Baked Eggplant Recipe with Caramelized Onions
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Baked Eggplant Steaks are the perfect meatless dinner. Seasoned eggplant gets baked in the oven and topped with roasted tomatoes and onions.
Bonus: this vegetarian dinner is low-carb, vegetarian, and gluten-free!
Baked Eggplant Steak
This is one of my favorite baked eggplant recipes! I love Summer time; the weather is perfect, there is so much to do, and the produce is at its peak!
Eggplants are thriving in the garden, tomatoes are full and juicy, and basil is growing like like weeds.
These Eggplant Steaks come together easily; making this the perfect midweek healthy lunch or dinner option. Celebrate Summer! Grab those aprons and let’s cook up something full of flavor featuring the best in Summer produce.
Baked Eggplant Recipe ingredients
- Eggplant: it’s important to use fresh eggplants and to cut them as evenly as possible for even cooking.
- Tomatoes: for this recipe, I used cherry tomatoes. However, you can also use grape tomatoes.
- Onions – I recommend slicing a white onion, but you can also use a sweet onion if that’s what you have on hand.
- Basil: to get the incredible flavors from basil, you definitely want to use fresh basil. Dried basil won’t have the same flavors, so I don’t recommend using that as a substitute.
- Herbs & spices – these full flavor steaks call for: Montreal seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, and kosher salt.
- Balsamic: there is nothing better than the incredible flavor of balsamic vinegar with eggplant, tomatoes, and basil. This is definitely an ingredient you don’t want to skip out on!
- Sugar: for this recipe I used light brown sugar. The light brown sugar adds a touch of sweetness and helps get the eggplants to caramelize in the oven.
- For cooking – olive oil and unsalted butter.
*For a detailed list of instructions, ingredients and measurements, please reference the recipe card down below.
Tomatoes and Onions for Oven Baked Eggplant
You can put these in pastas, over steak or alongside chicken.
How to make Eggplant in Oven
What temperature to bake eggplant?
1. Preheat the oven. Preheat a griddled cast iron pan in the oven to 425° F.
2. Roast the tomatoes. Place the tomatoes in a 9X12 baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Toss with olive oil and balsamic.
Roast the tomatoes for 20-25 minutes, until they start to burst. When finished, remove from the oven and garnish with fresh basil.
3. Prepare the eggplant. Slice the eggplant into 1 inch thick rounds. Lay the eggplant rounds flat on a cutting board and sprinkle salt over top to draw out some of the moisture. After about 5 minutes, pat the eggplant dry with a paper towel.
How to Season Eggplant
4. Season the eggplant. Brush a thin layer of olive oil over one side of the eggplant and season with Montreal seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, and sugar.
How Long to Bake Eggplant?
5. Bake the eggplant. Carefully remove the griddled pan and arrange the eggplant in a single layer in the pan. If you have sliced eggplant that doesn’t fit in the pan, feel free to put the extras on a lightly greased baking sheet or another griddled pan. Bake the eggplant for 20-25 minutes.
6. Caramelize the onions. Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick skillet on medium heat with olive oil and butter. Add the onions, toss to coat, and cook, stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes, until the onions have started to caramelize.
6. Serve. Transfer the eggplant to a serving dish and top with the roasted tomatoes and caramelized onions. Garnish with more fresh basil if desired.
Why Do You Salt Eggplant Before Baking?
It’s important to salt your eggplant slices and pat them dry before roasting. Doing so will absorb some of the water, relax the skin, and mute some of the bitterness; giving you a well-cooked eggplant making it the perfect side dish or healthy meal.
How long to salt eggplant?
I recommend salting before roasting as it pulls out some of the moisture before cooking. This technique is often called “sweating the eggplant” and will prevent the eggplant from getting soggy in the seating process.
In this recipe, you only need to salt the eggplant for about 5 minutes to draw out some of the moisture. Since they are baked in the oven, you’ll want to keep some of the moisture in the eggplant so they don’t dry out.
