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Looking for a quick side dish for dinner? This Sweet and Sticky Oven Roasted Eggplant is healthy, gluten-free and cooks in no time. These vegan eggplant “steaks” are roasted in the oven to bring out the natural sweetness of the eggplant.

Oven Roasted Eggplant – Low Carb, Keto, Paleo, Whole30, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, THM S

Name: Oven Roasted Eggplant
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2 lb eggplant; 2 tsp salt; 1/4 cup coconut aminos; 2 cloves garlic, grated; 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes; 1/4 tsp cumin; 1 tsp sesame oil; 1 tbs olive oil; pinch black pepper; 1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

This is a guest post by Ashley from the healthy food blog, Bright Roots Kitchen. To see more of her recipes, head over to the Bright Roots Kitchen blog.

Eggplant has always seemed like an enigma to me as far as vegetables go. They’ve got an oblong shape, a spongy texture and have no real discernible smell when raw. Before I’d ever tried it, I remember thinking to myself “How do you even cook eggplant?”

I attempted to cook it on various occasions, trying to mimic restaurant dishes. Sometimes it was greasy, other times mushy and sometimes still raw in the middle. So what was the secret to getting the odd purple veggie to cook correctly?

How to cook eggplant perfectly every time:

Low and behold, the secret is in the prep! Since eggplants are high moisture vegetables like mushrooms, you need to draw that moisture out in order to get crispy, evenly cooked eggplant.

Here’s what you do:

Slice the eggplant into evenly thick slices
Sprinkle salt on a cutting board or cookie sheet, then place the eggplant on the salt
Coat with another even layer of salt
Let it sit for 10 – 15 minutes
Pat dry each slice and cook

Salting the eggplant draws out all of that excess moisture while also seasoning your eggplant. When the excess moisture is removed the eggplant can more easily absorb sauces and marinades. The salting also keeps the eggplant from steaming, which is important for this recipe. This eggplant is smeared with a garlic soy inspired sauce, so you’re gonna want to have all of the flavors seep into this meal!

How do you make the sweet and sticky glaze for this oven roasted eggplant?

IT’S SUPER SIMPLE!

No fancy gadgets needed here. If you have a seal-able jar and 30 seconds you have eggplant glaze. The prominent flavors in this sauce are coconut aminos, garlic, cumin, and sesame oil.

All you have to do is put all of the ingredients in a mason jar and shake vigorously until it forms a salad dressing like consistency.

What else can you do with the eggplant glaze?

The eggplant glaze sauce in this recipe is a spin on a soy garlic sauce. Instead of soy sauce though, I use coconut aminos. If you’ve never used it, it has a soy flavor but it’s sweeter and naturally gluten-free. It’s very versatile and by no means overpowering.

Because of that, this glaze can be used in many ways, beyond in this healthy eggplant recipe including:

Marinade for chicken or pork
Stir fry sauce
Dumpling dipping sauce

How do you know when the eggplant is cooked?

When cooking eggplant, you want to look for a balance between tenderness and crispness. It’s very easy to under-cook eggplant, so you’ll want to do a few things when you cook it.

Pierce the cooked eggplant with a knife
- It should go straight through, without any resistance
  - If you feel stiffness in the middle it means the eggplant hasn’t roasted long enough and it needs some extra time.

What does this oven roasted eggplant go well with?

Since this oven roasted eggplant is really flavorful on its own from the marinade, it goes better with a more mild side dish.

Some options include:

Cauliflower rice
Mashed Cauliflower
Mashed sweet potatoes
Roasted squash or zucchini noodles

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