you coat it evenly while seasoning so that the flavor is distributed throughout the cubes and not limited to one side.
Aged Balsamic
Aged balsamic is a much better choice than regular balsamic of modena because aged balsamic is a more complex vinegar made with a lot of time and care out of Trebbiano and Lambrusco wines. I would go with aged balsamic for this recipe, but a balsamic glaze is a less-expensive alternative.
Additional Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Fresh basil
Step By Step Instructions To Make This Oven Baked Zucchini and Eggplant Recipe
Step 1: Preheat
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Step 2: Toss Eggplant and Zucchini in Seasonings
Toss the eggplant, zucchini, olive oil, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl before spreading it out on a large rimmed baking sheet.
Step 3: Roast
Roast the eggplant and zucchini, stirring occasionally, until they are softened and browned in spots. This should take about 20 minutes.
Step 4: Serve
Transfer the roasted eggplant and zucchini to a serving platter and sprinkle it with basil and drizzled vinegar before serving. This dish can be served hot, room temperature, or cold.
FAQs and Expert Tips
Yes! Whether or not you peel your eggplant is up to you. Keep in mind that when an eggplant gets older or larger the peel will get bitter and we certainly don’t want that! I do enjoy the texture of the peel though, so I like to keep mine on if it’s at the perfect ripeness.
While you will season them with salt before roasting, you don’t need to let it sit to remove moisture. The high oven temperature will make sure both the zucchini and eggplant cook optimally – just remember to stir and flip them a couple of times throughout the roasting process.
Variations to Try
Instead of basil and balsamic, try some other variations:
- Use another herb instead of basil such as dill or parsley
- Omit the balsamic and use lemon juice instead
- Toss the cubed veggies with za’atar seasoning before roasting. Drizzle with lemon tahini dressing
- Give it a Caesar-inspired flair and add in garlic in the last 10 minutes of roasting. Then finish with a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- Use these roasted veggies to fill Lavash Wraps for a vegetarian lunch or dinner.
More Recipes to Try
- Make the perfect Roasted Asparagus with a couple of simple ingredients. No mushy asparagus here!
- This Roasted Beets recipe is the easiest way to prepare the most flavorful beet side dish!
- Naturally gluten-free and paleo, Simple Roasted Parsnips are the side dish you’ve been looking for to spice up your weeknight meals.
- Turn your favorite summer squash into a healthy and tasty side dish with this Easy Sauteed Zucchini in just 12 minutes!
- Easy Grilled Zucchini with balsamic glaze – can a dish get any more summery!?
- If you have as much zucchini around as I do, make this Easy Zucchini Soup Recipe topped with scallions and corn!
- Naturally sweetened and packed with oats and zucchini, Zucchini Oat Bread is about to change your life (and it’s healthy!).
- Be careful, if you add chocolate chips your Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread won’t last more than a few minutes on your counter!
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
PrintRoasted Eggplant and Zucchini
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 5 cups 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This recipe for Roasted Eggplant and Zucchini is fast (ready in less than 30 minutes), healthy and the perfect way to bake up summer fresh zucchini and eggplant together. It’s a great side dish, can be used for meal prep or add it to pasta or Buddha bowls.
Ingredients
1 large eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1-inch chunks
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons aged balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Toss eggplant, zucchini, olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread out on a large rimmed baking sheet.
- Roast, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are softened and browned in spots, about 20 minutes.
- Transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with basil and drizzle with vinegar before serving. Can be served hot, room temperature or cold.
Notes
Ingredient Note:
Aged balsamic is a much better choice than regular balsamic of modena because aged balsamic is a more complex vinegar made with a lot of time and care out of Trebbiano and Lambrusco wines. I would go with aged balsamic for this recipe, but a balsamic glaze is a less-expensive alternative.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Active Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Side Dishes
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 109
- Sugar: 5 g
- Fat: 8 g
- Carbohydrates: 8 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 2 g
I have made this recipe, following it exactly, many times now for my family. It always turns out great and everyone loves it! Thanks for all of your fantastic recipes:)
Thank you so much for your rating and review. I appreciate it! Let me know what you try next!
The recipe is great, but there is no serving size even though nutritional information is listed. I’m hoping this is a mistake, but without a serving size the nutritional information is of no use and can give people a false sense of what they are eating.
Excuse my human error. It slipped by me. There are 5 servings, 1 cup each.
A purely verbal imagination When I see you eating those things, how wonderful. With the food’s color and the landscape in the background, the picture appears to be very harmonious. I’m not sure if I can make this dish successfully, but I’ll try my best.
Sounds good! Let me know how it comes out!
This recipe was so perfect! It came at the ideal time because both of these veggies are in season now!
I concur, Amy! Thank you for trying my dish!
What a great recipe I am sure we are going to love this off to buy some eggplant already have loads of zucchini thanks
I appreciate that so much, Claudia! Enjoy!
Big fan of roasted veggies. These roasted eggplant and zucchini look fabulous and I love that they aren’t over seasoned.
I absolutely agree with you, Kathleen! Thank you for the kind words!
This is a great medley! I love how the eggplant just soaks up all the flavor. Will definitely be making this again.
Thank you for the wonderful review, Dana! Have a wonderful weekend!
This is perfect for me! I have eggplants and zucchini growing in my garden right now, and this is the best way to enjoy them, I think.
I love hearing that, Beth! Please let me know how it goes!