This Greek baked eggplant with tomato sauce & feta is a great healthy (& gluten-free!) appetizer or accompaniment to grilled meat or fish. It might seem simple, but it’ll send your taste-buds soaring … promise!
At the risk of sending some of your cursors racing straight to the cross in the right hand corner of your screens, I’m going to tell you about yet another meal that Mr. Scrummy and I had at a restaurant in Greece one time.
As we got ourselves all comfy on our nice snug corner table, we started leafing through the menu and our hearts sank a bit. You see, the menu was the type that had garish, unappetizing pictures of some of the food. It was also well-worn and even a bit sticky in places. The food sounded very average, too, quite frankly. There was really nothing all that special-sounding.
But obviously you can’t judge a menu by its sticky pages and tacky photos because one of the appetizers we ordered alongside our tasty meat sharing plate was something very close to the baked eggplant with tomato & feta cheese that you see here in today’s post.
As delicious as the meats etc. were, we both agreed that the eggplant side dish was the runaway show-stealer!
How to make Greek baked eggplant
Lucky for myself and Mr. Scrummy (and for you!) we took the chance to ask our waiter how the baked eggplant was made. He told us that the eggplant is first baked in the oven by itself with a little olive oil, then tomato sauce is poured over the top, followed by crumbled feta cheese, before the dish is put back in the oven to finish off.
So simple that I didn’t even need to jot it down.
So how long do you bake eggplant for?
It depends on the recipe of course, and the way you slice them, but for this recipe you initially bake the eggplant uncovered for 45 minutes (after slicing it in half and scoring it in a criss-cross pattern).
Then, you pour the tomato sauce over it and bake again for another 15 minutes.
So all in all this version of baked eggplant takes an hour. This might sound like a long time, but you really do want that eggplant to be nice and soft.
And trust me, it’s worth it.
This really is simple vegetarian Mediterranean food at its best!
How I like to serve this dish
Later, while grabbing some last minute items to take home with us at a local supermarket, I spotted the cute little brown dishes with lids you see in the photos. They are just perfect for baking this delicious Mediterranean side dish in, don’t you think? And all for the thrifty price of about 3 euros each!
You may not be able to jet off to the Mediterranean to pick some up, but I find these mini casserole dishes by Pioneer Woman very cute too! (affiliate link)
I made my own slightly guessed version of this easy aubergine dish and Mr. Scrummy and I ate it alongside some greek lemon chicken and potatoes leftovers and again … it was the star of the show.
I think it would be just as delicious eaten by itself with some crusty bread (or grilled garlic bread … mmm … unless you need the meal to be gluten-free, of course), or as a side dish alongside some grilled meat or even fish.
More amazing Mediterranean recipes that you must try!
- Crispy brussels sprouts with tahini sauce and almonds (the best brussels sprouts of your life!)
- These life-changing fried halloumi bites (perfect appetizers for guests!)
- Crispy fried chickpeas (great on salads or soups!)
- Ever made a proper Spanish omelette, otherwise known as a tortilla de patatas? Prepare to have your mind blown!
- Another Spanish one… try this traditional ‘pan con tomate’ or Spanish bruschetta. It’s incredible, and unbelievably easy to make!
- Did you know you can fry olives, and that they’re delicious? You do now!
Or browse all my Mediterranean recipes here
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Our favourite baked eggplant with tomato & feta
Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click below for grams/ml)
- 1 eggplant / aubergine, sliced in half lengthwise and scored all over in a criss-cross pattern (without cutting through the skin).
- olive oil for baking
- 3 ounces feta cheese
for the tomato sauce
- 0.25 cups olive oil
- 5 cloves of garlic sliced
- 14 ounces chopped tomatoes (400 grams = 1 can)
- fresh basil optional
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pepper (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 0.5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/390F, then brush the eggplant with a generous amount of olive oil, sprinkle with a bit of salt and then bake each half facedown in little separate baking dishes (or side by side in a slightly bigger baking dish) for about 45 minutes or until the flesh is soft.
- Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat the olive oil on a medium heat in a pan with a large surface area, then add the garlic. Cook for a couple of minutes (don’t brown the garlic), then add the chopped tomatoes, herbs and salt and pepper. Half fill the empty tomato can with water and add that to the pan, too. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, then remove the herb sprigs. Add the sugar and balsamic vinegar and stir in.
