Spaghetti in Eggplant Sauce
Spaghetti in Eggplant Sauce is a great meatless dish any day because it is tasty, easy, and loaded with fiber and healthy fats. The eggplant and tomato sauce go incredible well together but I also add olives and chopped green onions which really amplify its flavors.
When making this Spaghetti in eggplant sauce dish, I had Mediterranean in mind. My grandma always made roasted eggplant and tomato sauce with lots of garlic and she dipped bread in this extremely flavorful sauce, however I wanted something that would make it pop. That’s why I added olives and green onions because these two ingredients made every bite special. Also, instead eating this with bread (which would be so GOOD) I decided to have it with whole grain spaghetti and I have zero regrets doing so.
How to make Spaghetti with Eggplant Sauce:
- Saute the eggplant for about 4 minutes until softened. Eggplant soaks up a lot of oil so make sure the oil is hot before adding in the eggplant. I also suggest using a non stick pan so that the eggplant doesn’t stick and you won’t be required to keep adding more oil. I like to use light olive oil for this dish because it add flavor without burning as extra virgin olive oil would.
- Add in minced garlic and mixing with a wooden spoon, cook for 1 more minute. At this point, if you need to add more oil, you can do so but just enough so that the minced garlic doesn’t stick to your pan.
- Add crushed tomatoes and seasonings. You can use fresh or dried herbs. I always have the required herbs dried on hand so I use dried more frequently.
- Let the sauce simmer. Cover the eggplant sauce halfway and let it simmer while the spaghetti cooks, approximately 10-12 minutes.
- Add spaghetti to the eggplant sauce. Mix the spaghetti in eggplant sauce so that the spaghetti is fully coated with the delicious sauce.
- Top with Greek black olives and fresh green onions. This is my favorite part! These two ingredients make this Spaghetti with Eggplant Sauce dish so special. You can also use black olives but my favorite olives are Greek olives with the bone in. I cut around the bone and add sliced pieces of the olives in this dish.
- Optional: top with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.
Can you substitute spaghetti?
Yes. You can make your favorite kind of pasta with this Eggplant Sauce.
Spaghetti in Eggplant Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 oz spaghetti
- 3 tbsp light olive oil
- 1 eggplant
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp parsley flakes
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup pitted Greek olives sliced
- 2 stems green onions
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
- Wash and dice one whole eggplant into 1/2" thick cubes and set aside. Mince 2-3 cloves of garlic and set aside as well.
- Fill a large pot with water and place over medium heat. This will give the water for the spaghetti time to come to a boil while you are making the sauce.
- In a large shallow saucepan, heat light olive oil on medium heat. Add in the diced eggplant and cook for about 4 minutes or until the eggplant is soft.
- Stir in the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add oil as needed.
- Using a fork, slightly mash the cooked eggplant then add the crushed tomatoes, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir until combined bring to a boil. Once the sauce begins to boil, decrease the heat to low. Let the sauce simmer covered halfway until the spaghetti cooks, about 10 minutes.
- Add spaghetti to boiling water and cook until al dente according to package instructions.
- Once the spaghetti is cooked, remove from heat. Drain the spaghetti and add to the sauce. Remove sauce from heat and mix together until spaghetti is fully covered with the eggplant sauce.
- Top spaghetti with sliced Greek olives and chopped green onions.
- For optional garnish, add grated Parmesan cheese and fresh chopped basil.
- Serve while still warm.
