Mediterranean eggplant dip is the perfect party food or weekday snack! This smoky, creamy dip pairs perfectly with fresh chopped veggies, chips, pita chips or as a sauce for your favorite wrap or sandwich! Naturally low in fat, gluten free, dairy free, vegan and Whole30 friendly this eggplant dip is going to quickly become one of your favorite dips to make!
Why you will love this recipe
- Mediterranean eggplant dip (or baba ganoush) is made with just 7 simple ingredients and will quickly become one of your favorite dips for veggies or chips! This dip is easy to make and pairs perfectly with hummus on a snack tray!
- The base of this dip is a combination of eggplant and tahini and you won’t believe how creamy this dip gets with just a few ingredients!
- Serve with shredded chicken, chickpeas, falafel or your favorite seafood in a wrap. Baba ganoush adds a layer of flavor to wraps and sandwiches that you are going to love!
Ingredients:
- Eggplant
- Lemon Juice
- Tahini
- Fresh Parsley
- Garlic Powder
- Cumin
- Salt
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 450F.
Slice the eggplant into 1 inch rounds and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Bake in the oven at 425F for 20 minutes. Take the eggplant out of the oven, quickly turn the eggplant slices over on the baking sheet and bake 5-10 more minutes.
After baking, allow the eggplant to cool on the counter for 10 or more minutes, until it is cool enough to touch.
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After cooling, use your fingers and pull the skin away from the eggplant (it should easily come off the cooked eggplant rounds in one piece).
Add the skinless cooked eggplant to the food processor with the tahini, lemon juice, fresh parsley, garlic powder, cumin and salt.
Process on high until smooth.
Store in the fridge for up to 5 days!
Tips for cooking eggplant
Eggplant can be intimidating to cook. Eggplant is naturally full of water and can easily water down a dish if it is not cooked appropriately. This is why many recipes tell you to first salt the eggplant and press it over paper towels or clean napkins before cooking, as this will help remove excess water.
While that is helpful in dishes like eggplant parmesan, this step is not necessary for baba ganoush, as we are not breading the eggplant.
Many people recommend slicing the eggplant in half lengthwise, and cooking it flesh side down in the oven for baba ganoush. I find that method of cooking makes the dip a little too watery.
The best method I have found is: Slicing the eggplant into 1 inch circles, which allows more of the eggplant flesh to get charred in the oven which helps reduce how much water is retained by the eggplant. This helps create a creamy but not watered down dip.
Other ways you can cook eggplant for baba ganoush is to slice the eggplant (1 inch rounds) and to grill it instead of bake it! This will add a nice smoky flavor to the end product!
Tips on peeling the eggplant:
The skin should could off of the cooked eggplant rounds easily just using your fingers. The cooler the eggplant, the easier this will be.
This step can be a little time consuming (1-2 minutes) so if you don’t want to bother with removing the skin after cooking, you can peel the eggplant first before slicing it into rounds.
How to serve:
Mediterranean eggplant dip can be served just like hummus! The flavor profiles are similar and complimentary and it’s not uncommon for these two dips to be served together! Here are some great ideas on how you can use this dip:
- Dip for fresh veggies
- As a sauce for oven roasted veggies
- On wraps or sandwiches for added flavor
- As part of greek chicken veggie bowls
- With falafel
- Over salad with roasted chickpeas on top
Topping Ideas:
- Chopped tomatoes
- Chopped red onions
- Capers or olives
- Pumpkin seeds
- Pine nuts
- Fresh parsley or mint
- Chopped chives
Storage
Store the leftover Mediterranean eggplant dip in a well sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Because of the water content, it’s not advised that you freeze this dip after cooking, since the texture will change when it’s defrosted.
Substitutions
Tahini: Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. It’s similar in texture to almond butter or peanut butter. It is used in many Mediterrean and Middle Eastern meals and is typically used in making hummus. If you cannot have tahini or cannot find it, you can substitute cashew butter or almond butter for tahini.
Lemon Juice: The lemon juice really provides a bright pop of acid to balance out the bitterness of the eggplant. If you do not have lemon juice on hand, white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar (about 2 tablespoons can be used as a substitute).
Flat leaf parsley: The parsley really makes this dip shine! I would highly recommend you do not leave it out. If you cannot have parsley, you can try 1-2 tablespoons of fresh mint in it’s place. You can also use about 2 teaspoons of dried parsley. The flavor won’t be exactly the same but close.
Garlic powder: I like to use garlic powder because fresh garlic can be overwhelming. If you want to use fresh garlic, use about 2 cloves and grate it with a micro-grater or finely mince it with a knife before adding it to the food processor to make sure there are not huge chunks in the dip.
If you loved this recipe, you should try:
- Roasted Balsamic Eggplant Steaks
- Creamy cauliflower hummus
- Cauliflower Tabbouleh
- Greek Spaghetti Squash Salad
- Paleo Zucchini Avocado Dip
- Greek veggies
- Chopped Greek Salad
What you need to make this:
- Food processor
- Lemon juicer
- Large sheet pan and parchment paper
Mediterranean Vegan Dip
Guided Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant - roasted at 425 for 20-30 minutes
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Peel the eggplant and cut it into large circles about 1 inch across. Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes at 425 or until soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- After the eggplant has cooled, peel off the skin of the eggplant from the round.
- Add the cooled eggplant, the tahini, lemon juice, fresh parsley leaves, garlic powder, cumin and salt to the food processor.
- Pulse until the mixture is smooth. Remove from food processor and store an airtight container for 1-2 days.
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Notes
Nutrition Information
Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in August of 2015, but was published again in May 2020 to include step by step directions, recipe notes and new photos
Stephanie
Looks perfect for Football season coming up! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! This post has been pinned on the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! I love having you and can’t wait to see you next week!
Tracy @ Our Simple Homestead
We are a hummus loving family and can see my kids loving this. I am always looking for new healthy recipes. Thanks you so much for passing it on!
I think my readers would love to see it as well. Please consider sharing it at: http://oursimplelife-sc.com/our-simple-homestead-blog-hop-14/
Jamie
Yum – that looks amazing!! Pinned it to try at my next party! :)
Brittany @ brittanyholtz.com
this looks/sounds amazing. I just went vegan a few months ago and I’ve never felt better. I’m so grateful for blogs and all the internet resources. It makes the transition SO easy. I always tell people that the food I eat now is SO much more flavorful!
Stacie @ SimplySouthernStacie
This just looks pretty! I bet it tastes amazing too.
rachel@ atheltic avocado
This looks amazing! I love mediterranean anything! Yum :)
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I am going to DIVE in to this dip! Holy yum!
Susie @ SuzLyfe
This is so creative! I love it! I’m not a picky eater, I’m more picky about how things are prepared and served. I”m pretty open to things that I’ll eat and such, but if they are drowned in things, then no.