Roasted Eggplant & Tomato Orzo Pasta
Roasted eggplant, cherry tomatoes and orzo combine in this light pasta dish. It's a great weeknight dinner recipe for summer and early fall!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
First of all, THANK YOU for your kind words and excitement surrounding my cookbook announcement! I am so glad we can talk about Love Real Food now. My mind has been so preoccupied with the book lately that I haven’t been able to come up with much to talk about, other than the weather. I’m tired of talking about the weather. (Are you tired of hearing me ramble on about the weather? Yes? I don’t blame you.)
Now we can talk cookbook, too. Your enthusiasm got me all fired up last week and kept me fueled through shooting six recipes on Friday. Thank you! I keep forgetting that I can share the process now, but I promise to start sharing sneak peaks of #loverealfoodbook this week.
I designed the cookbook’s recipe list to be more season-less than seasonal, because I want most of the recipes to appeal to you and be available to you year-round. That means I’ve been reserving the super seasonal recipes for the blog, which is fun because I can publish them when they’re prime for the making.
Like, this pasta dish. It’s perfect for this time of year. It’s not too hot outside to crank up the oven and roast eggplant, which is at its peak right now. I’ve had an odd hankering for roasted eggplant ever since I made Anna’s Mediterranean quinoa salad. Most people describe eggplant as bitter, but I’d say it’s borderline sour. Tangy. Pillowy. Hearty. So good, if paired with the right flavors.
I took some cues from Anna’s salad and combined roasted eggplant with feta, pine nuts and fresh herbs. I first tried it without tomatoes, wondering if eggplant could stand on its own, but sweet roasted tomatoes made it more of an irresistible—and I daresay, dazzling—veggie-packed pasta dish. I should have known. Eggplant and tomatoes are garden mates and nightshade cousins, and they belong together in this recipe.
DeLallo’s light and tender whole wheat orzo pasta forms the base of the dish. Just look at those cute little oblong pasta pieces! DeLallo makes the best whole wheat pasta and I love that they offer it in so many fun shapes, from orzo to rigatoni to orecchiette. You can find their products at Whole Foods and well-stocked grocery stores, as well as online. I’m flying out to Pittsburgh to hang out with the DeLallo team and a few of my favorite bloggers this week. I can’t wait! More on that later, but please make this dish before the tomatoes are gone!
More Recipes to Enjoy
Here are a few of my favorites:
- Caponata
- Double Tomato Pesto Spaghetti with Zucchini Noodles
- Easy Tomato Salad
- Ratatouille
- Vegetable Paella
Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Orzo Pasta
Roasted eggplant, cherry tomatoes and orzo combine in this light pasta dish. It’s a great weeknight dinner recipe for summer and early fall! If you can’t find whole wheat orzo, try rotini or fusilli or another small pasta shape. Recipe yields 4 to 6 servings.
Ingredients
Roasted eggplant
- 1 medium purple eggplant (about 1 pound), sliced into ¾-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Roasted tomatoes
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Everything else
- ½ pound DeLallo Organic Whole Wheat Orzo
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
Lemon-garlic dressing
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, more to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit with one rack in the middle of the oven and the other rack in the upper third of the oven. Line 1 large, rimmed baking sheet and 1 small, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- On the large baking sheet, toss the cubed eggplant with 2 tablespoons olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Arrange the eggplant in a single layer. Roast on the middle rack until the eggplant is tender and deeply golden on the edges, about 25 minutes, tossing halfway.
- Meanwhile, on the smaller baking sheet, toss the halved tomatoes with 1 teaspoon olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Wait to place the pan of tomatoes on the top rack until you return the eggplant to the oven after tossing. Roast until the tomatoes are tender and a little wrinkled, about 12 minutes. (So in an ideal situation, the eggplant and tomatoes will be done roasting at the same time.)
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the orzo, give it a stir and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. Reserve about 1 cup cooking water, then drain the orzo and transfer it to a large serving bowl.
