Greek Baked Eggplant With Feta
This Greek oven-roasted eggplant feta recipe has layers of eggplant, delicious tomato sauce, creamy feta cheese, and fresh herbs all baked together for an irresistible dish. You can serve melitzanes me feta (eggplant with feta) as an appetizer, side dish or even a main vegetarian meal with fresh bread, rice or grilled vegetables.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 236kcal
Equipment
- 8" x 8" baking dish
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil for sautéing the onions and garlic
- 1/2 cup white or yellow onion peeled and diced
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and finely diced
- 1/8 teaspoon red chili flakes optional
- 2 cups store-bought tomato sauce approximately 660 ml. Jar
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 4 Japanese eggplants sliced into ½" slices
- 1 teaspoon salt to sprinkle over sliced eggplants
- 1-2 teaspoons olive oil For frying the eggplants (about ½ teaspoon olive oil for each batch)
- 1/4 cup flat leaf Italian parsley or basil de-stemmed and diced
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- balsamic vinegar glaze optional
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs optional - to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Slice and salt the eggplant. Slice the eggplants into approximately 1/2-inch slices. They should be similar sizes so they can cook evenly. Sprinkle salt over the sliced eggplants and let them sit for 20 minutes. They should start to sweat. After 20 minutes, pat the eggplant slices well with a paper towel.4 Japanese eggplants, 1 teaspoon salt
- Heat the tomato sauce. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and sauté the white onions for a few minutes on their own. Then add in the garlic and red chili flakes. Cook together for a few minutes on medium-low heat. Pour in the store-bought tomato sauce, oregano, sugar, and continue to cook for another few minutes.2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 cup white or yellow onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1/8 teaspoon red chili flakes, 2 cups store-bought tomato sauce, 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- Pan-fry the eggplant slices. Heat up a little bit of olive oil in a frying pan and pan-fry the eggplant slices in a single layer on medium heat for about 4-5 minutes on each side. You may need to repeat this process a couple times depending on the size of your frying pan. The eggplant slices will continue to cook once they're baked with the tomato sauce. Place the cooked eggplant on a plate lined with paper towel to remove any excess oil.1-2 teaspoons olive oil
- Assemble the eggplant dish. Spread a little bit of tomato sauce on the bottom of an 8"x8" baking dish. Add one layer of eggplant slices, feta cheese and parsley. Then repeat this step again. Finish off with tomato sauce, feta and parsley on top. You can also sprinkle some breadcrumbs over the top layer.1/4 cup flat leaf Italian parsley or basil, 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- Bake at 350°F. Place the assembled eggplant dish in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the feta cheese is golden brown and bubbly. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you're in a hurry, you can skip salting the eggplants when using Japanese or small, young eggplants. If you're using older, larger eggplants, then salting the eggplants helps it release some bitterness, resulting in a more tender eggplant, so it isn't as spongy.
- You could substitute feta cheese with shredded mozzarella cheese or parmesan cheese.
- This is optional, but you can drizzle balsamic vinegar glaze over the melted cheese once the eggplant bake comes out of the oven for a little salty and sweet combo!
- Eggplant is like a sponge, so only use a small amount of olive oil when frying. The frying pan should be hot when you add in the eggplant slices. Don't overcrowd the pan.
Nutrition
Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 1039mg | Potassium: 788mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 843IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 148mg | Iron: 1mg