Grilled Eggplant with Fresh Tomato Salad Recipe

I’m very nervous for when this Meatless Monday movement we joined starts to get boring! So far, we are 4 weeks in and it’s been so fun to try new vegetarian recipes each week.

This Grilled Eggplant with Fresh Tomato Salad that we had last week was awesome! I love eggplant but I’m not very good at preparing it at home. It tends to turn out very mushy. However, this grilled eggplant recipe was so easy to make and came out perfect.

I found the original recipe in the August 2016 edition of Good Housekeeping Magazine but adapted it a bit to fit what we had on hand and altered the vinaigrette after trying it a few times. The spice mixture that you rub on the eggplant before grilling is key! It gives the eggplant a smokey and slightly spicy flavor and really brings the dish together.

A single, medium sized eggplant gives you about 5 slices, which feeds 2 people very easily. We made it for the kids (without the added spice) but neither of them were fans of the eggplant. I’m determined to try again in the near future though. If you have a kid-friendly eggplant dish, send it my way! I’d love to have the kids try it.

We served the eggplant with a bowl of black bean soup (recipe coming soon) and it was very filling but light at the same time. Making it a perfect summer dish.

Recipe Review ~

I give this dish a 7.5 out of 10. It’s very flavorful, filling, and easy to make. It uses a lot of separate bowl/dishes to prepare and I dislike doing dishes. Plus the leftovers don’t really keep very well (the eggplant gets soggy), but otherwise an excellent dish. It’s filling but still light, making it a great summer dish.

Nutrition Review ~

Eggplant itself has some great health benefits. It’s very low in calories (35 calories per cup), has no fat and contains fiber. The skin contains some essential nutrients that help improve blood circulation, so be sure not to remove the skin! Combined with the tomatoes and fresh herbs, this dish is loaded with vitamins and minerals. The vinaigrette thats added to the tomato salad is light and contains olive oil, making it a heart healthy dish. Eaten alone, it’s missing protein so be sure to pair it with something else to make a complete meal. We served our with black bean soup, but you could easily pair it with a salad full of vegetarian protein sources (egg, beans, seeds, legumes, tofu) or even add grilled tofu to the actual dish.

Budget Review ~

Overall, I would rate this dish as pretty budget friendly. A bit pricier than the other meatless monday recipes we’ve had, but still low in cost. This dish costs approximately $14 for 2-3 servings. Which means only about $7 per serving. I rounded up some costs, but in general this is how I tallied up the cost to me personally:

$3 eggplant

$2 mint leaves

$4 small hot chili pepper

$1 lemon

$3 cherry tomatoes

$1 worth of Greek Yogurt (1/4 cup)

Already had on hand: Olive Oil, Fresh Basil, Ground Corriander, Cayenne Pepper, Red Wine Vinegar, Salt & Pepper

I will definitely serve this dish again, especially since we have tomatoes and eggplant growing in our garden.

You can see our previous Meatless Monday recipes here: One Pan Gnocchi Skillet and Spicy Thai Noodles.

You can also check out our Meatless Monday Pinterest Board for even more inspiration on vegetarian inspired dishes.

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Grilled Eggplant with Fresh Tomato Salad Recipe

This vegetarian dish is light, filling and full of flavor. The grilled eggplant is smokey and the fresh tomato salad is loaded with fresh herbs to compliment the eggplant nicely.

Course entree

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword grilled eggplant, mediterranean dinner, tomato salsa

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 2 -3 servings

Author Adapted from Good Housekeeping

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves
• 1 tbsp fresh basil
• 2 small red chili peppers
• 2 tbsp greek yogurt
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp ground corriander
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper adjust on your level of spice

Instructions

• Heat grill over medium heat
• Slice eggplant into 1/2 inch thick slices, lengthwise. 1 eggplant gives you about 5 slices
• Brush both sides of eggplant with 1 tbsp olive oil
• In small bowl, mix together coriander, cayenne pepper and salt. Spread mixture evenly over eggplant steaks
• Grilled eggplant about 5 minutes each side, until tender
• In a medium bowl, mix together mint, basil, chili peppers, lemon juice, vinegar and 2 tbsp olive oil.
• Season with salt and pepper
• Add halved cherry tomatoes to bowl with vinaigrette, stir to combine
• Arrange eggplant on serving plate and top with tomato/vinaigrette mixture
• Drizzle with greek yogurt