- To prepare the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle it over the warm orzo and toss to coat. Add the roasted eggplant, tomatoes, feta, basil, parsley and pine nuts. Toss to combine. If the pasta seems dry, add a couple of tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking water and/or a little more olive oil. Season to taste with additional salt (mine needed ¼ teaspoon more) and pepper. Serve immediately.
Notes
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the feta. You might want to add some thinly sliced, pitted Kalamata olives to make up for feta’s salty punch.
Make it gluten free: Substitute a small gluten-free pasta for the orzo and cook according to package directions.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This post was created in partnership with DeLallo Foods and I received compensation for my participation. Opinions are my own, always. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who support C+K!
WOW Yum! This looks incredible!!!
This looks divine! I love orzo and the mouth feeling it gives, such a huge difference compared to normal pasta or rice!
Also, SO EXCITED about the cookbook! I was secretly hoping for you to bring out a cookbook for a while now, and also so excited when you said you had news, praying it would be a cookbook! I adore your recipes, they’re ALWAYS good; lovely, healthy, easy to make, and the instructions never fail me. You’re my go-to blog for weeknights and dinners with guests alike, and I can’t wait for this cookbook! Will it be distributed in Europe, too?
Thank you, Evelyn! Thrilled to hear that you’re looking forward to the cookbook. Yay! I am not sure about European distribution, but if you can’t get it when the time comes, email me and I’ll make sure you get a copy. :)
That would be wonderful, you’re too sweet :)
On a different note, I was wondering if you have a PA already? Can imagine it’s nearly undoable to run a blog ánd create a cookbook if you have to do everything by yourself…
I have someone helping me with roundups, and a kitchen assistant who comes about once a week to cook cookbook recipes with me. That’s it!
I rarely cook orzo but it always looks so good, you’ve inspired me! :) And congrats on the cookbook!!! SO exciting, can’t wait to hear more about it!
Thank you, Becca!!!
I’ve been cooking with roasted eggplant a lot recently — it’s so good that it’s hard to resist. And I love this recipe — looks like Cookie is begging for another bite as well!
I LOVE roasted eggplant and I’ve always been grateful for this brand making whole wheat orzo, my daughter’s fave pasta shape!
Made this for dinner tonight; super flavorful! Love your seasonal recipes!
Awesome! Thanks, Beth!
Love this! It looks so fresh and delicious!
How did I miss your cookbook announcement?!?!?!? How very exciting for you and your fans ;)
This recipe is on my plans for the weekend. Looks delish and I’ll let you know as a vegan how it tastes without the feta.
Congrats on the book!
Thank you so much, Trish!
Pillowy eggplant is the best kind of eggplant, and DeLallo makes the best dried pasta I’ve had. Yum and yum.
Hey Kate, another winner as always! I particularly loved the punchy lemon dressing with the roast vegetables. And congrats on the book – I’ll definitely be getting a copy :-)
Thank you, Jane! Happy to hear it, on both accounts!
there is totally not enough great orzo salad recipes. pretty thankful for this incredibly delicious sounding one!!
I loved the Mediterranean Quinoa Salad recipe, so I’m guessing I’ll enjoy this one too. I made a stew last night with a blended tomato and eggplant base – they really are delicious seasonal soul mates :)
This looks (and sounds) like something I want to eat right now — and I’m not even a huge eggplant fan — you say “pillowy” — I say “spongy”. Regardless, I’m going to try it. Thanks for pushing me past my comfort zone!
No, not spongy! Pillowy! I hope you like it!
Wow, this looks so tasty and satisfying — and I’m not even an eggplant fan! Regardless, I’m going to have to give this one a try! Thanks for pushing me out of my comfort zone!
Love the looks of this recipe Kate! I accidentally discovered Delallo’s whole wheat orzo for a recipe I made a couple months ago, and I’ll attest that it’s so amazing, especially for whole wheat pasta. Congrats on the cookbook! Can’t wait to see some sneak peeks and hear more about it!
Thanks, Tessa! Their orzo is great, isn’t it?!
Great recipe! Love eggplant and tomato. I can only imagine what this tastes like :D Pinned!
