Every late summer and fall, I’m always so impressed/jealous of all my friends who are plucking the fruits (and vegetables) of their summer-long labors and harvesting the stuff from their gardens. So this year, I decided I would also grow a garden. I would be among my domestic and wholesome friends, picking, eating, and preserving tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, and herbs. That was in April.
In late May/June, I was gone for 18 days.
When I got back to Louisiana, I remembered why I don’t go outside to do things like, say, water my plants.
Right now, the herbs are still alive. I have decided that next year, I will be an avid herb gardener (preferably herbs that don’t care if they get watered or not).
The good news is that I know a lot of people who grow gardens (including my friend Jeni who special-ordered “homosexual” zucchini because she didn’t have any bees to pollinate her traditional zucchini blossoms) and they are always more than happy to share their bounties with me. This is how I came home the other day with a bag full of eggplant.
If not done right, the texture of eggplant can get a little…gross. Also, I am a sucker for roasted vegetables. Also, I am a sucker for dips and spreads. Good news for me? It’s pretty much impossible to mess up roasted eggplant (especially when you puree it after you roast it).
You’ll need a medium eggplant, 2 red bell peppers, 1 red onion, a few cloves of garlic, some tomato paste or oven-roasted tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper. Seriously, this spread is really and truly super healthy (which will make you feel less bad about it when you can’t stop eating it).
Preheat your oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Chop the eggplant, onion, and red peppers into 1″ cubes and place them in a large bowl. Smash the garlic and add it to the eggplant mixture. 
Add the olive oil, salt, and pepper and toss the mixture with your hands until all the vegetables are well-coated. Spread the mixture onto the foil-lined baking sheet.
Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast the vegetables for 20 minutes. Stir/flip the veggies with a spatula and then roast for another 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and browning.
Allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes and then transfer the vegetables to a blender or a food processor. Add the tomato paste (or roasted tomatoes, which is what I used) and pulse until the desired consistency is reached. Serve the dip warm with slices of baguette, sourdough bread, Flatbread, Rosemary Focaccia, Naan, pitas, pita chips, your finger, a spoon, whatever. 
This would also be an amazing, flavorful vegetarian sauce to toss hot pasta in for a light summer meal straight from your garden (because goodness knows it’s not coming from my garden).
Roasted Eggplant Spread
Recipe lightly adapted from Ina Garten
1 medium eggplant
2 red bell peppers
1 medium red onion
3-4 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste or pureed oven-roasted tomatoes
Preheat oven to 400 and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set aside. Chop eggplant, peppers, and onion into 1″ cubes. Smash the garlic. Toss together the vegetables and then drizzle them in olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to evenly coat the vegetables and then spread them over the prepared baking sheet. Place the pan in the oven and roast the vegetables for 20 minutes. Flip/stir the vegetables with a spatula and then roast for another 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and browning. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Place the roasted vegetables along with the tomato paste or roasted tomatoes into a blender or food processor and pulse until the desired consistency is reached. Serve warm with slices of sourdough bread, pita chips, flatbread, or Rosemary Focaccia. You can also toss this sauce with hot pasta for a light vegetarian meal.
Questions & Reviews
This is amazing. Seriously, I want to drink it from the blender pitcher! I made it to use as a veggie dip, but I’ve decided to use it as a pasta sauce instead. Can’t wait for dinner!! Yum!!
Do you think this could be frozen? I am wondering about making a double batch, then just dividing it out into individual servings and freezing it. Then I can pull out one serving at a time for my husband to take to work or for me to grab for a quick snack. TIA
Yep, you can definitely freeze it!
Do u peel the eggplant?
Nah, don’t worry about peeling it… 🙂
Haha, my son just saw your logo and called his brother in to see “the heart maked out of 2 oranges.” Apparently he thinks it’s pretty sweet!
Yay, thank you for this recipe! I tried eggplant for the first time a couple months ago and really had a hard time with the texture. I think I could handle it pureed. I got one in my Bountiful Basket and was kind of sad. I hate wasting, so this will be perfect even if I have to eat it all myself!
this stuff is so.darn.good. i’ve made it four times now and every time i make it, i marvel how delicious and versatile it is. it can be a spread, it can be a dip, and my favorite? served over whole wheat pasta to unsuspecting children and husband who don’t know they are eating EGGPLANT 🙂
thank you!!
