Roasted Eggplant Salad

A Couple Cooks was an accident, really. When we started this it, we had no idea that we’d still be doing it years later — that it would become part of our identity, a creative outlet, and a way to explore sustainable living. Beyond that, it’s become a way for us to connect to people, to support our community, and push ourselves to constantly evolve, change, and self-reflect. And while never in our wildest dreams would we be writing about roasted eggplant salad…here we are, doing it and loving it! This healthy salad recipe is is full of flavor, featuring lots of spices, cucumber and bell pepper, cilantro and peanuts, and roasted eggplant. Ready to get started?

How to make roasted eggplant salad

This roasted eggplant salad is full of contrasts: roast-y eggplant versus crunchy cucumber and bell pepper. Warm spices like cumin and turmeric versus tangy rice vinegar and sweet honey. Soft chickpeas versus crunchy peanuts. It’s got a lot going on: but it’s also very simple to make! The longest lead time item is roasting the eggplant. Eggplant takes just 20 minutes to roast, so you’ll get that started and then prepare all the fresh vegetables and the dressing. You’ll roast the eggplant by cutting it (more on that below), and then mixing it with olive oil, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder and turmeric. Then you’ll throw that in the oven while you complete the rest of the salad. You’ll use the same spice blend to season the chickpeas, and then chop the veggies: cucumber, red pepper, red onion and cilantro. More detailed instructions on how to cut all these veggies are linked in the recipe below! Then you’ll mix up the dressing: rice vinegar and honey, and stir it all together. Add in some crunchy peanuts and it’s an incredible taste treat. Serve this salad with bread, muffins, or pita for a complete meal.

What are Asian eggplant or Japanese eggplant?

Asian or Japanese eggplant is a variety of eggplant that is long and thin, instead of globe shaped as you might be used to. The skin is thin and it has a lightly sweet flavor. We found Japanese eggplant at our local farmers market, and it’s part of what inspired us to make this roasted eggplant salad. Can you use globe eggplant instead of Asian eggplant or Japanese eggplant? Absolutely. You can use a standard eggplant in this recipe: just chop it into 2-inch pieces.

Video: How to cut eggplant

If you do use a globe eggplant for this roasted eggplant salad recipe, want to know the best way to dice it? Here’s our step by step guide for how to cut eggplant, including a video of me cutting eggplant in our kitchen.

Looking for eggplant recipes?

Here are a few of our favorite ways to use eggplant:

Baked Eggplant ParmesanGrilled Eggplant with Herbed QuinoaBest-Ever Eggplant MeatballsEggplant Sandwich with Tomato & PestoBaba GanoushMediterranean Grilled Eggplant SaladSkillet Eggplant MarinaraGrilled Eggplant ParmesanEggplant Involtini with Spanish Mojo Sauce