This dish looks so tasty. I love Mediterranean inspired meals! It’s making me hungry. Cookie is also absolutely adorable in her picture! :)
Thank you, Allyson! :)
Hi Kate, I made the recipe this weekend with some friends.
All my friends were very pleased.
Thank you
So glad to hear that. Thank you, Victor!
I made this last night, and it was delicious!! Thanks! :)
Hooray! Thanks, Blaire!
Belated congrats on the cookbook! I’m so excited for you and I know it’s going to be an absolutely fantastic book – every recipe I’ve ever made of yours has been perfect and I can’t wait for a whole book filled with them!
Thank you so much, Kathryn! :)
I have received your Cookie and Kate emails for some time now but have never left a message. The time is NOW!! I have loved following you and your recipes never fail me. I actually set up a separate pin just for Cookie and Kate recipes so I can refer back to them. I am SO excited for your cookbook. I was going to email you a few weeks back to ask if you had a cookbook and low and behold….there was your announcement! My only disappointment is that I have to wait SO long for it! Keep these amazing recipes coming!
Nancy, thank you so much for saying hello! I’m delighted to hear that you are enjoying my recipes so much. Hooray!!!
I made the vegan version of this recipe the day you posted it. I didn’t have orzo so I used small penne. It was delicious! I will be roasting eggplant again! And the roasted tomatoes were also amazing–roasting enhances their flavor. The lemony dressing is very good and compliments all of the tastes in the dish. We were mmmm-ing and wow–ing as we ate. Thanks! I know I will make this again and again.
Thanks, Julie! Delighted to hear it!
I have made 4 of your recipes and they were all fabulous! I love your blog. I’m making this tomorrow night for dinner :) do you have any favorite soup recipes?
Thanks, Bea! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes. I do have some favorite soups! This lentil soup, butternut soup, butternut chili and peanut soup.
Oh wow is this amazing! I didn’t roast the cherry tomatoes (I like them raw), and instead of feta I made it kind of caprese style and used up some fresh mozarella I had on hand. This recipe is a keeper.
Sounds great! Thanks, Sarah!
I made this for dinner last week! The only change I made was to use some chopped heirlooms instead of cherry tomatoes. It turned out great but it wasn’t anything special warm. A few days in the fridge though… this dish SHINES as a cold dish. I probably won’t make it as a meal again, but I’m planning on making a batch on a Sunday and eating it as a side dish for lunches and dinners throughout the week. It was good warm, but just soooo much better cold. I ate it as a cold side after making your tomato jam and mozzarella paninis, which were also excellent! I’m loving your recipes so far. I’m planning on making the sweet potato and green rice bowls dinner tonight.
– Amber
I’ve made countless CookieandKate recipes and all of them have turned out so great that they generally get added to our usual meal rotation. We loved this fresh pasta dish – you somehow have a way of turning regular, easily available ingredients into something that tastes really special :) Can’t wait for your cookbook!
Thank you so much, Genia! :)
Great recipe. I made only small changes (rare for me!). We’re GF so I used GF orzo of course, I also couldn’t resist and added lemon zest to the dressing other than that it was exactly the same and absolutely delicious. I’m looking forward to taking the leftovers to school with me next week.
Was looking for a good summery recipe to get me back in the routine of cooking… This did it! I used Roma tomatoes instead of grape/cherry, and it turned out just as yummy anyways.
My first official Kate recipe- did NOT disappoint!
This was SO good! Wow! We had rice pasta to keep GF and had cilantro on hand. Loved the sweetness of the tomatoes with the bite of the garlic. The dressing was heavenly with this. The tomatoes and eggplant went together beautifully. Thanks so much!
I had all the ingredients except orzo and pine nuts. I made this recipe with whole wheat rotini and no pine nuts…still amazing. I make more recipes from your blog than any other. Thanks!
Hi Kate
Appreciate your recipes so much as I am trying to eat more vegetarian meals. I made the eggplant orzo tonight and it was a big hit in my family which is not always easy especially with an 18 year old daughter and an 88 year old Mom at the table! Everyone loved it.
