Roasted Eggplant with Tomatoes and Halloumi
on Sep 13, 2021, Updated Jun 29, 2024
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With cherry tomatoes and halloumi, this roasted eggplant recipe is an easy vegetarian meal. The eggplant and tomatoes get a head start in the oven, and then you add the cheese. While everything is roasting, you can make the tahini sauce with parsley and fresh lemon juice in a food processor. Serve it with couscous, quinoa or barley for a simple veggie-centric weeknight dinner.
If you’re in the mood for eggplant, also try this eggplant tomato pasta recipe.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Magical things happen when you roast a ton of veggies, especially when you add a bakeable cheese like halloumi. The flavor of this salty cheese from Cyprus goes so well with roasted eggplant and tomatoes. It has a lot of personality.
Sheet pan meals are some of the most handy recipes. The oven does all the work, roasting the cheese and vegetables together on a baking sheet. Other than cutting the eggplant, tomatoes and halloumi, there isn’t much in the way of active time required for the recipe, and it simplifies cleanup.
The tahini sauce is tasty and so simple. All you have to do is put the ingredients for this no-cook sauce in a food processor and puree them. Then when you pull the eggplant, tomatoes and halloumi from the oven, you can just toss them in the sauce right on the sheet pan.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Eggplant: For this recipe, you don’t need to salt the eggplant cubes. You can just go ahead and toss it with oil and seasonings with the tomatoes. Fresh eggplant should have shiny, taut skin.
- Tomatoes: You can use either cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes in whatever colors you want. I find that cherry tomatoes are juicier than grape.
- Halloumi has a high melting point, so that’s why you can roast it, pan fry it or grill it. It is a semi-hard cheese made from goat’s or sheep’s milk or a combination of both.
- Garlic: I include 3 whole garlic cloves in their skins with the eggplant and tomatoes. Then I squeeze that roasted garlic into the sauce.
- Tahini: This sesame seed paste adds something nutty to the sauce and a slight creaminess.
- Parsley: The sauce calls for a cup of parsley leaves. There’s no need to chop them, just pull the leaves off their stems. If you have other fresh herbs such as mint or fresh basil, you can do a mix of what’s in your kitchen.
- Lemon: Always use fresh lemon juice and not bottled for the best taste.
- Olive oil: My preference is to use high quality extra virgin olive oil for both roasting and the sauce.
- Salt & pepper season the roasted vegetables and the tahini sauce.
How To Roast Eggplant with Tomatoes and Halloumi
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
1. Toss the eggplant, tomatoes and garlic with olive oil, salt and pepper. Do this right on the baking sheet. Spread out everything and turn the tomatoes, so they are cut side up.
2. Roast the eggplant and tomatoes for 25 minutes before adding the halloumi to the pan.
3. Continue roasting for 10-15 minutes. The eggplant should be tender and creamy. The tomatoes should be wrinkled, but still juicy, and the cheese should be golden at the edges.
4. Put the sauce ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. That includes the roasted garlic, parsley, lemon juice, tahini, salt, pepper and oil.
5. Puree the sauce.
6. Toss the about half tahini sauce with the roasted eggplant, tomatoes and halloumi on the baking sheet. You can add more sauce or serve the rest on the side along with cooked grains.
Serving
This recipe is a solid choice for a vegetarian main course that you can pair with barley, couscous or quinoa. For a greens, make this arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette, a classic house salad or an Italian chopped salad.
You can also serve this roasted eggplant as a side dish with proteins like chicken, steak or salmon.
Leftovers & Storage
You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat them in a 350-degree F oven or in the microwave. If you want, you can eat them cold in a salad with baby spinach, arugula or chopped romaine.
Recipe FAQs
Since this is oven-roasted eggplant and not sautéed, you don’t have to salt the eggplant to draw out the moisture. It will still become tender, soft and creamy as it roasts without absorbing oil and turning out greasy.
You don’t have to line the pan with parchment paper. When the eggplant and tomatoes make direct contact with the hot metal of the baking sheet, they brown really well. The tomatoes need to be cut side up. The oil they are tossed in will keep them from sticking to the pan.
More Sheet Pan Recipes
Sheet Pan Baked Feta with Vegetables
Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables with Halloumi
Sheet Pan Cherry Tomato Gnocchi
Gnocchi with Roasted Tomatoes, Zucchini and Squash
Veggie Fajita Bowls
Sheet Pan Vegetarian Fajitas
Roasted Eggplant with Tomatoes and Halloumi
Ingredients
For eggplant, tomatoes and halloumi
- 1-1/2 pounds eggplant, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes, halved
- 3 garlic cloves, skin-on
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 pound halloumi cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
For sauce
- 1 cup parsley leaves
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup olive oil
For serving
- Cooked grains, i.e. barley, quinoa, farro, couscous
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- On a sheet pan, toss the eggplant, tomatoes and garlic cloves with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Spread everything into a single layer, arranging the tomatoes cut side up.
- Roast for 25 minutes until the eggplant is starting to brown at the edges and the tomatoes are wrinkling. Scatter the halloumi on the pan and continue roasting for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is lightly golden.
- For the sauce, squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins into the bowl of a food processor. Add the parsley, lemon juice, tahini, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and 1/4 cup olive oil. Puree until the sauce is smooth and combined.
- Spoon the about half the sauce onto the eggplant, tomatoes and halloumi on the sheet pan, gently tossing to coat the ingredients. Add more sauce as desired or serve the rest in a bowl on the side.
- Serve with cooked grains.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Great, easy recipe! Loved the sauce and the steps made sense. Thank you.
Delicious and so simple! Full of flavour and very satisfying. I will try using tofu or paneer instead of the halloumi next time. Great recipe!