Roasted Eggplant Pasta
One of the easiest pasta dinners around – 6 ingredient roasted eggplant pasta! Enjoy your favorite pasta noodles served with roasted eggplant & onions in a rich tomato sauce with fresh herbs. Simple cooking with delicious results!
I absolutely love eggplant paired with pasta – especially when it’s roasted. Actually I love all vegetables with pasta but eggplant is special. It has a meaty texture and savory flavor that works perfectly with a rich tomato sauce.
Take heart, because this recipe is one that is beyond simple and includes only several ingredients to complete. I love serving this eggplant sauce over a gluten free lentil & chickpea pasta or zucchini noodles to keep it healthy.
Ingredients Needed
For this simple recipe you’ll need just 6 main ingredients (not including salt). Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Eggplant: Use a small or half of a large eggplant.
- Yellow onion: for sweetness or use a red onion.
- Oil: I recommend using avocado oil when roasting vegetables but olive oil works too.
- Garlic powder: Even though I love fresh garlic, using garlic powder is a lot faster and easier especially when roasting.
- marinara: using a quality tomato sauce is key for the most flavorful dish! See tips below for my favorite marinara recipes.
- Pasta: use any pasta noodle you like! See notes for my top picks.
How to Make Roasted Eggplant Pasta
- First, lay chopped eggplant and onion on a sheet pan and toss with with oil, salt, and garlic powder. Roasted 400F for 20-25 minutes – flip halfway through.
- While eggplant is roasting, bring pot of well salted water to a boil for pasta. Cook noodles until “al dente” in texture.
- Then heat up sauce in a pan and fold in roasted eggplant and onions.
- Serve sauce with pasta noodles and fresh basil.
How to Store & Freeze Leftover Pasta
Storing leftovers: to keep leftovers fresh – store sauce and pasta seperately in airtight containers for 3-5 days. Reheat sauce in a pot then add pasta to serve again.
Freezing tips for sauce: let leftover eggplant sauce cool and store in an airtight container – freeze for 2-3 months.
Extra Helpful Recipe Tips
- Tomato sauce: Use a homemade tomato sauce like my San Marzano Tomato Sauce or spicy Italian Arrabbiata Sauce. You can also use your favorite store-bought pasta sauce – I recommend Rao’s Marinara.
- Pasta noodles: use your choice of pasta noodles. You can also swap for healthier noodles like Banza chickpea or lentil pasta for a gluten-free & protein packed option.
- Vegetable noodles: To make this recipe even more healthy, serve with your favorite vegetable noodle such as zucchini, carrot, or sweet potato noodles. Make by using a vegetable peeler or spiralizer.
- Eggplant preparation: I did not peel the eggplant before roasting because I love the texture it brings to this dish. If preferred you can peel the eggplant before cutting into cubes and roasting.
Since this recipe is so simple you can add extra herbs, red pepper flakes if you enjoy spice, and even roast additional vegetables with the eggplant like zucchini or broccoli.
Enjoy this recipe as a simple vegan/vegetarian friendly meal and make sure to serve with warm french bread! Perfection.
More Vegetarian Italian Recipes
- Cheesy Rotini Pasta with Roasted Vegetables
- 30-Minute Easy Baked Ziti
- Baked Eggplant Rollatini
- 15-Minute Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
- Three Cheese Baked Rigatoni with Roasted Vegetables
If you tried this Roasted Eggplant Pasta recipe or any other recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know what you think. I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM, and FACEBOOK for more crave-worthy content.

Roasted Eggplant Pasta
6 ingredient roasted eggplant pasta in a rich tomato sauce. This pasta dish is filled with satisfying flavor and can be served with your favorite gluten free or vegetable pasta! Simple & delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant, cut into cubes
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped (or half of a large onion)
- 1-2 Tablespoons oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2-3 cups tomato sauce
- 1 16 oz. box of pasta noodles (see notes)
- salt & black peppers
- fresh basil *optional
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400F.
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Roast eggplant and onions: arrange sliced onions and diced eggplant on a sheet pan and toss with oil, garlic powder, and a generous pinch of salt & pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes – flip halfway through roasting time.
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Cook pasta: bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook pasta as box instructs. I like to cook the noodles until they are al dente in texture! Tip: al dente means "to the tooth" – the pasta should have a bite to it and not be too soft.
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Heat sauce: In a sauce pan, simmer the marinara on low to heat up. Fold in roasted eggplant and onions to sauce when they're finished cooking.
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Serve: Serve pasta noodles with eggplant and marinara sauce, chopped fresh basil, and parmesan cheese!
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The only thing I changed was additional fresh garlic and after baking cooked eggplant in sauce for about 10 minutes. It was delicious!
a lovely addition! So glad you liked it!
Tried this after buying eggplant at the Farmers Market today – and it was delicious! Only comment would be to not cube the eggplant too small. It shrinks as it roasts – so next time I will make much larger cubes so they stand up once in the sauce. Excellent recipe!
Great idea! So glad to hear you enjoyed it!
This pasta sauce is a real winner! My husband and I aren’t – or didn’t think we were eggplant fans but this recipe changed our minds!! We loved it! The only thing I changed was To add 1/2 lb of ground hamburger.
Thank you Cathy, I’m thrilled to hear you both enjoyed it with the eggplant. 🙂
I am an eggplant lover and I tried this recipe and it was very delicious. Thank you!
Thanks so much, Albertina! So happy to hear it 🙂