This simple vegan eggplant recipe with chickpeas and tomatoes is all the comfort! And you’ll love the Greek flavors thanks to a little extra virgin olive oil and a combination of warm spices including oregano, paprika, and a pinch of cinnamon.
Eggplant is one versatile ingredient you can use in many delicious and satisfying ways.
Roasted. Fried. Stuffed. In hearty dinners like eggplant rollatini, eggplant parmesan or moussaka. You can even make eggplant fries. Yes, I said fries!
You can also turn an eggplant into one wholesome stew like in today’s vegan eggplant recipe with chickpeas and tomatoes.
I’ve been making a lot of simple vegan recipes from pantry staples lately, and this eggplant recipe totally fits the bill–easy, comforting, and it takes one pot.
Why this recipe works? The quick braising process cooks the eggplant to tender perfection, it seriously melts in your mouth. Plus, you’ll love the Greek vibes thanks to a little extra virgin olive oil and earthy, warm flavors including oregano, paprika, and pinch of cinnamon.
A few important eggplant tips before we get to this tasty recipe.
Tips for buying and preparing eggplant
Some are intimidated by eggplant’s spongy texture. And many worry about the likelihood that their eggplant dish will taste bitter. Regardless of what eggplant recipes you try, a few tips are helpful to follow before you start:
- Choose eggplants with smooth, shiny skin that are uniform in color. If the eggplant skin looks shriveled or somewhat discolored, do not buy it.
- Choose eggplants that are smaller and feel heavy for their size. Smaller eggplants tend to be less bitter and they have thinner skin and less seeds.
- Test your eggplant for ripeness before buying. Lightly press a finger against the skin and if it leaves an imprint, the eggplant is ripe.
- Salt your eggplant before cooking. I’ve talked about this before. Salt the cut eggplant and let it “sweat” for a few minutes (or an hour, if you have the time) before cooking. Some don’t think this step is necessary, but it can help in a couple of different ways: salting will draw out moister and help break down the spongy texture of eggplant. It can also rid the eggplant of some of it’s bitterness.
Ingredients for this Eggplant Stew
This recipe takes three humble ingredients–eggplant, chickpeas, and canned tomatoes–paired with a few spices and some extra virgin olive oil. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Eggplant- about 1 1/2 pounds of globe eggplant (that’s 1 large eggplant or 2 smaller ones)
- Yellow onion, green pepper, carrot, and garlic– these chopped veggies are sauteed with the spices in extra virgin olive oil to form the flavorful base for this recipe
- Spices and such– dry bay leaf, dry oregano, sweet paprika (or smoked paprika if you prefer), coriander, cinnamon, hint of turmeric, and black pepper. This combination of earthy and warm spices is really what makes this dish so comforting. If you don’t have all the spices, don’t let that deter you from making this easy dish. You can omit some of the spices and do more of the ones you have. (You can find all-natural and organic spices at our online shop).
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil- I used Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil to cook this vegan stew. And if you want the full Greek effect, drizzle some of this tasty EVOO to finish this comforting dish. (You can learn about this olive oil at our online shop here).
- Chopped Canned Tomatoes- one large can of chopped or diced tomatoes with their juices brings this stew together and provides sweetness and beautiful umami
- Chickpeas- canned chickpeas are a great option here. They’re ready to use, no need to soak overnight.
- Fresh Parsley (optional)- If you have it, a little fresh parsley or mint is a great garnish to add to this dish. Totally optional.
Greek-style eggplant recipe: step-by-step
Step 1: Salt eggplant
Cut up the eggplant into cubes or large bite-size pieces. Sprinkle with some kosher salt and leave in a large colander in your sink or over a bowl. Let it sweat for 20 to 30 minutes or up to 1 hour, then rinse and pat dry.
Step 2: Sautee chopped onions, veggies, and spices
Warm up some extra virgin olive oil and add onions, peppers and carrots. Toss around for a few minutes, then stir in garlic, bay leaf and spices (paprika, coriander, paprika, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, and black pepper). Cook just briefly till fragrant.
This is this is where all the flavor in this recipe comes from.
Step 3: Add chopped tomatoes, eggplant, and chickpeas and bring to a boil
Now, pour in the chopped tomatoes, chickpeas (and chickpea liquid or water), and eggplant. Bring this party to a boil for a good 10 minutes (this is the start of the braising process).
Step 4: Transfer to oven
Now to finish cooking, cover the eggplant stew and transfer it to a 400 degree heated oven. Let it cook to tender perfection for another 45 minutes or so. Tip: be sure to check on the eggplant stew part-way through cooking, adding a little liquid if you feel it needs it.
Step 4: Serve
When ready, fish the eggplant stew with a generous drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil (I used Private Reserve Greek EVOO). Add a garnish of fresh parsley, if you like.
Transfer to serving bowl over my 15-minute couscous or just a side of warm pita bread. A dollop of Greek yogurt or even Tzatziki sauce and some olives make a great addition here. And, to keep with the Greek theme, you can start with a traditional Greek salad.
More eggplant recipes:
Vegetarian
Low-Carb Eggplant Pizza
Italian
Easy Pasta alla Norma
Appetizer and Mezze
Mediterranean Grilled Eggplant with Whipped Feta
Visit Our Shop
Easy Greek-Style Eggplant Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb eggplant cut into cubes
- Kosher salt
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil I used Private Reserve Greek EVOO
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper stem and innards removed, diced
- 1 carrot chopped
- 6 large garlic cloves minced
- 2 dry bay leaves
- 1 to 1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika OR smoked paprika
- 1 tsp organic ground coriander
- 1 tsp dry oregano
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp organic ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 28- oz can chopped tomato
- 2 15- oz cans chickpeas reserve the canning liquid
- Fresh herbs such as parsley and mint for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place eggplant cubes in a colander over a large bowl or directly over your sink, and sprinkle with salt. Set aside for 20 minutes or so to allow eggplant to “sweat out” any bitterness. Rinse with water and pat dry.
