Delicious roasted baby eggplants with a garlic yogurt dipping sauce, such a fun way to eat eggplants. These caramelized eggplants are simply seasoned with a few spices and oven roasted to make such a simple and visually impressive side dish. Garlic gets roasted alongside the eggplant in the oven, and combined with yogurt to make the most delicious side sauce, you’ll want to eat it on everything!
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What’s so good about this recipe?
- It’s a creative take on roasted eggplant, using mini eggplants makes it more fun! It’s also less work, because you just need to slice the eggplants in half instead of dicing whole eggplants.
- The caramelized eggplant tastes so good, with crispy edges and soft tender interiors.
- The garlic yogurt sauce served with the eggplant is EVERYTHING. So creamy, rich, and full of flavor from the roasted garlic.
- This is a great way to enjoy eggplant with Middle Eastern flavors, like sumac on the eggplant, and labneh in the garlic yogurt sauce.
Ingredients you need:
Baby eggplants: These tiny little eggplants are so cute, about as long as your thumb, and a lot less bitter than large eggplants. You should commonly find these in the produce section.
Olive oil: Good quality olive oil, as you’ll use this to roast the eggplant, and also to drizzle on the dipping sauce.
Salt and pepper: Essential for seasoning the eggplant well to bring out their flavor.
Sumac: This is a tangy Middle Eastern spice, made from sumac berries. It sorts of taste lemony, but with an interesting undertone. If you can’t find this in Middle Eastern supermarkets or in the spice aisle, it’s totally fine to leave it out.
Dried mint: Another classic herb used frequently in Middle Eastern cooking. Dried mint is a perfect compliment to yogurt in the dipping sauce.
Garlic: This is the secret ingredient that makes the dipping sauce taste so good. A whole head of garlic gets roasted at the same time as the eggplant to make it super easy.
Yogurt: You can use plain yogurt or Greek yogurt.
Labneh: A thick strained by product of yogurt, another classic Midddle Eastern ingredient. If you don’t have this, substitute with sour cream, or you can just add extra yogurt.
How to make easy roasted baby eggplants:
- Preheat oven to 400F (200C) . Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the eggplants on a tray, and drizzle the cut halves generously with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Transfer to the baking sheet, cut side down.
- Cut the very top horizontally off the head of garlic to slightly expose the cloves, and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap in aluminum foil to cover, and place on the tray of the eggplants.
- Roast the eggplants and the garlic for 35-40 minutes, flipping eggplant over halfway into cooking time, or until eggplants are caramelized, golden brown and tender if poked with a fork.
- Remove from baking tray and place on serving platter. Sprinkle with sumac.
- Carefully squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves in a small bowl. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and mix to combine well. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with fresh mint if desired. Serve alongside the roasted eggplant to dip the eggplant in.
What to serve these caramelized eggplant with:
Definitely don’t miss out on making the garlic yogurt sauce, it’s the perfect accompaniment. You can serve the eggplants as a side dish to pretty much anything. It would be great alongside grilled meat, chicken or fish, or any type of stew or curry.
Storing leftover roasted eggplants:
Leftover eggplant will last 2-3 days in the fridge- you can warm it slightly in the microwave or a hot oven, or eat leftovers cold. Try chopping up any leftover eggplant and using in a salad, like this one, or using in place of the roasted eggplant in this eggplant fatteh.
Recipe tips and tricks:
- Make sure the oven has reached the high temperature before placing the eggplant inside, to achieve that beautiful caramelized exterior to the eggplant.
- If you want to add even more flavor, try sprinkling the eggplant with feta cheese, and adding toasted pine nuts or almond slivers and chopped parsley.
- Taste and adjust the ingredients in the garlic yogurt sauce until you get the balance you like.
- If you are worried your eggplant will be bitter, you can sprinkle the cut halves with salt, let sit for 15 minutes, then use in the recipe.
Recipe FAQs:
Yes, I would recommend salting the eggplant cubes and letting them sit 15 minutes to draw out the bitterness, then using as directed in the recipe. You’ll roast them for less, probably 25-30 minutes until caramelized.
Yes, the skin will become tender as you cook it, no need to peel the baby eggplants at all.
Absolutely- you may have to do this in batches though. Preheat air fryer to 375F (190C), and air fry for 10-15 minutes or until caramelized.
For more delicious eggplant recipes:
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Roasted Baby Eggplants
Ingredients
For the roasted baby eggplant:
- 16 baby eggplants, cut in half
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- big pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sumac, optional
For the garlic yogurt sauce:
- 1 head garlic
- drizzle olive oil
- 1/3 cup labneh
- 2/3 cup plain or greek yogurt 6oz, 170g
- 1/4 teaspoon dried mint
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the roasted eggplant:
- Preheat oven to 400F (200C) . Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the eggplants on a tray, and drizzle the cut halves generously with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Transfer to the baking sheet, cut side down.
- Cut the very top horizontally off the head of garlic to slightly expose the cloves, and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap in aluminum foil to cover,and place on the tray of the eggplants.
- Roast the eggplants and the garlic for 35-40 minutes, flipping the eggplants over halfway through, or until eggplants are caramelized, golden brown and tender if poked with a fork.
- Carefully remove from baking tray and place on serving platter. Sprinkle with sumac.
For the garlic yogurt sauce:
- Carefully squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves in a small bowl. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and mix to combine well. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with fresh mint if desired. Serve alongside the roasted eggplant to dip the eggplant in.
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