This Roasted Eggplant Salad is packed with Middle Eastern spices, giving it so much warm flavour. It’s an incredibly versatile dish that you can enjoy as a salad, side dish or even dip! It also just happens to be Vegan, Whole30 and Paleo!
Why you are going to love this Middle Eastern Roasted Eggplant Salad:
- It’s so simple but has so much flavour: I love the simplicity of this salad. Chopped eggplant and tomatoes are tossed with cumin, paprika, oregano and sumac and then roasted until tender. Add it all to a bowl with parsley and crunchy toasted almonds and voila, all done!
- It’s all cooked on one tray: Is there anything easier than a traybake?? The chopped eggplant, tomatoes and onion are tossed on a tray and then popped in the oven to roast, it’s that easy! This also means that dish washing is kept to a minimum which is always a positive in my books.
- Cook once and enjoy all week: This is a great dish to make and then have ready in the fridge to enjoy as a quick meal. I find that the flavours only improve after a day in the fridge.
- It’s healthy! This low carb salad is great to serve a fussy crowd because it complies with so many diets! It’s Whole30, Paleo, Vegetarian and Vegan and can easily be made Nut Free by swapping the flaked almonds with pumpkin seeds for a similar crunch.
What is sumac:
Sumac is a vibrant red spice which is a common ingredient in Middle Eastern cooking. It has a slightly sour flavour which really brightens up dishes like grilled meat or Middle Eastern salads. If you can’t find sumac, it can be replaced with lemon zest for a similar freshness.
Ways to enjoy this dish:
- As a salad: enjoy it cold or at room temperature as a salad
- As a dip: serve it with crackers as a dip or on toasted bread as bruschetta
- As a side dish: it can be eaten warm as a side dish with grilled fish or meat
Here are a few other eggplant recipes that you will love:
- Chopped Eggplant, Herb & Almond Salad
- Herby Couscous Stuffed Eggplant Rolls
- Garlic & Herb Grilled Eggplant
- Middle Eastern Lamb Stuffed Eggplant
- Eggplant Caponata
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Middle Eastern Roasted Eggplant Salad
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplant (approx 4 cups cubed)
- 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 1 1/2 tsp sumac
- 3 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup toasted flaked almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (205 degrees Celsius)
- Cut the eggplant into small cubes and place them on a baking sheet along with the halved cherry tomatoes, diced onion and minced garlic. Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables and then sprinkle them with the salt, cumin, oregano, paprika, coriander and sumac. Toss the vegetables with your hands to ensure they are all well coated in the oil and spices.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven to bake for 30 minutes until the eggplant is soft and golden in colour. Stir the vegetables a few times during baking to ensure everything cooks evenly.
- Sprinkle the vegetables with the toasted almonds and chopped parsley and give the mixture a gentle toss to mix it all together. Spoon into a bowl and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a comment below and let us know how it was!
To begin with, there seems to be an error in your ingredients, as I had two eggplants in the house which were about 1 1/2 pounds each, and were certainly not large. When I cubed them I had more than 8 cups of cubes, and that’s after throwing away about a half of one eggplant because it was so seedy, I didn’t want to use it. So, I don’t understand you’re specification of 4 cups. In addition, I removed the skin of the eggplant. Also, I think it would be usefule for you to give some ballpark number for the size of the cubes.
Anyway, despite the number of spices called for, and I increased the amount of each, I found the dish to be very bland. I served it over rice, and it was crying for some kind of sauce to liven things up. Maybe a tahini-based sauce would be appropriate. Also, after roasting, the shrinkage of the eggplant and tomatoes was significant, rendering the dish sufficient for two serving.
GREAT RECIPE! Super easy prep and flavorful! It’s a new favorite in our house PLUS it’s gluten-free!!!!
My new favorite eggplant recipe! I left it in the oven for 45 minutes until the eggplant almost melted. I used less than half the cumin and canned San Marzano tomatoes because that’s all we had, and it worked beautifully.
Delicious. Also great on Turkish bread
This was excellent! The combination of spices, the crunch from the nuts, and the texture of the roasted vegetables was spot on. I used chopped fresh tomatoes and added some yellow squash since they’re in season, and took it to a pot luck picnic. I multiplied the recipe by 3 and used 2 sheet pans to roast it so there was a big, delicious bowlful!
This recipe was amazing! Came out great . This will be my go to eggplant dish 😊
I love this recipe. Since I had only one large eggplant, I added some zucchini because I know they go well together. I like your combination of seasonings and since I used the lemon zest, I sprinkled some lemon juice, since I always use the cold salad version. This recipe is a keeper!
This was easy and delicious. I used farm stand tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes, and they worked fine. I had pecans in the freezer, so I chopped and roasted those instead of the almonds. It’s nice to have another recipe that uses sumac, a fun seasoning that I am just learning about.
I read your recipe for tahini cookies but I dont kknow how to measure 1.2 or whatever other ingredients have a .something measurement. Please advise.
Very tasty! Love that it’s freezer friendly and travels well. I did omit the sumac this time only because I didn’t have any. Looking forward to surprising my tastebuds on round two. Thanks Carmen for once again a great recipe.