This eggplant pasta is so good! Roasted eggplant and cherry tomatoes smothered with tomato sauce, rigatoni, and burrata mozzarella balls for the ultimate weeknight pasta. Creamy, sweet, savory and delicious. This simple pasta recipe comes together in thirty minutes.

If you’re a fan of our delicious Eggplant Pasta, you’re in for a treat with our Orzo With Spinach and Feta, Orzo Pasta With Tomatoes And Parmesan, and One Pot Lemon Orzo Chicken!

A white pot with eggplant pasta, on a table with a wooden spoon.

Overview

Why this recipe sings

This eggplant pasta is a simple dish with major flavor. It’s a delicious vegetarian dish that’s quick to prepare—it takes 30 minutes, which means you can enjoy a great meal any night of the week.

Here is what you need

Ingredients for making eggplant pasta with cherry tomatoes, onions, and olive oil.

Eggplant—roasted eggplant has a mild, slightly sweet flavor and creamy texture.
Cherry tomatoes—they roast in olive oil and garlic simultaneously with the eggplant.
Spaghetti sauce—you may use leftover sauce or store-bought.
Garlic and onion—it would be strange to find a tomato-based sauce with these two.
Pasta—use your favorite. Short-cut pasta makes a better eating experience, but long pasta will taste just as delicious.
Sugar— optional, not shown above. Sugar helps to break any acidity the tomatoes may have. If you have ripe sweet cherry tomatoes like these sugar bombs sugar is not necessary.
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

How to make eggplant pasta

Eggplant cubes dressed with olive oil and seasonings in a roasting pan.

Heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F.
Toss eggplant cubes, olive oil, oregano, sea salt, and freshly ground pepper on a sheet pan.
Roast until the eggplant is browned and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves and a bottle pouring olive oil.

Add the cherry tomatoes and four or five garlic cloves with their papery skin to a baking pan. Toss with olive oil, sea salt, sugar, and freshly ground pepper.
Place in another rack in the oven and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until tomatoes are softened and charred.

Roasted eggplant cubes dressed with olive oil and seasonings in a roasting pan and a wooden spoon.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in well-salted boiling water until about 1 minute shy of al dente.
Remove eggplant cubes from oven and set them aside.

A spoon breaking a garlic clove in a roasting pan with roasted cherry tomatoes.

Remove the tomatoes from the oven. Lightly push the garlic to extract the roasted flesh from the papers. Discard the papers and mix the garlic with the tomatoes. Set aside.
Place a skillet on medium-high heat with olive oil.

Diced onion and roasted tomatoes cooking in a white pot.

Add diced onion and cook for one minute. Add the roasted tomatoes and garlic, stir, and sauté for two to three minutes on medium-low heat.

Diced roasted eggplants and roasted tomatoes cooking in a white pot.

Add the eggplant cubes and spaghetti sauce and 1/2 cup of pasta water and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Reserve a cup of pasta water and drain the pasta in a colander.

Pasta, roasted eggplants and roasted tomatoes cooking in a white pot.

Add the pasta to the eggplant sauce, stir and cook for two to three minutes on medium-low heat. Add more pasta water if needed.

Once pasta is cooked and sauce has thickened, tear the mozzarella into smaller pieces and tuck them between the pasta and the vegetables.

A white pot with eggplant pasta on a table with a cloth napkin and a salt cellar.

Serve immediately with a sprinkle of chili flakes, grated Parmigiano Reggiano, and crusty warm bread.

Storage and reheating

Eggplant pasta can be kept in the fridge for 3–4 days. Reheat in a saucepan over medium-low heat, adding broth or water to loosen the sauce.
Any leftover pasta can be frozen in an airtight container and used within three months. Thaw them in the refrigerator and warm them on the stovetop as directed above.

Side dishes for eggplant pasta

Bread—bake a loaf of our easy peasant bread; you will love it.
Cheese—Check our bouyiourdi dip, which has molten feta cheese with tomatoes and peppers- need I say more?
Protein—serve the pasta with chicken chops, traditional Greek meatballs- keftedes, or braised short ribs.