Sauteed Eggplant

Our sauteed eggplant recipe is a classic Italian side dish you can make with eggplants, tomatoes, and a few other simple ingredients.

It's easy to make in a pan on the stovetop in just 20 minutes, and it's great as a last-minute dinner because you can serve it on its own as a side dish, on top of toasted bread, or use it as a delicious pasta sauce.

This way of doing pan-fried eggplant with tomatoes is not only tasty thanks to the fresh ingredients but also relatively healthy, as we don't fry the eggplant in oil.

The tomatoes are scorched on the pan over medium-high heat with a little oil and garlic for a few minutes before adding diced eggplant, which is then sautéed with the other ingredients.

The eggplant dice soak in the tomato juices and garlic aroma, becoming incredibly flavorful, juicy, and tender.

Despite its simplicity, this is a fantastic everyday recipe perfect for the whole family. Let's see how to make it.

Ps. The Italian name of this dish is "Melanzane a funghetto," meaning mushroom-shaped eggplant due to the eggplant dice that vaguely recall the shape of mushrooms.

Eggplant

Use globe eggplant, the large ones with an oval shape and dark shiny skin. Italian eggplants also work as they are very similar to globe American eggplants.

Tomatoes

We recommend using fresh ripe tomatoes for sauteed eggplant. We prefer cherry tomatoes or plum tomatoes. Roma tomatoes are also perfect for this recipe.

Olive oil

Use extra virgin olive oil for better flavor and nutrition. Alternatively, regular olive oil is also ok.

Garlic

To add a mild and pleasant garlic aroma. For this recipe, we prefer fresh garlic to garlic powder.

Red Pepper Flakes

To add some spiciness. You can replace them with chili powder or dried chili.

Salt & Pepper

We use sea salt or kosher salt to season this dish. We add black pepper for a fragrant aroma.

Fresh Basil

Basil is the main flavoring herb in this sauteed eggplant recipe. However, you can add more herbs and spices if you like. Good options are dried herbs such as Italian seasoning mix, dried oregano, or thyme.

Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add them to a large skillet with olive oil, crushed garlic, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes.

Fry the tomatoes on medium-high heat for 5 minutes, then crush them with a fork.

In the meantime, wash and dry the eggplant, remove the stem, and slice into 1-inch cubes (2.5 cm). Add the eggplant to the pan along with one cup of water.

Stir well, cover with a lid and saute for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Take the lid off and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until the eggplant is thoroughly cooked.

Add fresh basil leaves to the end, stirring them before serving the sauteed eggplant.

Appetizer

Serve sauteed eggplant as an appetizer on toasted bread. You can make bruschetta with larger bread slices or crostini with smaller bread slices. Either way, it'll be delicious.

Main course

Transform this dish into a delicious main course by using it as a sauce for a tasty and nutritious pasta dish.

All you have to do is cook a short pasta (penne, rotini, rigatoni) al dente, then add it to the pan with the sauteed eggplant alongside a cup of reserved pasta water and a handful of black olives (optional).

Toss for a minute on medium heat and serve with plenty of fresh basil and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

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