These Garlic & Herb Grilled Eggplant are my favourite vegetable to barbecue. They are tender in the middle with slightly charred edges and are coated in a delicious garlic and herb oil which gives them so much flavour. 
Grilled vegetables are my go to side dish for any summer barbecue. They are incredibly easy to prepare, go with just about anything, and can be made in advance. While most people grill zucchini, peppers and onions, my absolute favourite vegetable to grill is eggplant.
Unfortunately grilled eggplant (or melanzane, aubergine or brinjals depending on where in the world you are from) can be a tricky vegetable to cook. Too much oil and they become slimy, cut too thick and they have an unpleasant chunky texture.
It took me a trip to Italy where I spent time watching the way the locals prepared it before I finally learned how to grill eggplant.
How to make this grilled eggplant:
- It all starts with salting which is meant to draw bitterness out of the slices. I find that salting is required for larger “meaty” eggplant, and is a step that can easily be skipped for the smaller sized ones.
- The next step is to quickly dip them in a mixture of olive oil, herbs and garlic which helps stop them from drying out when grilled.
- After grilling, toss them back into the oil and herb mixture again which gives them added flavour.
Why you will love these grilled eggplant:
- They are tender in the middle and develop a nice char on the edges
- By dipping the eggplant slices into the garlic and herb oil before grilling, they absorb a lot of the oil which gives the eggplant so much flavour
- Unlike other grilled vegetables such as zucchini, these grilled eggplant last a few days in the fridge without becoming mushy. The leftovers are incredibly versatile and can be enjoyed in a variety of different ways (see more below)
- They are low carb and tick the majority of healthy boxes including Keto, Whole30, Vegan, Paleo and SCD Legal
Ways to serve the grilled eggplant:
- Serve warm as a side dish
- Serve cold as part of an antipasti platter or chopped up and added into a salad
- Use as a base for bruschetta topped with pesto, prosciutto or any of your other favourite bruschetta toppings
- Use two thick slices as “buns” for burgers. They are especially delicious with Greek lamb burgers
Love grilled vegetables? Here are a few other grilled vegetable recipes you might enjoy:
- Charred Broccolini with Lemon Tahini Sauce
- Grilled Asian Asparagus & Scallions
- Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Walnut Arugula Pesto
- BBQ Cauliflower Steaks with Chimichurri
- Asian Grilled Eggplant
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
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Grilled Eggplant with Garlic & Herbs
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- Cut the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick slices and generously salt each slice. Let them rest for about 15 minutes so that the salt can draw out the moisture and bitterness. Wipe each of the slices with a paper towel to remove the salt and moisture.
- Preheat the barbecue to medium heat
- In a large dish combine the olive oil, garlic, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Place each of the eggplant slices in the dish, flipping them over to ensure both sides are covered in oil.
- Grill for approximately 6 minutes per side until golden in colour with grill marks. If the eggplant slices become dry and stick to the grill, brush them with more oil.
- Once the eggplant is tender and cooked. Remove from the grill and return back to oil, herb and garlic mixture in the pan. Flip once so that both sides are coated before transferring to a serving platter. Spoon any of the excess herbs & garlic overtop before serving. The eggplant can be enjoyed hot or at room temperature and will last for up to 4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a comment below and let us know how it was!
These turned out SO well! Really delicious…thank you for the recipe!
Great flavor. Only dipped once and was out of this world. Perhaps next time I will brush the oil on the eggplant rather than dip so the first slices dont soak up all of oil mixture (had to add more oil towards the end of dipping process)
I just made this and noticed no one said they were too salty. How much salt do you use? They were waaaaaaay too salty.
Same!!!!! Instant hypertension. I rather the moisture remain lol. Next time I will do the recipe, but skip the salting. I wiped them down and it was still super salty. We weren’t able to eat it.
You have to let them sweat then Pat the moisture off and the t will come off with it. The
Same here…. I put that in my post…. and I didnt even use as much as it said. Not sure what happened….?
The only reason to salt the eggplant is to draw out the bitterness. My grandmother called it sweating.. not sure if this is a real term haha. However, after you salt it and let it sit, rinse them. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe. Enough salt will permeate the eggplant and you won’t need more. After grilling you can even drizzle with a little balsamic syrup.
Great recipe for summer! I added about a 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar AFTER grilling to the marinade and it is so good that way too!
It’s a delicious combination of ingredients, but each time I’ve made it there’s not enough of the oil mixture- and I used only one eggplant. I add more as I go along, but find it odd that one review said it’s too oily.
Just tried this today and it was absolutely delicious! We will be adding it to our bbq dinners from now on. Thank you!
Hi…was wondering if you have the nutritional content for this recipe? Thanks. Gail
Also found this super tasty although a little oily. I didn’t re dip either. Don’t know if this is because I used an oven grill? Would deffo do it again though!
Love this recipe.. I make it about every other week I just really love eggplant and my husband keeps asking for more.
Very good! Used too much oil, so it’s tricky, but well worth trying!
Looks yummy
Can you use indoor grill!
Yes definitely! A grill pan or sandwich press would also work well
Definitely not? Grilling eggplant indoors is a certain disaster.
Trust me. I’ve tried over and over again, and it always ends up tasting like hamster fur.
How would you know what hamster fur tastes like? 😀