Greek fried eggplant with tomato sauce (Μελιτζάνες τηγανητές με σάλτσα ντομάτας )
A traditional Greek recipe of fried eggplant baked in a rich and fragrant tomato sauce with garlic. A perfect side dish or vegan main meal. Serve with plenty of fresh bread to help soak up the delicious sauce.
I grew up in a Greek home, and my parents often prepared eggplant dishes. This dish of fried eggplant in tomato sauce may be one of my favourites. In this classic Greek dish, which can be served as a side or just as easily as a meze or light lunch, eggplants are fried and then baked in a rich tomato sauce. This is a dish best served with a nice loaf of fresh bread for dipping; the sauce is to die for! You can even layer the eggplant and sauce between two slices of bread and make yourself an eggplant and tomato sauce sandwich. Sound strange? Have I ever steered you wrong before?
I know that eggplant is a divisive fruit (yes, eggplant is botanically a fruit!) and that there are camps of people who love them, and others who hate them. I happen to be a lover of the aubergine and am thrilled when my parents’ garden starts to offer this versatile, hearty and delicious purple gift.
Why you will love this recipe
The simplicity of this dish is part of what makes it so wonderful. This is the type of recipe that my Greek parents make regularly; one which uses few ingredients, makes the most of their garden bounty, and of the tomatoes that they can and preserve to be used year round.
Although the eggplant is first fried, making this perhaps a less than ideal diet food, the ingredients themselves are wholesome. As usual, no preservatives and no obscure items, just honest, humble and hearty fare. You can see how proud my beautiful Greek Mama is to share this recipe, and her love of eggplants, with all of you!
Key ingredients
Eggplant The star of this dish! I like to use small to medium size Globe eggplants for this recipe, but honestly, any variety of eggplant will do just fine.
Tomato sauce Ideally, when I make this dish I use my parents’ recipe for Chunky tomato sauce. When I don’t have it available I make a simple Marinara sauce. When I am feeling particularly lazy I open up a jar of good quality passata or strained tomatoes.
Olive oil I use olive oil to fry up the garlic and then I mix it into the tomato sauce I am using.
Vegetable oil I actually use vegetable oil to fry the eggplant because I find that this gives a lighter taste.
Garlic I only use either locally grown garlic or garlic that I know has not been treated with bleach or other preservatives. A good tip is to look for garlic bulbs with the roots still visible.
Rosemary Eggplant and rosemary is a winning combination! I love the earthy fragrance and flavour of this herb.
Bay leaf I add a bay leaf for flavour and because my parents told me to!
Salt I use salt directly on the eggplant, before frying it. I also season the tomato sauce with salt, but you can do this to your taste.
How to make it
Preparation
Wash the eggplants, remove the stems and cut them length-wise into wedges. Place your eggplants in a bowl and cover them with cold water. Place another bowl or a dish over your eggplant in order to keep them submerged in the water. Allow to soak for about 5 minutes. Afterwards, drain the eggplant, rinse them and then sprinkle them with 1 tsp of salt.
Instructions
Step 1
Heat about 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in your frying pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, start adding the pieces of eggplant. In order not to overcrowd your pan you may need to add them in batches. Fry each side of the eggplants until they are golden brown on all sides. This will take a total of about 7-8 minutes per batch. You might have to add a little bit of fresh vegetable oil in between batches. Place the fried eggplants onto a plate. Continue cooking the rest until all of your eggplant has been fried.
Step 2
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. While your oven is preheating, take a small sauce pot and heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic slices and fry them for about 1 minute. Add your chunky tomato sauce or your marinara sauce, bay leaves and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Heat through, stirring regularly, for just a few minutes.
Step 3
While your sauce is being warmed up, place your eggplants in a roasting dish (I use a 9 X 13 inch roasting dish) and sprinkle your dried rosemary leaves on top of them. Spoon the tomato sauce over the eggplant – you will not be covering them entirely and that is fine.
Step 4
Bake, uncovered for 7 – 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Recipe substitutions
If you prefer to fry your eggplant in olive oil, go ahead. The flavour will be more intense, which is not a bad thing! It really is just a personal preference.
Another herb that would go great in this dish is fresh thyme. You can either add that, or substitute thyme instead of rosemary.
Cooking tips
Soak your eggplant
In this recipe I like to soak the eggplant in cold water and then rinse it. I find that this helps to cut the bitterness of the eggplant. This is what my parents do, and so this is what I do. I do find that it works!
Remove any excess oil
If you want to make sure that your eggplant is not overly greasy after frying it, you can place it on a paper towel lined dish. Honestly, I don’t do that, and neither do my parents, but you can if you want to 🙂
Baking pan size
I use a 9 x 13 inch roasting or baking pan for this dish. If you have one that is a little smaller or a little bitter, that is okay. This recipe is pretty forgiving.
Recipe variations
If you are trying to avoid fried foods altogether but like the idea of this dish, you can try broiling or baking your eggplant instead of frying it. The texture and taste will not be the same, but it will be healthier, and still delicious. Another option of course is to make this recipe as is, and only have a little bit of it. Warning note: that will be difficult!
If you are open to not keeping this dish vegan, add some crumbled Greek feta over top before baking – this would be amazing!
If you love the idea of combining eggplant and tomato sauce, another way to do so is to make this pretty amazing Eggplant, potato and mozzarella baked casserole!
How to serve
Fried eggplant in tomato sauce is a dish that can definitely stand on its own as a main meal. Serve it with some delicious fresh bread, some olives and some feta on the side and trust me, that is all you need! This is traditional Greek food at its best.
