Inspired by Ina Garten’s recipe, this easy Roasted Eggplant Dip is full of roasted vegetables and fresh herbs. Enjoy this healthy dip with pita wedges, on a sandwich, or as part of a mezze platter.
Ina Garten does it again! Her five-star Roasted Eggplant Spread recipe is the inspiration for my easy Mediterranean dip. Each time I serve this easy-prep spread, friends and family beg for the recipe. So here it is, ready for your next party (or for tonight’s dinner appetizer).
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Eggplant: Look for an eggplant with firm skin and feels hefty for its size. Heavy eggplants tend to be fresher and more hydrated than their lighter, similarly-sized peers. Avoid eggplant with any soft spots, discoloration, or wrinkling.
- Tomato paste: Since you’ll only need 1 tablespoon for this Roasted Eggplant Dip, try to find the tomato paste in a tube rather than a can to extend its life. Cento, Amore, and Tuscanini all offer tubes of tomato paste that tend to be widely available across America and online.
- Crushed red pepper flakes: Not a fan of heat? Simply omit the pepper flakes. Prefer it fiery? Add extra!
Step-by-step instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy cleanup. In a large bowl, combine eggplant, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, and thyme. Drizzle with olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and toss to combine.
- Spread on prepared baking sheet and roast until the vegetables are soft and lightly browned, about 45 minutes, stirring halfway through roasting time. Cool 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a food processor and add tomato paste. Pulse until blended, 3 or 4 times. Transfer to a bowl and stir in lemon juice, red wine vinegar, sugar, and red pepper flakes.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes six snack-sized servings of Roasted Eggplant Dip; each slightly more than ⅓ cup.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Dress up your dip: Serve with purchased or Homemade Pita Chips, Toasted Baguette, fresh vegetables, crackers, store-bought or Homemade Tortilla Chips, or as a sandwich spread. Or enjoy alongside my Homemade Hummus with Za’atar Butter and Olive Tapenade for a full Mediterranean snack platter.
Recipe FAQs
Baba ganoush is a thick Mediterranean sauce or dip made of eggplant, sesame seeds (usually in the form of tahini), garlic, lemon, and olive oil. It’s similar to this recipe, but we don’t add tahini.
Eggplant skin is 100% edible. We peel it here to control the texture of the dip (so it’s uniformly smooth). Leave some peel on when you want the eggplant to hold its shape better, such as in Eggplant Parmesan.
Hummus with Za’atar Butter
Learn how to make the creamiest homemade hummus! Then stir in roasted garlic and top with Za’atar-spiced butter for an elegant yet easy appetizer recipe. There are 2 secrets to the best hummus of your life:…
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Roasted Eggplant Dip
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (see note 1)
- 2 red bell peppers seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 red onion peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste (see note 2)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional (see note 3)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy cleanup.
- In a large bowl, combine eggplant, red bell pepper, onion, garlic, and thyme. Drizzle with olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and toss to combine.
- Spread on prepared baking sheet and roast until the vegetables are soft and lightly browned, about 45 minutes, stirring halfway through roasting time. Cool 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a food processor and add tomato paste. Pulse until blended, 3 or 4 times. Transfer to a bowl and stir in lemon juice, red wine vinegar, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Eggplant: Look for an eggplant with firm skin and feels hefty for its size. Heavy eggplants tend to be fresher and more hydrated than their lighter, similarly-sized peers. Avoid eggplant with any soft spots, discoloration, or wrinkling.
- Tomato paste: Since you’ll only need 1 tablespoon for this Roasted Eggplant Dip, try to find the tomato paste in a tube rather than a can to extend its life. Cento, Amore, and Tuscanini all offer tubes of tomato paste that tend to be widely available across America and online.
- Crushed red pepper flakes: Not a fan of heat? Simply omit the pepper flakes. Prefer it fiery? Add extra!
- Yield: This recipe makes six snack-sized servings of Roasted Eggplant Dip; each slightly more than ⅓ cup.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Dear Meggan,
Alas and alack! Not just this recipe, but so many otherwise delicious-looking and -sounding recipes include red and/or green bell pepper, not-so-affectionately referred to as “little red/green land mines” by my wife and I. We both receive negative gastrointestinal feedback should we ingest them unawares. Knowing they are included to impart flavor, zing, nuance, just omitting them leaves the resulting dish wanting, somehow. Do you have any suggestions as to what might be a reasonable substitute which wouldn’t deprive the recipe of its panache? FWIW and oddly enough, it is only bells which affect us; chipotles, jalapenos, poblanos, serranos, Hatch, Anaheims, Fresnos, chilis de arbol, we can consume with impunity. Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might have. Keep them terrific recipes coming! :-)
If I wanted to make a large batch of this roasted eggplant veg dip
And pressure can several jars for winter, would you be able to provide a time and approximate pressure to can properly?
Hi Regina, I don’t have much personal experience with canning. I would say if you want to can a dip like this, I would look for a recipe that has been tested for canning, and follow the instructions to a T. Best to be careful and watch out for food illness. Good luck! – Meggan
Delicious! We enjoyed it very much, and I’ll definitely make it again!
Thanks Tina, so glad you enjoyed! – Meggan
Fantastic!!! I’ve made eggplant spread before but the added lemon juice, red wine vinegar and sugar really woke it up!! Thank you!
Thanks Iris, so glad you enjoyed! – Meggan
I made this today and my family loves it. It’s so hot out and this dip with crackers made for a perfect summer meal. Really lovely recipe and super simple. I used a dash of Stevia instead of the sugar and it was perfect. Thanks!
Hi Terri, so glad you all loved it! Thank you! -Meggan
DELICIOUS!!! Didn’t use sugar, was absolutely perfect.
I don’t think it needed the sugar. It was great and even better after it was in the refrigerator for a few hours.
Nice bowl… 😜