Eggplants are known for their bitter taste and salting them helps to remove some of the bitterness. They can be salted for anywhere from 30-60 minutes.
How to serve Baked Eggplant Steaks
I like to serve the eggplant steaks on a platter with the tomatoes and caramelized onions on top.
For sides, I usually go for something with a carb or a starch like this creamy goat cheese orzo pasta salad or these roasted garlic potatoes. If you’re looking for something with more protein to serve with them, give this air fryer tofu a try!
Oven Baked Eggplant storage
You can store your baked eggplant in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat them, just place it on a baking sheet in the oven at 375 F for 8-12 minutes, or until they are heated through.
Eggplant Steak FAQs
You may find in some recipes or see that some people soak their eggplant before baking it.
This cooking method is not wrong, but I don’t do it. The reason people do this is to raw out moisture. I find that salting and waiting 30 minutes is sufficient and works great!
I recommend letting the salt sit on the eggplant for for about 5 minutes.
The skin of an eggplant is edible, however, it tends to be bitter on larger, more mature eggplants. So while it’s not necessary to peel the skin, you should if your eggplant is on the larger side.
Wiping the salt off the eggplant before cooking is not necessary. All you need to do is gently blot the eggplant with a paper towel. While the salt draws out the moisture from the eggplant, it also seasons it so wiping it away would eliminate some of the delicious flavor.
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Baked Eggplant Steak
Equipment
- Griddled cast iron pan
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- olive oil, for cooking
- 1 tablespoon Montreal seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
- 16 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
- 2 medium-large white onions, very thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat the griddled cast iron pan in the oven to 425° F.
- Place the tomatoes in a 9X12 baking dish and season with salt and pepper. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp balsamic. Roast the tomatoes for 20-25 minutes, until they start to burst. When finished, remove from the oven and garnish with fresh basil.
- Slice the eggplant into 1 inch thick rounds. Lay the eggplant rounds flat on a cutting board and sprinkle salt over top to draw out some of the moisture. After about 5 minutes, pat the eggplant dry with a paper towel.
- Brush a thin layer of olive oil over one side of the eggplant and season with Montreal seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, and sugar.
- Carefully remove the griddled pan and arrange the eggplant in a single layer in the pan. If you have sliced eggplant that doesn't fit in the pan, feel free to put the extras on a lightly greased baking sheet or another griddled pan. Bake the eggplant alongside the tomatoes for 20-25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick skillet on medium heat with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter. Add the onions, toss to coat, and cook, stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes, until the onions have started to caramelize.
- Transfer the eggplant to a serving dish and top with the roasted tomatoes and caramelized onions. Garnish with more fresh basil if desired.
Notes
- Try drizzling a balsamic glaze over top for more flavor!
We love eggplants, and this was such a delicious and healthy preparation! What a perfect summer dinner.
Can’t wait to make these again. We loved them!
We love eggplant steaks and yours with the montreal seasoning and brown sugar was fantastic.
My hubby and I loved this recipe! So healthy and very tasty! Definitely a hit here and such a great light dinner! Making this again very soon!
Was looking for something new to get kids to give eggplant a chance. They loved this!
I love these eggplant steaks, they’re so perfect when I need something healthy and satisfying that’s easy to make! Thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
The sweetness of the onions perfectly complemented the tender, savory eggplant, creating a harmonious blend of flavors. This dish has quickly become a favorite in my household, and I can’t wait to make it again!
Usually I’m not a huge fan of eggplant but your recipe has converted me! These steaks had great texture and flavor and were a great plant-based main when we had friends over for dinner last night!
I loved the idea of baked eggplant! It was so good. Love your presentation in these photos too. The topping of the carameliszed anions and roasted tomatoes is so welcoming..
Loved the texture of these eggplant steaks, and the caramelised onion topping was delicious too. Thank you!