Eggplant and Tomato Pasta

Hearty dinners do not always need meat. This eggplant and tomato pasta is the perfect vegetarian dinner, that will leave you satisfied and full! Packed with fresh eggplant, red peppers, and fresh tomatoes, this pasta sauce comes together in 30 minutes. If you are a meat eater, I promise you won't miss it! Serve up with a classic caesar salad, and dinner is served!

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This Recipe
• Recipe Overview
• Ingredients and Substitutions
• Instructions
• Expert Tip
• Recipe FAQs
• Eggplant and Tomato Pasta
• 💬 Comments

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• The sauce is perfectly hearty! If you find that a meal is incomplete without meat, this sauce can fix that! Eggplant is the perfect meaty substitute for that problem. I promise this sauce will leave you feeling satiated and full! My version of the viral Gigi Hadid pasta is another hearty, luxurious pasta recipe that you'll want to try!
• The add-ins are endless! This is a fantastic base recipe, but you can add any vegetables you want! It is a great way to use up any leftover produce in your fridge.
• It is an easy recipe to feed a crowd! Pasta is the perfect crowd-pleasing dish (hint - my easy cheesy stuffed shells are a crowdpleaser). This sauce can be double, or tripled to feed more people, including big families. Meatless dishes are also inexpensive for large crowds!

Recipe Overview

Flavour: This eggplant and tomato pasta sauce is reminiscent of your favourite, slow-cooked tomato sauce. Packed with the right amount of spice from chilli flakes, and the right amount of garlic and oregano, you will love the freshness and simplicity of this tomato sauce.

Ease: The vegetables and sauce all get cooking in one skillet. If you do not cook with eggplant often, it may seem daunting. I assure you, it is not hard! Everything comes together with little effort!

Time: To properly cook down the eggplant and peppers, the sauce does require a little bit of additional cooking time. This eggplant pasta comes together in 40 minutes, including just the right amount of simmering time for the sauce.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Rigatoni pasta: Rigatoni is a tubular pasta, similar to penne, but larger in size. A short pasta like rigatoni is perfect because it stands up to the meatiness of the sauce. You can substitute for any short pasta you like. I would not use spaghetti, or a long pasta, for this recipe. The sauce is slightly too thick and chunky for delicate long pastas.

Eggplant: You will want to use a regular purple eggplant for this recipe, or an Italian eggplant. You will not want to use a long Japanese eggplant, as the texture is different, and not ideal for this pasta. Peeling the eggplant is optional. If you feel that the skin of the eggplant you are using is thick or tough, it may be a good idea to peel it before dicing.

Grape tomatoes: Grape tomatoes are ideal, as when they cook, their skins burst. You may also use cherry tomatoes, as they react similarly when cooked. I would avoid using a regular, chopped tomato, as the seeds will overpower the sauce. If you do not have any smaller tomatoes on hand, you may also omit them. Grape tomatoes work perfectly in my Tomato Basil Pasta, too!

Red bell pepper: Red bell peppers are the perfect addition to pasta sauce, because they are inherently sweet. It is best to not substitute with green peppers, as they are more bitter than red peppers. If you like, you may use jarred roasted red peppers in the sauce.

Tomato passata: Tomato passata is essentially strained and pureed tomatoes. If you do not have passata on hand, you can also use crushed tomatoes, or whole peeled tomatoes.

Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves are always the best option for recipes with minced garlic. With that said, if you only have minced garlic on hand, or even garlic paste, they will work just fine.

Spices and seasonings: You will need sugar, garlic and onion powder, oregano and red chilli flakes for the sauce. You can adjust the spice according to your preference and heat tolerance.

Instructions

1. Boil pasta: In a pot of liberally salted water, boil your your pasta until al dente. Reserve a ¼ cup of pasta water before draining the pasta. 
2. Saute the eggplant: In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, sauté the eggplant and garlic in a small amount of olive oil until softened and wilted. 
3. Cook tomatoes and peppers: Add the red peppers and grape tomatoes to the skillet, and cook through until the skins of the tomatoes are blistered. Gently press down on the grape tomatoes with the edge of your wooden spoon to let some of the juices out. 
4. Finish the sauce: Add the tomato passata, and spices to the skillet, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pasta, and combine well. 
5. Prepare the topping: In a small skillet over medium-low heat, toast the breadcrumbs with 1 tablespoon of olive oil until golden brown. Make sure you constantly stir the breadcrumbs, to avoid burning. Sprinkle on top of the pasta before serving. 

Recipe FAQs

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