- In a large braiser, heat 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil over medium-high until shimmering but not smoking. Add onions, peppers, and chopped carrot. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly, then add garlic, bay leaf, spices, and a dash of salt. Cook another minute, stirring until fragrant.
- Now add eggplant, chopped tomato, chickpeas, and reserved chickpea liquid. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a rolling boil for 10 minutes or so. Stir often. Remove from stove top, cover and transfer to oven.
- Cook in oven for 45 minutes until eggplant is fully cooked through to very tender. (While eggplant is braising, be sure to check once or twice to see if more liquid is needed. If so, remove from oven briefly and stir in about 1/2 cup of water at a time.)
- When eggplant is ready, remove from oven and add a generous drizzle of Private Reserve EVOO, garnish with fresh herbs (parsley or mint). Serve hot or at room temperature with a side of Greek yogurt or even Tzatziki sauce and pita bread.
Video
Notes
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- Slow-cooker instructions: you can prepare the recipe up to step #3 as written. Then transfer ingredients to your slow cooker. Add 1 cup water and the remaining ingredients from step 4. Cook on low for 4 hours or until eggplant is very tender.
- Visit our Online Shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including extra virgin olive oils and all-natural and organic spices used in this recipe.
Nutrition
*This post first appeared on The Mediterranean Dish in 2018 and has recently been updated with new information and media for readers’ benefit. Enjoy!
Just perfect! So delicious and easy to put together.
So glad to hear it! Thanks so much for sharing
Nam Nam Bam yummy
Thank you!! π
I made this tonight for dinner.. and served over brown rice… right before serving I stirred in some raisins for sweetness and some walnuts for texture.. it was delicious…. will make again..
Yum! Thanks for sharing!
This was amazing!!!! I had some eggplants that needed to be used and I was frantically googling looking for something to do with them.
So so so glad that I stumbled upon this, has been added to my recipes folder.
Awesome! Thanks, Jen!
I’m going to try this recipe as is – sounds delicious! I’m wondering though – would ground lamb added to the onions & peppers in the early stage be okay?
Great, Annette! Yes, if you’d like to add ground lamb to this recipe, cook it up early on as you described and go from there.
HI, I’m trying it now. Any reason I can’t braise it on the oven top?
You can braise it on the stove-top and simply watch the liquid to add as needed until the eggplant is well cooked through.
Wondering if sweet potatoes would work instead of carrots. I just love the taste of sweet potatoes with curry.
That could work, Mary! We haven’t tried it ourselves.
So delicious – I’m not a great cook but I do try internet recipes sometimes which quite often bomb! This one was really easy though and totally delicious – my 6 year old daughter said this is the most delicious dish I have ever made – proud papa! I’ve also been struggling for 6 months to find a good recipe for the eggplants that come in our veg box – and this is it! Thank you from London for a really wonderful recipe.
Daniel, that is so wonderful to hear! So glad your daughter enjoyed it too!
I made this for the first time today. Just tasted it from the oven and itβs so delicious!! I saw one commenter mentioning adding a bit of lemon which I love. Will do that. Thank you for such a lovely recipe!!
My pleasure! So glad you enjoyed it!
im a disaster in the kitchen, i just cannot cook, i got some eggplants so decided to try….and its so delicius, im realy proud of myself?Thank you so much .
Yay! That’s so great to hear!
I am normally not an eggplant fan but I got a big one in my CSA box last summer and needed to use it. I have now made this recipe multiple times and itβs become a family favorite. It also freezes really well.
That is great to hear, Robyn!!
Anyone tried this with another bean, lentils perhaps?
You can try white beans, Christina. Lentils will not hold as well and the texture will be different.
This is absolutely delicious and my house smells amazing now! Will for sure make this often.
Yay! Thanks so much!
Hi…….. booing to make this tonight but no green peppers, I have red bell peppers or green Chileβs ? Any of these or neither work as a substitute?
You can use red peppers, if you like
I absolutely love this dish. I used San Marzano tomatoes as well. I also added on chicken bullion cube. I canβt stop eating it!!!!!
Thank you for sharing, Rhonda!
I have made this twice now and love it. (This is the same as mnazaleh, no?). Several of your recipes have found their way to our dinner table and we have never been disappointed! Thank you for all the time and effort you have made for sharing your recipes with us.
A couple of notes about the recipe. For diced tomatoes I use San Marzano canned whole, peeled tomatoes. They are sweeter and tastier (less acidity) than the typical tomato, and I use my hand to break up the tomatoes in the pan.
Another thing is that you really miss out on the flavor this dish offers if you use store-bought spices instead of getting them at a spice store. The smell and flavor of fresh turmeric, coriander and paprika just can’t be beat and this recipe deserves the best spices as it’s excellent.
Hi, Barry! So glad you enjoyed the dish! Thank you for sharing your adaptations/suggestions!
Question:
It says a serving size is βsmall bowlβ.
Because Iβm counting calories I need an actual measurement. Is the βsmall bowlβ 1 cup? 2 cups? Can you be more precise, please?
Thanks ?
Hi, Susan. I am so sorry that I don’t have a real measurement available for you. The entire recipe makes approximately 6 servings. If you want to be exact, you would have to measure the entire amount of your finished product, and divide by six. I wish I could be more help here.