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Roasted Eggplant Dip – this is not the famous Middle Eastern Baba Ganoush dip. A spread made with roasted eggplant, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, pumpkin seeds and sun dried tomatoes, which is creamy, light, flavorful and pretty delicious. Low carb, gluten free and Keto friendly. Serve as a dip with chips, veggies, pita bread, or add to grain bowls, sandwiches or wraps.
Summer is the season, when I cook eggplant pretty often and this year I’m trying to explore more simple recipes using eggplant. The easiest way to cook it so far was on the grill and then use it in a salad, like this delicious Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad.
With the overload of eggplant around here, I made Ratatouille, Stuffed Eggplant and Air fryer Eggplant. I love Baba Ganoush, an eggplant dip, similar to hummus, made with eggplant, tahini, seasoning, garlic and olive oil, but I really needed to try something slightly different.
Difference from Baba Ganoush
As I mentioned, this dip is different. There is a detailed post and a Baba Ganoush recipe – easy to make meze, that could be served with pita chips or crackers.
I decided to make it after seeing an Eggplant Dip at the store, but is had a lot of tomatoes, nuts and cheese in it, I believe it was Vegan and I did not like all of its ingredients.
I’m a fan of simple recipes, made with few ingredients, so I thought why not add some garlic and sun dried tomatoes for flavor, olive oil and pumpkin seeds for creaminess, salt, pepper and cumin to taste and lemon juice for an extra zing and to make the dip taste light and clean.
How to make eggplant dip? (Ingredients, Directions and Tips:
Ingredients:
- 2 medium to large eggplants
- olive oil
- salt
- garlic
- black pepper
- ground cumin
- pumpkin seeds (raw)
- sun-dried tomatoes (can substitute roasted red peppers, but the flavor will differ)
- parsley, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, pumpkin seeds, red pepper flakes (for garnishing)
Directions and tips:
- Choose the eggplants: So what eggplants to use? I used Purple “Globe” eggplants, but other varieties can be used instead. Recently I discovered “White” eggplants and I like them a lot, but they are not that widely available. The difference from Purple is that the White eggplants are less bitter, creamier and milder tasting. They do have more seeds, but the seeds are usually pretty small and soft. Why use Globe (Purple) eggplants? Because they are widely available, big in size and the least expansive. They have the least flavor as well, but in today’s recipe, we are adding enough flavors to make it very tasty. Because You may want to cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and sprinkle with salt. Let them sit for 10 minutes, then drain the liquid they release. This way the bitterness (if any, since nowadays purple eggplants lack bitterness) will go away. I don’t recommend using Japanese or Chinese Eggplants, because they are smaller, more expensive, not as “meaty” and cook fast.
- How to cook the eggplants? Roasting (grilling is possible) – you can either roast in the oven at 400 F, until soft or grill on a gas grill.
- Blending – I used my powerful food processor to blend the ingredients together into a creamy and flavorful dip.
- Storing – store this roasted eggplant dip in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Freeze for up to 2 months (in an airtight container).
- Optional : use roasted garlic (there will be difference in the taste, if you use fresh, roasted or garlic powder). It is up to you what type of garlic you are going to use. Add red pepper flakes on top of the dip for garnishing and to make it spicy.
How to store, can you freeze this dip?
This eggplant dip tastes best right after it is made. But don’t worry, you can make it in advance and refrigerate it for up to 5 days in an air tight container.
Since there is no dairy or eggs in the dip, it is possible that it could be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Make sure you defrost it in the fridge overnight.
What to serve with?
This dip tastes great on its own, but you can serve it as an appetizer or a side dish.
For an appetizer, serve along with pita or tortilla chips. If you follow low-carb diet, you can use your favorite low-carb chips. Sliced veggies like carrots, peppers, celery, radishes or cucumbers are also a great healthy alternative for what to dip into this spread.
If you are using it as a side dish, this dip can be served with chicken, beef, fish or grilled vegetables.
Arrange on a platter (or large cutting board) with vegetables, chips, nuts and cheeses. Goes well with Feta cheese, too for the perfect Meze.
Other Eggplant Recipes:
- Easy Stuffed Eggplant Recipe
- This Mediterranean Eggplant Chips from Running To The Kitchen is crispy and perfect for snacking, when paired with your favorite dip.
- Low Carb Keto Moussaka Recipe
- Grilled Eggplant Soba Noodles
- Easy Ratatouille Recipe
Eggplant dip
Ingredients
- 2 medium to large eggplants, 1.5 pounds
- 2 tbsp olive oil for roasting
- 1 tsp salt for roasting
- For the dip:
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp olive oil, for roasting the garlic
- At least 4 garlic cloves or one whole head, you can use fresh garlic in the dip or roast it in foil together with the eggplant
- 1/2 tsp salt or more to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds, raw
- 2 medium sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- Chopped parsley, for garnishing
- Pumpkin seeds for, garnishing
- Chopped sun-dried tomatoes, for garnishing
- 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C).
- Cut eggplants in half, season with salt and drizzle with olive oil.
- Roast for 40-50 minutes, until the flesh is soft and can be removed with a spoon.
- When ready, scoop out the flesh and remove the skin. Use in the recipe.
- If you are using roasted garlic, get a whole head of garlic, cut about 5 mm on top, place in foil and drizzle with oil. Wrap in foil and add to the roasting pan. Remove after 30 minutes of roasting.
- If using less garlic - wrap 3-4 cloves of garlic, drizzled with oil in foil and roast together with the eggplant for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and take off the skin. Use the soft roasted garlic in the recipe.
- In a food processor combine the roasted eggplant, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, sun-dried tomatoes and pumpkin seeds and process until smooth.
- Transfer to a bowl, garnish with chopped parsley, pumpkin seeds and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
- Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
One of my favorite dishes ! It’s great with some sliced green olives added in too ? What do you thing , Mira ?
Love these
How much lemon Juice? It is listed in the directions but not the amount and is not in the list of ingredients?
Hi, it is 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice (more or less to taste).