Gluten-Free/ Italian/ Middle Eastern Inspiration/ Paleo/ Sides/ Veggies/ Whole30

Healthy Eggplant and Tomato Sauté

You cannot go wrong with this fresh summer sauté straight from the garden. #healthyrecipe #healthyvegitable #healthyeggplant #eggplantrecipe #gardenrecipe #healthygarden #healthyfoods #easyhealthy

Looking for the perfect summer sauté using goodies from the garden? Look no further than this delicious healthy eggplant and tomato sauté! Serve it over pasta (or zoodles), as a side dish, over crusty bread, or just as a simple topping for your favorite meat. You cannot go wrong with this fresh summer sauté straight from the garden.

An abundance in the garden…

Right about now, our eggplant plants are dropping the most gorgeous aubergine fruit. We are about to be overrun with eggplant! So, I am always on the lookout for different ways to cook this versatile nightshade. This is my husband’s favorite plant to grow and the one that I hear the most about after his morning in the garden; “ohh, look at this beautiful eggplant. Have you ever seen something more beautiful?”.

While, my favorite way to serve eggplant is a simple grilled slice with some oil and herbs, my husband LOVES this sautéed preparation. I should rename this Alex’s Beautiful Eggplant Sauté! I stumbled upon this by trying to use up the abundance of eggplant and tomatoes in our garden one year. It’s really a simple preparation with a huge explosion of fresh summer flavors.

I use cherry tomatoes because they are sweeter and, when cooked briefly, they retain their fresh flavor. If you decide to use a larger tomato, feel free to cook a bit longer in order to intensify the flavor and cook off some of the water a bit.

Take your pick of serving options…

This fantastic sauté can be served so many ways! You can serve it over pasta in place of your favorite sauce. My husband and I had the most glorious lunch today eating a fresh loaf of focaccia topped with this summer mix. Perhaps you are looking for a healthy and delicious side veggie to finish your favorite meal? Or maybe you are looking to intesify the flavor of your favorite steak? Simply pour a giant spoonful of this eggplant and tomato sauté over your steak and viola! Perfection! I’ve also served this with crudité as a simple appetizer. The possibilities are limitless with this multi-talented dish!

However you decide to serve this, have fun and feel free to experiment! Feel free to post your pictures to the comments below or tag me on Facebook or Instagram! I would love to see what you have come up with!

Looking for more eggplant recipes? Check out these favorites!

Baba Ganoush from Make n Curate

Low Carb Eggplant Parmesan Casserole from Noshin’ and Num Nums

Grilled Eggplant from 40 Aprons

Healthy Eggplant and Tomato Sauté
Print Recipe
Serves: 4 Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 medium to large eggplant

2 cups cherry tomatoes, coarsely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, coarsely minced

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt, to taste

Basil for garnish, coarsely chopped or torn

Instructions

1

Slice eggplant into 1 inch rounds. *If you like eggplant without the peel, feel free to peel at this stage then cut into 1 inch rounds.

2

Salt eggplant to weep.

3

Place in colander in sink for 30 minutes.

4

Pat eggplant dry using towel to absorb weeped moisture.

5

Heat 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil AND GARLIC in a large sauté pan over medium heat (you can avoid burning the garlic if you put it in a cold pan).

6

Cube eggplant into 1 inch pieces. *If you prefer smaller pieces, feel free to cube into smaller pieces. You may have to adjust cook time but it will still work perfectly with any size cube.

7

Once garlic is sautéing for about 1 minute and fragrant, add eggplant and stir to coat.

8

*If eggplant absorbs all of the oil, create a little well in the middle of the pan and add about 1 tbsp more straight to pan. Allow to heat up for about 30-45 seconds and stir to mix with garlic and eggplant.

9

Sauté until eggplant is cooked through (about 7-10 minutes).

10

Add tomatoes to eggplant and stir to combine. Be sure to get all of that tomato juice into the pan.

11

Add salt and stir.

12

Continue to cook for about 3 minutes and take off of heat.

13

Finish with coarsely chopped or torn basil.

14

Serve warm or chill in refrigerator.