Roasted Eggplant, Zucchini & Tomato Orzo
on Aug 27, 2025
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With roasted tomatoes, eggplant and zucchini, this easy orzo recipe is packed with vegetables. I roast them along with a couple smashed garlic cloves that I chop and stir into the al dente orzo with all the veggies. To finish the pasta, I fold in basil, chives and parmesan. You can serve as a vegetarian dinner with a salad or as a side dish.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Italian seasoning is a simple way to deliver big on flavor. Dried spices are such a convenient pantry ingredient. Blends are even better because they pack so much into a single jar.
This is a pasta recipe with a sheet pan of roasted vegetables. With any vegetarian pasta recipe, I try to make it so you get veggies and pasta in each bite. Summer to early fall when there are lots of wonderful things in season is the perfect time of year for tomato, eggplant and zucchini recipes.
You can serve this orzo warm or at room temperature, and it is a great recipe for leftovers. That means it’s good cold, so you can turn it into a pasta salad.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Zucchini has medium to dark green skin. It should be smooth with no dents or soft spots.
- Eggplant has glossy deep purple skin. Again, like zucchini, look for one that feels heavy for its size and not soft or squishy.
- Tomatoes: You can use cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes. The best part is that you can keep them whole. The heat of the oven will soften the fresh tomatoes and boost their flavor.
- Orzo is small rice-shaped pasta. You can use whole wheat or gluten-free orzo. You can also substitute with Italian barley or farro.
- Garlic: I smash and peel 2 garlic cloves and roast them with the vegetables. When they’re out of the oven, I finely chop them to make the most of their flavor throughout the orzo.
- Italian seasoning, kosher salt and black pepper season the zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes. What I love about an Italian spice blend is the mix that typically includes dried basil, oregano, thyme, garlic, black pepper, tarragon, red pepper flakes, chives and sometimes dried rosemary.
- Fresh herbs: I stir minced chives and chopped fresh basil into the orzo and vegetables. That mild onion and herby flavor is great with these veggies.
- Parmesan: Along with the basil and chives, I finish the orzo with grated parmesan cheese.
- Olive oil: This is for tossing with the veggies and seasonings before roasting them.
How To Make This Zucchini Eggplant Tomato Orzo
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with with parchment paper.
1. Prep the veggies. Toss the zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes and the smashed garlic cloves with olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. You can do this on the lined sheet pan. Then spread the vegetables into a single layer.
2. Roast the vegetables. Give them 25-30 minutes. The zucchini and eggplant will be lightly browned and the tomatoes will be wrinkled.
3. Chop the roasted garlic. Then it will be better mixed throughout the orzo.
4. Cook the orzo. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and simmer until al dente according to package instructions. Drain in a colander or mesh strainer.
5. Combine the roasted vegetables, orzo and minced garlic.
6. Fold in the basil, chives and grated Parmesan cheese. After you plate it, you can sprinkle on more cheese as desired.
Serving
You can serve this zucchini and eggplant recipe as a side dish or a vegetarian main dish. Pair it with a salad like this lemon arugula salad, classic house salad or an Italian chopped salad. They all work well with pasta recipes. You can serve this orzo warm or at room temperature.
Leftovers & Storage
Let leftovers cool to room temperature. Then store them in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. Reheat them in the microwave. I also like eating leftovers cold as an orzo salad with baby arugula, spinach or chopped romaine with lemon vinaigrette or balsamic vinaigrette.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overcook the orzo. It should be al dente with a nice toothy bite. You don’t want it to be mushy.
- You can use farro or Italian barley instead of orzo. Big grains are better than small ones like quinoa.
- If you have pesto, you can stir that in with the fresh herbs. Then you can go even bigger on basil and garlic taste.
- You can stir in torn fresh mozzarella. This will give the orzo a mild milky flavor to contrast with the acidity of the tomatoes.
More Tomato Recipes
Roasted Tomato Orecchiette
Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette
Roasted Tomato Burrata Pasta
Harissa Roasted Tomato Couscous
Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce
More Zucchini Recipes
Parmesan Roasted Zucchini
Roasted Zucchini and Yellow Squash
Balsamic Zucchini Tomato Bake
Zucchini Summer Squash Casserole
More Eggplant Recipes
Roasted Ratatouille Quinoa
Eggplant Tomato Veggie Bake
Roasted Eggplant, Tomatoes and Chickpeas
Roasted Eggplant, Tomatoes and Halloumi
Love roasted veggies? Don’t miss my seasonal recipe guide with lots of tips and inspiration.
Roasted Eggplant, Zucchini and Tomato Orzo
Ingredients
- 2 medium zucchini (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
- 2 smashed and peeled garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup orzo
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (basil, chives)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan plus more for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with with parchment paper.
- Toss the zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes and garlic with 2 tablespoons olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper on the prepared sheet pan. Spread them in a single layer.
- Roast the vegetables for 25-30 minutes, tossing halfway through roasting. The zucchini and eggplant should be lightly browned on the edges. The tomatoes should be wrinkled.
- Finely chop the roasted garlic.
- Cook the orzo in salted boiling water until al dente according to package instructions. Then drain in a mesh strainer.
- In a large bowl, gently stir the orzo, roasted vegetables and garlic.
- Fold in the basil, chives and parmesan.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
