Baked Eggplant and Chickpea Tagine
Cozy tagine flavors, mostly hands-off, and dinner is done in under 45 minutes.
Make this on a tired weeknight when you want something warm and comforting without babysitting a pan. It gives you the feel of a slow-cooked tagine, but the oven does most of the work and the ingredient list stays familiar. Eggplant turns silky, chickpeas make it filling, and the tomato-spice sauce ties everything together. Expect a deeply savory dinner with a little sweetness from cinnamon and a bright finish from lemon. It is not fussy or highly saucy like a restaurant version, but it is satisfying, practical, and good with rice, couscous, or bread when you need dinner to feel like dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 unit eggplant — cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 unit yellow onion — chopped
- 3 unit garlic cloves — minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup canned chickpeas — rinsed and drained
- 0.5 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 0.5 tsp smoked paprika
- 0.25 tsp ground cinnamon
- 0.75 tsp salt
- 0.25 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp cilantro or parsley — chopped, for serving
Method
- 1 Heat the oven to 425°F. On a sheet pan or in a 9x13 baking dish, toss the eggplant with 1 tbsp olive oil, half the salt, and a little pepper. Roast for 10 minutes.
- 2 While the eggplant starts roasting, warm the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion for 4 to 5 minutes until softened, then add the garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon, and tomato paste. Stir for 1 minute.
- 3 Add the crushed tomatoes, chickpeas, vegetable broth, and remaining salt. Stir to combine, then fold in the roasted eggplant.
- 4 Bake uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the eggplant is very tender. Stir in the lemon juice and taste for seasoning.
- 5 Serve hot, topped with cilantro or parsley. Spoon it over couscous, rice, or with bread if you want something extra filling.
Variations
- Faster swap — Use 3 cups diced zucchini instead of eggplant and skip the initial roasting step; simmer everything on the stove for 12 to 15 minutes.
- Vegetarian swap — Stir in 2 cups baby spinach at the end for extra greens, or top each bowl with plain yogurt if you want a creamier finish.
- Substitutions — Swap cilantro for parsley, use fire-roasted diced tomatoes instead of crushed tomatoes, or add raisins if you like a little sweetness.
Notes
If your eggplant is extra large, add 5 minutes to the roast. For a looser sauce, splash in a little more broth before baking. This keeps well and tastes even better the next day.
Equipment that helps
- Large oven-safe skillet or saucepan — It lets you move from stovetop to oven without extra dishes.
- Sheet pan or baking dish — Roasting the eggplant separately helps it brown before it gets saucy.
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