You can also serve it as a side dish to a meat based main. Something like Greek marinated chicken thighs or Grilled steak Greek-style would be amazing.
I also like to make fried eggplant and tomato sauce sandwiches! Layer the eggplant between two slices of bread and enjoy!
Storing and reheating
Fried eggplant in tomato sauce will keep well in the refrigerator for 3 – 5 days. To reheat, simply use the microwave or even the stovetop or oven to just heat everything through. Here’s another tip – it is also very good cold or at room temperature!
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to fry the eggplant before baking it?
If you are tempted not to fry the eggplant before baking this dish, in order to save on calories and fat, I strongly urge you not to; the flavour and texture just won’t be the same. In some recipes, like moussaka, my parents (and I) don’t fry the eggplant, and that works out beautifully. But here, the frying adds another layer of flavour that you don’t want to miss out on.
Can I use any variety of eggplant for this dish?
I tend to use small to medium sized Globe eggplants or Italian eggplants in this dish; the latter look very much like the standard purple Globe eggplant you will probably find in the grocery store, but are smaller. Other eggplant varieties would probably work as well so feel free to experiment.
Where can I find the recipe for the tomato sauce options in the recipe?
You can either use my parents’ Chunky tomato sauce for this recipe (the ideal choice) or a homemade marinara sauce. Otherwise, you can use a good quality canned or jarred marinara sauce.
Pin this recipe if you like it!
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Fried eggplant with tomato sauce (Μελιτζάνες τηγανητές με σάλτσα ντομάτας )
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 small to medium eggplants
- 1 tsp salt
- vegetable oil for frying
- 1 cup Mia Kouppa's chunky tomato sauce or marinara sauce see Note
- 3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried rosemary leaves
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Wash the eggplants, remove the stems and cut them length-wise into wedges. Place your eggplants in a bowl and cover them with cold water. Place another bowl or a dish over your eggplant in order to keep them submerged in the water. Allow to soak for about 5 minutes.5 small to medium eggplants
- Drain the eggplant and then sprinkle them with 1 tsp of salt.1 tsp salt
- Heat about 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in your frying pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, start adding the pieces of eggplant. In order not to overcrowd your pan you may need to add them in batches. Fry each side of the eggplants until they are golden brown on all sides. This will take a total of about 7-8 minutes per batch. You might have to add a little bit of fresh vegetable oil in between batches.vegetable oil for frying
- Place the fried eggplants onto a plate. Continue cooking the rest until all of your eggplant has been fried.
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F
- Take a small sauce pot, and heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic slices and fry them for about 1 minute. Add your chunky tomato sauce or your marinara sauce, bay leaves and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Heat through, stirring regularly, for just a few minutes.1 cup Mia Kouppa's chunky tomato sauce or marinara sauce, 3 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp dried rosemary leaves, 2 bay leaves
- While your sauce is being warmed up, place your eggplants in a roasting dish (we use a 9 X 13 inch roasting dish) and sprinkle your dried rosemary leaves on top of them.
- Spoon your marinara sauce over the eggplant pieces. You will not be covering them entirely,
- Place in the middle rack of your oven, and bake uncovered for 7 – 10 minutes.
- Enjoy.
I had a large eggplant to use up and have a fresh rosemary plant so I thought that I would try this recipe and am REALLY glad that I did! What a delicious dish! I had never used rosemary in tomato sauce but will be from now on. This made for a delicious lunch but I’d also serve this on a weekend evening with wine and crostini (or something similar!) Thank you again for sharing your family recipes. 🙂
We are so happy that you tried our recipe Susan, and that you loved it. We really love this simple dish and we’re happy that you did too! We’re so glad to have you hear with us, and that you appreciate our family recipes. xoxo Helen & Billie
Eggplant popular with Indian Cooking , only thing is it soaks too much oil I make fritters using Chickpea flour , Spices and water make mixture and deep fry bits of Eplant tastes great we called it Pakoras lovely snack dish with chutney Aspi
Sounds delicious Aspi! We actually just ordered in Indian food last night – we love it!! xoxo
I know this is post is about the recipe (which I am more than eager to try), but I actually have a question about growing eggplants. I see your mom grows them in containers with great success! What type of eggplant does she grow, and in
how large a container?
So sorry for the delay in getting back to you! And please, ask any gardening questions you have and we’ll do our best to answer you (after we consult with our parents 🙂 ) According to our dad, eggplant always grows best in pots – and in fact in our own garden we have been following his advice with great success. Not sure why this is – but it works. Perhaps it depends on the climate? and soil? (we’re in Canada). Our parents have grown all sorts of eggplants in pots, from these little tiny ones that they use to make toursi (a pickled eggplant) to regular globe eggplants, to the longer Asian eggplants. The pots they use vary with what they have available but they are typically about 18 – 20 liters or so. Good luck! and we hope this is helpful 🙂 xoxo Helen & Billie
Sounds fantastic! Ate a similar dish in Egypt once…. I was wondering if i could fry up font and bake when needed?
Hi Nandi! Thanks for the question – it is a great one! Yes, you can absolutely do that. Enjoy! xoxo Helen & Billie
This is delicious. Any thoughts about adding sauteed onions to the eggplant? I cooked the garlic and added a can of Italian style diced tomatoes which had garlic, basil, and oregano.
Thank you,
Lemonia
Hi there Lemonia! Sure you can add some onions if you like; they will add a lovely caramelized texture. Not traditional, but will be yum! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! xoxo Helen & Billie