Inspired by the Japanese miso eggplant, this healthy and delicious recipe features soft, creamy oven-roasted eggplant topped with umami-rich tomato miso sauce. SOOO good, it’s like a flavour explosion in your mouth. This eggplant recipe is vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and low-carb friendly.
What Is Miso Eggplant?
Miso eggplant, also known as Nasu Dengaku, is a classic Japanese side dish made with eggplant (aubergine) sliced in half, grilled or baked and brushed with a sweet and savoury miso glaze. It’s a dream dish for any eggplant lover and can be served as a side or a main with rice, quinoa or noodles.
My version features roasted eggplant with a slightly different sauce made with white or light brown miso, tomato paste, onion and garlic. The eggplant is nicely caramelised and golden brown with creamy flesh and the sauce is like a flavourful condiment that really brings out the taste of the vegetable.
It’s a plant-based, vegan recipe that is also gluten-free and low-carb (lots of fibre, so net carbs are low). I usually serve it with regular rice or quinoa or cauliflower rice if I am eating low-carb.
What You Need For Tomato Miso Eggplant
For four servings or 8 decent pieces, you will need two large eggplants cut into quarters. I like to roast it for about 30 minutes until golden brown and soft in the middle but you can also slice it or dice it and grill/pan-fry in a little oil.
Tomato Miso Sauce
The sauce is made with sauteed, soft onions, garlic, tomato paste and miso paste, plus some water. You can add a splash of soy sauce or Tamari sauce or a little salt for extra seasoning. I also add a pinch of chilli flakes or powder.
Try to get freshly fermented miso from the refrigerated section of a health food store or supermarket as it will be unsaturated and beaming with good bacteria (probiotics). You can use white or light brown miso or a combination. If you only have dark miso, that’s fine as well but the flavour will be a little more intense. If you can’t find fresh miso, the paste from the packets will do the trick. Read my article on types of miso and health benefits here.
Make-Ahead Tip
This vegetarian eggplant recipe can be made ahead of time. Store the pre-cooked eggplant and the sauce separately in the fridge and reheat just before serving. The sauce will freeze well, but the eggplant – not so much.
Turn It Into A Dip or Spread
Another cool idea is to puree the eggplant and mix it with the tomato miso sauce for a Japanese babaghanoush, eggplant dip creation. Serve with seaweed crackers or sesame crackers or spread on toasted sourdough with avocado for a delicious plant-based breakfast or lunch.
More Eggplant Recipes
- Marvellous Creamy Eggplant Salad
- Spiced Lamb Cutlets, Eggplant Purée & Tomato Olive Salad
- Baked Eggplant Stuffed with Italian Tomato Salsa
- Eggplant Caprese Salad With Crispy Garlic & Aged Balsamic
- Vegetarian Banh Mi With Lemongrass Eggplant
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Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants aubergines, cut into quarters lengthways
- 3-4 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
- Salt
For the tomato miso sauceÂ
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil avocado oil or coconut oil
- 1 medium onion finey diced
- 3 cloves garlic finely diced
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- A pinch of red chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon fermented miso paste I used light brown
- A handful of chopped spring onion/scallions for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F).
- Sprinkle the eggplant pieces with a little bit of salt. Leave for 5 minutes to draw out some of the moisture. Use a kitchen roll or kitchen towel to pat dry the flesh side.
- Brush the eggplants with olive or coconut oil and roast on a flat baking tray for 20 minutes. Turn them over and roast for a further 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, sauté the onions in olive oil over medium heat for 7-10 minutes, until soft and translucent.Â
- Add garlic and stir for a minute. Add tomato paste, chilli and water. Stir and cook for 8-10 minutes until thickened. Turn the heat off, add the miso paste and stir until well incorporated into the sauce. You can use a fork, a whisk or a potato masher to help dissolve the miso into the sauce.
- Spoon the sauce over roasted eggplant and garnish with chopped spring onion.Â
Excellent! I was a bit skeptical but the recipe turned out great! I must admit however that I added a tiny bit of erythritol to counter the tomato’s acidity.
A little sweetness would be a good touch indeed. All depends on those tomatoes, some are sweeter than others. Glad you enjoyed it!
I love using miso in my vegetable dishes. This looks so easy and perfect. Will be trying it out soon.
This is packed full of flavors! Really healthy and so easy to make! Perfect!
Thanks, Toni
These roasted eggplants were absolutely delicious; thank you for this fantastic recipe! I will make it again!!
Thanks, Tavo. Glad you enjoyed this dish. Irena
Ooooh I love this! Healthy and full of flavor. Yum!
Yum, this looks delicious. I love miso eggplant. I will give your recipe a try, for sure.
It sounds very tasty but 21g Carbs per portion on the nutrition information is not exactly what I would call low-carb! I can’t work out where the carbs are coming from as both aubergine and miso paste are supposed to be low in carbs, unless it is a typo?
Hey Susy,
First of all, thanks for your question as it is a valid one. This recipe is not necessarily keto but it is low-carb as far the labels go. Also, to clarify, the 21 g carbs are total carbs and 9.2 of those are from dietary fibre, so net carbs are actually about 10 grams. It’s actually quite good for a vegetarian dish. Vegetable-rich recipes will have a slightly higher carb count, especially with eggplant. And it contains onion, garlic cloves, and tomato paste all of which add carbs as well, again mostly the fibre. If you’re on a very strict carbohydrate dishes, this might be be for you or you might only want to serve a small portion of it, but if you’re simply reducing carbohydrates and want to add more veggie dishes, then this is a good one to try.
I hope this helps 🙂 Irena
I made this last week as we received eggplant in our weekly veggie delivery. My kids are not usually a fan of eggplant but everyone loved this dish!
Thanks, Kat. I am so impressed your kids enjoyed this dish, I know many are not fans of eggplant. I am yet to try my toddler on it!
This Tomato Miso Sauce recipe looks delicious and easy to make. We love miso in my family and I will make this soon. Thanks for sharing 🙂
What a great recipe! Even some like me, that does not like eggplant, really enjoyed this one!
Amazingly delicious eggplant recipe. Thanks for sharing.
The balance of flavours is beautiful with that miso and the sweet and tangy tomato. Filling enough to be a main dish too!
The combination of savory miso and juicy tomatoes paired perfectly with the tender eggplant, making it a flavorful and satisfying dish. Plus, knowing it’s vegan, low-carb, and gluten-free made it an even more enjoyable and guilt-free treat!