Healthy Eggplant Recipes

This ratatouille dish is perfect for your bounty from the garden or farmers' market. To keep the veggies from burning, watch them carefully while grilling. If necessary, move any that are cooking too quickly to a cooler spot on the grill.

These hearty sandwiches may be assembled ahead of time and are perfect for a summer picnic

This spicy eggplant dish, popular in India and Pakistan, can be eaten hot or at room temperature. Serve with brown basmati rice and naan. Save leftovers if you can; the dish tastes better on day two when all the flavors have had a chance to meld.

The coolest way to make classic eggplant parm--and easier too! Use the hasselback technique to make partial cuts into the whole eggplant every 1/4 inch or so to fill up with melty cheese, flavorful sauce and crunchy breadcrumbs.

Tuna casserole is a timeless comfort-food recipe; this one incorporates eggplant, artichoke hearts, oregano, olives and feta cheese for a Greek-inspired flair.

Typically, pressed sandwiches are a celebration of many meats. Here, we've opted for grilled eggplant slices, artichokes and arugula to make a satisfying vegetarian version. Giardiniera, a type of Italian relish typically made from bell peppers, celery, carrots, cauliflower, olives, vinegar and spices, perks up the flavors of any sandwich. You can use convenient prepared giardiniera or homemade. Choose a hot or mild version, depending on your preference for heat.

This layered casserole is inspired by classic cheese enchiladas, minus the fuss of rolling and stuffing individual tortillas. You'd never guess that within this comforting Tex-Mex casserole hides a layer of thinly sliced eggplant. The thin slices become tender when roasted and add a subtle savory note.

Turn leftover Eggplant & Chickpea Stew into a comforting vegetarian baked-pasta dish. We love the taste of mint with the other Mediterranean-inspired flavors, but you can use parsley or basil if you prefer.

Two favorite Italian dishes--lasagna and eggplant Parm--are rolled into one in this stuffed vegetable recipe.

If you like "eggplant in garlic sauce" from your favorite Chinese restaurant, this is the dish for you! It's spicy and slightly sweet, but not sticky-sweet like some restaurant versions tend to be. Keep some basic Asian condiments in your arsenal and you can easily and quickly pull off this garlic eggplant recipe at home! Also, because this whole dish comes together very fast, have everything ready to add to the pan before you start cooking.

In this Italian stuffed eggplant recipe, fresh breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and parsley make a simple, yet delicious filling for an “inside-out” eggplant Parmesan. Serve these stuffed eggplants as a light dinner along with a big salad.

These eggplant pizzas have all the classic flavors of a real pizza without all the carbs. Opt for spicy Italian sausage if you like the heat! Serve these mini pizzas with a green salad on the side to complete the meal.

Tons of lightly cooked vegetables combine with white beans in this hearty vegetarian dinner recipe. It can also be served over bread, like bruschetta.

Classic eggplant Parm is filled with cheese, but this vegan eggplant Parmesan combines nondairy mozzarella cheese with nutritional yeast for a dairy-free cheesy substitute that gives you the comfort food factor without animal products. For the breading, use egg replacer, which you can find in natural-foods stores and the special-diet section of large supermarkets.

Adding okra to traditional ratatouille gives this French vegetable stew recipe Southern flair. It's delicious on the day it's cooked, but even better the next day. Serve as a side to grilled chicken or on top of thick, crusty bread.

When tomatoes and eggplant come into season, the team at Stone Acres Farm in Stonington, Connecticut, combines them in as many ways as possible. This salad is a celebration of these two vegetables. Caramelizing the lemon halves and squeezing their juice into the vinaigrette adds a level of depth you just wouldn't get from straight-up lemon juice. Serve with grilled bread so you can enjoy every bit of the delicious dressing. Read more about Stone Acres Farm here.

Eggplant soaks up the flavors of ginger, garlic and tamari in this Asian-inspired casserole recipe. A hot pepper in the topping adds a bit of heat, but opt for sweet if you prefer.

Eggplant Parmesan doesn't have to include layers of deep-fried eggplant and mountains of cheese. This healthy eggplant Parmesan recipe has is satisfying without piling on the calories and fat. Don't skip the step of salting the eggplant, especially if you want to freeze one of the casseroles. Salting helps to draw out extra moisture so the eggplant holds up better in the freezer. Serve with a salad of bitter greens tossed with a red-wine vinaigrette. This recipe makes enough for two 8-by-8-inch casseroles (four servings each)--have one for dinner tonight and freeze the other for a night when you don't have time to make dinner.

This lightened-up version of the classic eggplant pasta dish swaps out some of the cheese and uses protein-rich lentil pasta.

Summer's harvest--eggplant, corn and zucchini--stars in this healthy, Mexican-inspired casserole that's perfect for serving a crowd or for a dinner with leftovers for the next day.

Eggplant, cauliflower, chickpeas and tomatoes are the basis for this rich Indian-spiced curry. Make it a meal: Serve with brown basmati rice or whole-wheat couscous.

This healthy dinner recipe is perfect for using up whatever fresh vegetables you have on hand. Just pay attention to cook time: denser vegetables, such as peppers and onions, take a bit longer than softer ones like zucchini and squash. Smaller ones, like cherry tomatoes, may need to be cooked in a grill basket.

We cook the eggplant in the oven to speed up the recipe and keep things from getting too unruly on the stovetop. While the eggplant roasts, line up all of your ingredients and begin cooking to make this easy eggplant curry come together seamlessly. Any leftovers will hold up well and are great for taking to work for lunch.

This slow-cooked lamb and eggplant stew melts in your mouth. Sumac, a lemony-flavored spice, gives the dish a fruity, tangy aroma. Look for it in Mediterranean markets or spice shops. Serve the stew over mashed root vegetables, bulgur or brown rice.