- Pour the tomato sauce over the aubergines, then crumble over the feta. Bake for about another 15 minutes or until the tomato sauce is bubbling.
Ronna says
Really good! I lived in Thessaloniki for 2 years, and this dish, or a version of it, was on most Taverna menus. Some of the best meals we had there were at little places like you describe, with tacky (literally and figuratively!) menus, but amazing, simple food.
I make my tomatoes more chunky than saucy – just some chopped fresh tomatoes cooked for a short time with some garlic and olive oil – to make it more like the style in Thessaloniki.
Helen says
Thanks Ronna – glad you liked this! You know, in all the time I was in Greece (a long time!) I never visited Thessaloniki. But I love how every region of Greece has its own dishes. I like your idea of making the sauce easier. Why not? 😉
Zoe says
So easy and so delicious!
I made this yesterday for myself and 90 yr old Dad, who often doesn’t like these flavours. I was prepared for him to say he didn’t enjoy it, but he actually said it was so good he could lick the plate!
Helen says
I keep hearing similar things to this about this recipe, Zoe – that people usually don’t like eggplant but really enjoy this. Thank you so much for letting me know – it makes me very happy to hear your dad enjoyed it so much! There’s an eggplant pasta recipe on the site that people seem to like a lot too – just in case you’d like to try your luck with that one as well 🙂
Beth says
I Love this recipe! It is perfectly flavorful and easy to make. My husband is suggesting I serve it to guests tonight.
I lined my baking dish with parchment paper because I don’t have individual baking dishes and need easy transfer for serving.
I was not a fan of eggplant until trying this recipe!
Thank you,
Beth Taylor
Helen says
Hi Beth, and thank you so much for leaving a review. It’s wonderful, isn’t it? And I think it’s perfect for either a midweek meal for yourselves, or for serving to guests. It goes so well with whatever protein you want to serve it with, and I find it’s even good by itself! I also have an eggplant pasta recipe on the site that’s quite popular – maybe you’d like that too? 🙂
Veer says
We have made it twice with great results. The family and friends Loved it. We served it as a main dish accompanied by lightly steamed broccoli crowns topped with a garlic butter sauce and crusty bread rolls..
I have also had this dish prepared with some crisp ground lamb on top of the eggplant.
Helen says
Hello! So glad you enjoy this! I really love it too. I like to serve it with meatballs of some description (usually Greek!) but I love your idea of putting crispy lamb on the top – what a great idea! Thank you so much for your review! I’m just about to post a recipe for stuffed peppers and tomatoes (gemista) that I think you might like too – look out for the recipe in the next few weeks! (if you sign up on my home page you won’t miss it 😉
Laura says
I just made this for the second time, had to double the recipe because the first time I made it, it disappeared within minutes! I think this is my new favorite dish. I used Manchego cheese as I’m not a feta fan, and it worked very well. Thanks for this!
Helen says
Hello Laura! I always feel very happy to hear about it when other people seem to enjoy this as much as we do! I like your idea of using Manchego – this definitely works well with other cheeses. If you liked this, you might enjoy my ‘pasta alla norma’ recipe too – it uses similar ingredients but of course is a pasta dish. Thank you for the feedback!
Sergio says
Amazin recipe! I’ve never tryed the feta cheese and now I’m adiccted to it. Thank you!!!
Helen says
You’re welcome, Sergio! There are so many delicious recipes with feta cheese for you to try – you’ll never look back! Try this pumpkin, chorizo and feta salad or this spinach and feta filo pie!
Linda Nortje says
I am always looking for new ways to use eggplant and your recipe will be on our menu soon ! Will also pass it on to my mom-in-law as she has a serious addiction to anything eggplant 😉
Helen says
Oh that’s so good to know, Linda – I really hope you and your Mom-in-law enjoy it as much as we do!
Sarah says
We are not gluten free and this recipe was a hit with the whole family!
Helen says
So happy to hear this, Sarah. Thank you so much for letting me know!
Mijke says
This was delicious!!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Helen says
Thanks so much for the feedback, Mijke! This really is one of our favourite recipes and I’m so glad you enjoyed it too. Quite simple but delicious!