27 Delicious Eggplant Recipes That Everyone Will Love

Think eggplant has to be stringy, bitter, greasy, or bland? Chances are you've just never had it cooked right. All it takes to make eggplant appealing is a little know-how, whether you're grilling it, roasting it, sautéing it, or blending it into a smooth dip. We especially like it when it's smoky and charred from intense direct heat.

If you still need a little convincing of its worth, if you're already an eggplant lover and your garden is turning out an uncontrollable glut this summer, or if your overwhelmed neighbors are constantly throwing their eggplant bounty your way, these 27 recipes will rescue you.

We've got miso-glazed eggplant slices topping a burger, crisp-edged fried eggplant smothered with tahini and packed into Israeli sabich sandwiches, and the creamiest, richest baba ganoush. Read on for more ways to enjoy this versatile nightshade.

Sabich Sandwiches (Pitas With Eggplant, Eggs, Hummus, and Tahini)

Move over, falafel, there's a new Israeli sandwich in town! The sabich is a popular Tel Aviv street snack that eats like a meal—a warm, thick pita, split and stuffed with fried eggplant slices, hard-boiled egg, hummus, tahini sauce, Israeli cucumber and tomato salad, and Mediterranean-style pickles.

Burnt Eggplant and Bell Pepper Dip

This roasted eggplant and red bell pepper dip is rich and bright with distinct smoky notes. Cumin and coriander add spice, while lentils and cashews add body.

Japanese Miso-Glazed Eggplant Burgers With Fresh Pickles

Slices of globe eggplant are exactly the right size for topping a burger patty, so this recipe was just meant to be. The tender roasted eggplant slices are brushed with a sweet-savory miso glaze, then piled on top of juicy burgers, along with creamy Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise and quick-pickled cucumbers for a nice bright crunch.

Summer Vegetable Lasagna With Zucchini, Squash, Eggplant, and Tomato

To make a tasty lasagna using summer vegetables, we sauté them to drive out excess water (zucchini, eggplant, and yellow squash are all full of it) and use a sparing hand with the cheese—too much dairy will overpower the veggies' delicate flavor. The result is a casserole that'll satisfy your lasagna cravings while still tasting fresh.

Italian-Style Eggplant Parmesan (Melanzane alla Parmigiana)

Compared to its bread-crumb-laden Italian-American cousin, Italian-style eggplant parm is lighter and smoother. We start by frying eggplant slices, uncoated, then layer them with a simple tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and fresh oregano leaves.

Roasted Eggplant With Tahini, Pine Nuts, and Lentils

Reminiscent of a deconstructed baba ganoush, this homey, soul-satisfying dish consists of caramelized roasted eggplant served over stewed lentils with crunchy roasted pine nuts. The star is an incredibly light, creamy tahini sauce.

Stovetop Eggplant With Harissa, Chickpeas, and Cumin Yogurt

This recipe uses peeled eggplant and pan-fries it whole, so that the exterior browns while the inside steams. It's served swimming in an easy yogurt-based sauce, spiked with harissa and cumin, and bulked up with tomatoes and chickpeas.

Sichuan-Style Braised Eggplant With Pickled Chiles and Garlic (Yu Xiang Qie Zi)

Eggplant is at its most delicious when it's charred, and the best way to get a good char is to brine it first. Here, we soak the eggplant in a salt solution and stir-fry it until it's thoroughly browned. The eggplant then cooks through in a thick, glossy sauce flavored with Sichuan broad bean paste, black vinegar, Shaoxing wine, hot chiles, ginger, and garlic—we add just a little cornstarch to help thicken it but not so much that it'll turn gloppy.

Pressure Cooker Thai Green Chicken Curry With Eggplant and Kabocha Squash

Using a pressure cooker makes short work of the chicken in this Thai-style stew and leaves it extra tender. The intense aroma and flavor of the coconut milk–based sauce, featuring store-bought curry paste, ginger, garlic, and spices, belie how easy it is to make.

Moussaka

A classic Greek dish made of rich, hearty layers of potato, eggplant, and tomato-based meat sauce, blanketed in creamy béchamel.

Eggplant, Squash, and Cherry Tomato Hash With Baked Eggs

This colorful, brunch-friendly dish of baked eggs perched in a nest of sautéed summer vegetables walks a fine line between hash and ratatouille.

Eggplant Tart With Goat Cheese, Honey, and Nigella

If you're on the hunt for a recipe that will turn ordinary, store-bought puff pastry into something exciting and special, look no further. This tart uses the puff pastry as a base and loads it up with creamy goat cheese, gouda, aromatic nigella seeds, eggplant, and a drizzle of honey.

Pasta With Swordfish, Tomato, and Eggplant (Rigatoni Con Pesce Spada)

Inspired by the flavors of Sicily, this pasta pairs swordfish, tomato, and eggplant with rigatoni. The dish is hearty and easy to make but light enough to enjoy all summer.

