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This Grilled Eggplant Recipe makes a delicious vegetable side dish that can accompany so many main dishes to make a healthy and hearty meal. It’s so easy to make and is ready in just 20 minutes, or even quicker if you prep it the day before!
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Eggplant is a tender summer vegetable and, therefore, particularly suitable as a healthy grilled vegetable. Eggplants are rich in fiber, contain vitamins, are low-carb, and low in calories. Moreover, the skin of eggplant, especially the purple one, contains antioxidants.
They are relatively easy to grow at home and can be prepared in lots of different ways! This post will tell you everything you need to know about how to grill eggplant to make this side dish taste irresistible for family and friends.
Grilled eggplant is very aromatic, especially with added smoky flavors from an outdoor grill. The marinade is made with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and dried herbs. These ingredients blend so well together to make an irresistible tangy flavor.
Eggplant on the grill is a very popular vegetable side dish, but can also be served as a main course. Tips on how to do this are below.
🔥 Tips For Grilling Like A Pro
- It is enough to turn the eggplant once in the marinade (does not require an extended “marinating time”). To prepare it in advance, you can leave the sliced eggplant in the marinade for up to an hour at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator and then grill it directly.
- The grill or grill pan should be well-preheated and rubbed with a splash of oil.
- If you want beautiful grill stripes (like in the pictures), you must not move the eggplant while grilling. Turn it just once to cook evenly, and no more!
- Get creative and adjust the marinade to your own taste! 😉
🍽️ Tips For Serving
- Crumble feta cheese (or vegan feta) over the grilled eggplant and decorate with some fresh parsley and red pepper flakes. Serve it as a light vegetarian main course with rice or pasta on the side. It also works well on its own as an appetizer.
- Put a light layer of parmesan cheese on top while the eggplant is still on the grill for cheesy grilled veggies.
- Serve with chimichurri sauce for extra flavor.
- Drizzle balsamic cream over the top.
- Garnish with lemon zest for an added burst of citrus flavor.
- Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice.
- Mix tahini with lemon juice and ice water and drizzle over the eggplant. Add a few pomegranate seeds and cilantro if desired, and you have a vegetarian oriental main dish. Serve with bulgur or quinoa!
- Put the grilled eggplant slices back into the marinade (what was left in the dish) and let it sit for a short time. Gladly also overnight. So it tastes very tasty even cold.
🛒 Ingredients
See recipe card for quantities.
- Eggplant → Use a medium eggplant. Doesn’t matter if you cut it lengthwise or in round slices. 😉
- Salt → Rub the sliced eggplant with salt. This removes excess water from the eggplant, so it becomes more aromatic once grilled.
- Fresh Parsley → To garnish!
- Olive oil → Nothing works without oil when grilling, I prefer to use a neutral cooking oil like olive oil, but you could use canola oil, avocado oil, or grapeseed oil too.
- Balsamic Vinegar→ The aged balsamic vinegar provides a slightly acidic note. The vinegar can be substituted with a little lemon juice or lime juice.
- Spices: Salt, Black Pepper, Dried Herbs → Provide flavor. Feel free to add minced garlic, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, or mustard to the marinade.
👩🍳 Visual Step-by-Step Instructions
This visual step-by-step instruction will help you along the way – definitely recommended if you’re a cooking beginner! 😉
- Prepare Eggplant: Wash eggplant well and cut lengthwise into ½ inch (1cm) thick slices. Sprinkle with salt and let it sit for 15 minutes. Pat dry with a paper towel to remove excess liquid.
- Make Marinade: Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Add eggplant and mix well (easiest with clean hands). → Can be marinated up to an hour in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
- Prepare the Grill: Heat your outdoor grill or grill pan by rubbing a little oil on the grill pan before cooking on it.
- Grilling Eggplant: Grill the marinated eggplant on both sides for about 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Serve: Arrange them on a serving platter, sprinkle with fresh parsley, and enjoy!
🫙 Make-Ahead & Storage Instructions
You can marinate the eggplant in the marinade and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a day ahead of cooking it. When you’re ready to cook it, remove it from the fridge and grill it immediately!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stays fresh for 2 days.
I love to use leftovers to prepare this delicious Eggplant Parmesan Recipe.
🍆 More Grilling Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Grilled Eggplant
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants
- ½ tsp salt
- some parsley minced
Marinade
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp dried herbs
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Instructions
- Wash eggplant well and cut lengthwise into ½ inch (1cm) thick slices. Sprinkle with salt and let it sit for 15 minutes. Pat dry with a paper towel to remove excess liquid.
- Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Add eggplant and mix well (easiest with clean hands). → Can be marinated up to an hour in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
- Heat your grill or grill pan by rubbing a little oil on the grill pan before cooking on it.
- Grill the marinated eggplant on both sides for about 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat. Serve with minced parsley!
Notes
- Garnish the eggplant with crumbled feta cheese, red pepper flakes, and chopped parsley before serving.
- Serve with Chimichurri.
- Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.
- Mix tahini with lemon juice and ice water and drizzle over the eggplant. Add a few pomegranate seeds and cilantro if desired, and you have a vegetarian oriental main dish. Serve with bulgur or quinoa!
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