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!

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

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!

Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. 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

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