Eggplant Rice Bowl

Building a great rice bowl is all about striking the right balance of textures and flavors. Here, crisp, quick-pickled cucumbers offset a sweet and savory serving of tender braised eggplant. Garnish with ingredients like sautéed mushrooms, bean sprouts, and sliced scallions, and you have a bright and satisfying vegetarian main that takes just 30 minutes to pull together.

Sheet-Pan Salmon With Tomato-Eggplant Compote

Sheet-pan salmon is a delicious classic, but this recipe is really all about the delightfully tangy tomato, garlic, and eggplant compote that accompanies the fish. The tomato and eggplant dissolve into a deeply flavorful ratatouille-like sauce, which we season with gochujang for a hint of heat and funk.

The Best Baba Ganoush

There's plenty of poorly made, mushy or bitter baba ganoush out there. But when baba ganoush is done well, it's bright, smoky, rich, and completely absorbing. To make a great version at home, roast the eggplant until it's meltingly tender and drain it in a salad spinner to concentrate its flavor. Mix in garlic and lemon juice, then slowly drizzle in tahini and olive oil to form a creamy emulsion that's perfect for dipping pita chips or crudités.

Sicilian Eggplant and Pine Nut Caponata

Caponata is a sweet-sour Sicilian condiment that derives its intense flavor from a laundry list of ingredients, including eggplant, olive oil, raisins, pine nuts, bell pepper, red wine vinegar, and herbs. Once cooked down into a sauce, it's ready to be tossed with pasta or (my preferred use) spread onto bruschetta.

Provençal Tian (Eggplant, Zucchini, Squash, and Tomato Casserole)

The 2007 Pixar movie Ratatouille ends with the hero reimagining the rustic namesake dish as an elegantly layered masterpiece, thereby wowing a fastidious restaurant critic. But what Remy purportedly invents is actually a classic Provençal tian. We make our version with thin slices of zucchini, summer squash, and eggplant, bathed in a tomato sauce and laid out in pretty concentric circles.

Grilled Eggplant Rollatini

Fill grilled eggplant slices with ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan, plus sharp provolone, fresh basil, and egg to serve as a binder. Then nestle into a grill tray of tomato-rich marinara and let cook until the cheese melts into a bubbling, gooey mess.

Smoked Eggplant for Ramen

Store-bought ramen is much improved with homemade toppings—sliced scallions, soft-boiled eggs, or this deeply savory eggplant. We roast whole eggplants first, then scoop out the soft, smoky flesh and spin it in a salad spinner, as in our baba ganoush recipe. Then we simmer it with typical Japanese flavoring agents: kombu, bonito, soy sauce, and mirin.

Eggplant Spirals With Greek Yogurt, Tomatoes, and Cucumber

These Mediterranean-inspired rolls fill slabs of grilled eggplant with tangy Greek yogurt and feta, tomato, cucumber, and handfuls of fresh oregano, mint, and dill.

Spiced Eggplant With Tomato and Mustard Seeds

This plate of tender little eggplants is inspired by the classic Bengali dish begun-er tok. Seasoned with a paste made up of tomato, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric, and Kashmiri red chile powder, they're baked until charred and blackened on the outside, with velvety and soft interiors.

Japanese-Style Broiled Eggplant With Bonito, Scallions, and Ginger

This eggplant dish, sometimes on the menu at yakitori restaurants, is nearly as delicious when prepared under the broiler. The direct heat chars the skin and highlights the eggplant's natural smoky flavor and cooks the inside to a rich, creamy consistency. We top the finished eggplant with flakes of cured, smoked, and dried bonito, sliced scallions, and spicy grated ginger.

Fish-Fragrant Eggplants (Sichuan Braised Eggplant With Garlic, Ginger, and Chiles)

Don't be fooled by the name: This fried eggplant dish doesn't involve any fish. Rather, "fish-fragrant" refers to a Sichuanese sauce featuring ingredients commonly associated with cooking fish—namely garlic, ginger, and pickled chiles. Enjoy it hot or cold, over rice, tossed with your protein of choice, or simply as a side dish for your next Sichuan meal.

Braised Eggplant With Garlic and Basil

Sourcing slender Asian eggplants ensures the finished dish has a tender, supple texture and no trace of bitterness. Fermented Sichuan chile-bean paste (doubanjiang) and soy sauce add savory depth to the sauce, which is absorbed by the eggplant as it braises. Garnishing the eggplant with Thai basil adds a subtle anise note to the dish.

All-American Eggplant Parmesan

Perfectly fried eggplant is layered with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan.

Tortang Talong (Filipino Eggplant Omelette)

Crispy, succulent egg-battered fried eggplant stuffed with seasoned ground pork.