I made this this after noon…we love it! Nice change from my homemade hummus. Thank you!
Umm, this is awesome. And I am now addicted to oven roasted tomatoes. So, thanks for that! I’ve also learned that as a Mormon you’re not allowed to say “homosexual”, but you are allowed to judge someone for it. But only if a lot of other people can read it. Learning lots, thanks! 🙂
Huh? That’s funny because I’m a Mormon and I say it quite often. My brother is a homosexual. Gasp. I said it. Besides, what in the heck does that have to do with Roasted Eggplant Spread.
AWESOME ~ Ate the whole first batch all by myself and now I’m making a double batch!
I have made this 3x in the last couple weeks. I love it in a piece of red leaf lettuce like a lettuce wrap. It is so good. I have all my family making it now. My kids think it is meat. Yummy!
Okay, this DOES work with zucchini. Actually, I think it works with any vegetables. We bought into a CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture) this year and each week we get a basket of produce. I never know what until I pick it up and some of the things I have never tried. So, I made this with zucchini, patty pan squash, green pepper, tomatoes, garlic, and onion. And followed your instructions. It’s great! Thanks.
Oh, thanks so much for reporting back! I’m so glad to know it works with zucchini! 🙂
Do you suppose this would work with zucchini?
This was totally good — I have never tried roasting veggies before and the veggie chunks that I sneaked were also delicious! Thanks for this one!!
Why do I read this blog in the morning? I’m starving and now craving this delicious spread…
I found out about your blog through a friend and love it. Thanks for sharing so many great recipes! I made this Sunday night and it was awesome, it was great cold too the next day!
I printed off this recipe a week ago, and now just made it. It is so delicious. I can eat it just by the spoonfuls..I’m making pasta right now and my husband and I will enjoy it in a few minutes. I added triple the garlic…because there is never enough garlic.
So good I ate the whole thing at 3:00 this morning! Which brings up the only problem with this recipe. I thought it would make a nice big bowl full. So, how can it be that these ingredients… eggplant, onions, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, etc. puree to less than a cup?? Sob!
Opps! I peeled my eggplant and I see in your pictures that you left the peel on… it should still be ok!
🙂
I was glad for this recipe becuase I TOO had an eggplant in my Bountiful Basket that I had no idea what to do with. My husband and I enjoyed this on slices of asiago cheese bread. (Mine looked JUST like the picture. I was relieved it turned out, I don’t usually make this sort of thing.) Today I am going to toss the leftover with pasta! I hope it is just as good the day after!
Kate, I could just kiss you! What a great recipe.
OMG!!! I literally had some tomatoes and an eggplant sitting on my counter for a week. My in-laws always bring veggies from their garden, and I didn’t know how to cook eggplant! This was heavenly! It was actually our dinner tonight because we couldn’t stop eating it-my husband loved it! I didn’t have red onions, but I used 1 Anaheim chile to add some mild heat. The only thing I did different was set the oven to Broil. I broiled for 5 minutes and turned the veggies once and broiled for another 3 minutes. You really have to watch it. The veggies are done in no time, and you get that nice charred skin which adds so much flavor! Will make again and again!
My house smelled SOOO good when I was roasting the vegetables!
Last month at a church activity a woman brought mango quinoa salad and yesterday at this month’s activity she brought eggplant spread. Everyone LOVED both. When I noticed this spread was posted so recently I got suspicious- so congratulations, your food is all the rave at a random relief society in Maryland!
I just bought my first eggplant for this recipe and it was delish! Thanks for sharing!
Oh My Goodness! I just made this and it is Y-U-M-M-Y! Thank you for the recipe!!
Hi Kate! I stopped by to visit your blog. What a find! You offer quite a range of great info, ideas and recipes. You are like a full service stop on the freeways of food! I like your eggplant recipe. Very delicious.
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I cannot wait to make that spread! Big huge YUM!
I am so going to make this with my eggplant…..I already have alot on the menu this week so do you think I could possibly make and freeze this? Love the blog and cookbook! Keep up the good work ladies!
I love eggplant. I am going to make this one this week!
Thanks so much for this recipe! I am trying to eat healthier and this is a great go-to for me! I made it yesterday and enjoyed it immensely!
I love your blog! I am so glad my daughter got me hooked on it!