This roasted eggplant marinara is simple and delicious. Broiling the eggplant and tomato at the end with parmesan adds an extra layer of flavor and texture.
Roasted Eggplant Marinara With Basil and Parmesan
Eggplant and tomatoes are two summer vegetables that are delicious when prepared together. This roasted eggplant marinara recipe is a simple vegetable dish that combines these two ingredients with basil and parmesan. Cook until the eggplant is soft and tender in the tomatoes; broil at the end to add a dark crispy surface with parmesan. Throw some some fresh basil and more parmesan on top and you’ve got yourself a divine vegetarian dish.
Baked Eggplant with Tomato Sauce
The first step in the cooking process is baking the eggplant. Toss the cut eggplant pieces with olive oil and salt and put into a preheated 425 deg. oven. Bake eggplant by itself until it is just cooked through (20 – 30 minutes). In the next step, we will finish the roasted eggplant with tomato sauce in the oven for another 20 minutes.
After you bake eggplant by itself, cook the eggplant with tomato sauce. You can add a chunky marinara sauce (recipe here) that you made ahead of time or you can add canned diced or crushed tomatoes. Make sure tomatoes/marinara sauce are warm or hotter, or else the oven cooking time will have to be increased to allow time for tomatoes to heat up in oven. Bake eggplant and tomatoes for 20 minutes in oven.
After about 20 minutes, take roasted eggplant with tomatoes out of oven and turn oven to broil. Sprinkle a layer of parmesan on top of baked eggplant and tomato sauce. Broil parmesan crusted eggplant and tomatoes for a minute or so, watching closely to prevent burning.
Finish roasted eggplant marinara with more parmesan and fresh chopped basil. Serve immediately.
Roasted Eggplant Marinara
Ingredients
- 1 lb eggplant, cut into pieces about 0.75"
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups chunky marinara sauce, or diced can tomato see recipe
- 0.5 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 0.5 cup parmesan
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 deg. Toss eggplant with oil and salt. Place into baking dish and bake in oven for 20 minutes. Take out of oven, add marinara sauce or tomatoes, mix, and put back in oven for about another 20 minutes. Eggplant is done when soft all the way through.
- Remove from oven when cooked. Turn oven to broil. Sprinkle eggplant with half of the parmesan. Place under broiler for about a minute. Watch very closely; the top may burn quickly. You are just looking to get a little dark color on the top. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan and fresh basil and serve immediately.
Love how simple this is looks delicious!
Thanks!
Nice recipe – but I think you should peel the eggplant
Sure you can peel the eggplant – up to your personal preference