This Spinach & Roasted Eggplant Salad will be your new favorite recipe! I am so excited to share it with you. π
I am a little embarrassed to admit this, but up until a few years ago I had no idea what an eggplant was.
I envisioned it being a weird ugly vegetable that stunk like rotten eggs.
Seriously, who was I back then?! Ha!
I blame my parents. Okay, I don’t really…well, maybe just a little. LOL Still joking! π
Don’t worry though, I have forgiven them and have tried my best to get them to love eggplant just as much as I do.
I am so happy to tell you that my mom loves this Spinach & Roasted Eggplant Salad!
I was inspired to develop this vegetarian Spinach and Roasted Eggplant Salad from a recipe I found a few years ago at SugarFreeMom.com. Her recipe is fantastic, but I decided to jazz it up a little to suit my tastes!
I wanted a little more texture so I added gluten free pecans and a pinch more sweetness in the dressing so I added several drops of Stevia.
This salad packs so much flavor that I crave it if I haven’t eaten it in a while.
The sweetness of the roasted apples and eggplants paired with the crunchiness of the sweet bell pepper and pecans is simply divine!
I literally cannot imagine my food life without eggplants now. We grew them in our garden for the first time this past summer and I cannot tell you how excited I was to eat them!
We grew two different kinds, a speckled light purple variety and the most well-known dark purple kind.
This coming summer I am going to plant SO MANY MORE of these little beauties so I can have them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
I often bake them according to this recipe to eat during the week, even if I don’t make this entire salad.
Spinach & Roasted Eggplant Salad
Equipment
- baking pan
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients
- 1 eggplant, cubed with skin approximately 1" cubes
- 1 apple, diced with skin
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil spray
- 5 oz clamshell baby spinach
- 1/2 orange bell pepper, julienned
- 2 Tbsp crumbled feta cheese or goat cheese
- 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
Dressing
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5 tsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp honey or 4 drops liquid Stevia
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- few dashes black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place cubed eggplant and diced apple on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mat or parchment paper. Spray lightly with the olive oil spray and sprinkle garlic salt and pepper evenly.
- With a spoon, gently toss coated eggplant and apple on baking mat to evenly coat each piece with seasoning.
- Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes or until eggplant is browned and tender. Stir mixture after 20 minutes. Set aside and let cool while you prepare the salad and dressing.
- In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients.
- In a large serving bowl, combine spinach, orange pepper, feta cheese, and pecans.
- Add the eggplant and apple mixture to the spinach. Then pour in the dressing. Gently toss and Viola you are ready to serve!
- Refrigerate leftovers...if you have any!
Notes
Nutrition
I never tried eggplant until I lived in England – and at first I didn’t really like it. Now I love it! We call it Aubergine over here – I’m constantly saying the wrong name depending on where I am! Love this salad, Sammi. It ticks all the boxes – delicious, nutritious, satisfying and easy! Thank you so much for sharing with us at Hearth and Soul. I’ve featured this post at the party this week. Hope to ‘see’ you there!
I was dumbfounded for the longest time by the difference in names! Ha! Thank you for your kinds words. This salad is just divine and certainly on my list of “to-make” now that eggplant season is here!
I had only eaten eggplant parmagian in restaurants until about 4 years ago and I’m retired! We start off cooking what our mothers cooked. Pinned and shared.
So true! Funny you mention eggplant parmesan as I just made that a few days ago. Thanks for stopping by, Carol!
I love eggplant – what a great salad! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner link party!
Me too! I have one sitting on the counter right now just begging me to use it in this salad. π
Yum, this looks delicious, I cannot wait to give this a try. I just added eggplant and bell peppers to my shopping list. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
It really is amazing! We hope you enjoy it π
You’re not alone! I had never tried eggplant until I was an adult either! I’m still looking for a great way to prepare it, and this is definitely on the top of my list to try when we get eggplant in our CSA share. Thanks for sharing on the Homestead Blog Hop! π
I know you will love it Lindsey! Thanks for stopping by π
I’m 30 & I don’t think I’ve ever had eggplant…must try it! Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty π
Brittany, it is comforting to know I am not the only one who was introduced to eggplant so late in life π I actually just made this salad again yesterday. SO GOOD! I hope you enjoy it too π