I did leave out the pine nuts though because every package of pine nuts I found were made in China. Can you find pine nuts from anywhere else? Thanks, Valerie
This was really great! I ended up doubling the tomatoes to use up the pint. Loved by whole family!
Thanks, Liz! The more tomatoes, the better, I think!
I loved your recipe! It turned out great! To make it even more loaded with veggies, I added zucchinis and Broccolis to the list of roasted vegetables.
Also, I substituted the salt of th veggies with soy sauce, it tasted awesome!
Thank you, Fred! Your version sounds delicious.
I made this for dinner tonight and added some red onion and garlic when I roasted the tomatoes. It was tasty and felt really healthy :)
Thanks, Sarika! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
I made it. It was delicious!!!
Roasting my eggplant on parchment paper has been a revelation!!! The taste difference is amazing. So glad I found this site.
I’m glad, too!
I know this is an older post, but my husband and I have made it at least 6 times in the last 3 months. Easily my favorite recipe at the moment. Thank you for many delicious summer days!
You’re welcome, Rebecca! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Wow! Another keeper…this is delicious! All the flavors complemented each other really well! The dressing added real pizazz as did the toasted pine nuts. THANK YOU yet again Kate for a wonderful meal!
You’re welcome, Kathy! So happy you loved this.
Hi Kate…have discovered your lovely vegetarian recipes and am delighted to explore them each day. I hope you can answer a question.
I am often asked to bake for bake sales that help raise money for dog rescues. Sometimes I have to do the baking ahead of time. Can you suggest any cookie or bake sale type items that would be delicious but would, most importantly, be able to be baked ahead of time …say a day or two before the sale and still be good to sell for my cause…to help homeless pets? Linda
Hmmm.. the first thing that comes to mind are my carrot cake breakfast cookies. That recipe is in my book, but several of my food blogging friends have made it and posted the recipe on the blog. You can find it here. I think these would be perfect!
Yum! I just made this and it is absolutely delicious! I had a yellow pepper that was looking sad in the frig. so I broiled it to remove the skin and tossed it in along with the eggplant and tomatoes. Other than that I followed your recipe to a tee.
Thank you so much for sharing.
You’re welcome, Tammy! I love that this recipe is easily customizable. Your version sounds delicious.
Hello Kate, I just finished making this, and it is so fresh and delicious.
I never made orzo pasta before, what a great change. Thank you so much for adding it to the 25 recipes to make before the end of summer. Another hit …
I doubled the recipe and it was still delicious. Thank you!
Perfect!
I made this for my bag lunch this week and it was delicious great. I’ll put it in my rotation.
I meant to just say “delicious,” not “delicious great” ;)
Perfect!
This is so good. I eat way too much of it. I leave off the feta. It’s even good cold for lunch the next day.
made it and yup, another winner. love yur recipes and I was first in line for yur cookbook.
and no, I have no affiliation with Kate (but would be willing to). Happy thanksgiving everyone.
We just finished this delicious meal. Flavours were wonderful. I had to make substitutions based on what I had on hand. Dried basil on tomatoes before baking, cilantro instead of parsley, small shell pasta. I made it for 2 of us and could have eaten my share + the leftovers. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Dianne! Thank you, for sharing. If you would want to leave a review since you liked it so much, that would be wonderful.
I love eggplant. It was such a fresh and delicious meal. I will definitely make it again1
Made this tonight with eggplant and tomatoes from our garden. We served it with grilled chicken and we LOVED it! Nice light summer meal. So tasty and lots of flavor! Thank you for the recipe.
Forgot to rate it.
You’re welcome!
I made this tonight, sans pine nuts, and it was still divine! Thanks for the greT recipe!
You’re welcome, Ariana!
You’ve done it again, Kate! I just made this for dinner tonight and IT WAS DIVINE. I made it exactly as you suggest, with the sole addition of adding arugula to it–only because I had some from earlier this week that I didn’t want to go bad.
For what it’s worth, the arugula was a nice touch! I may have added slightly more ground pepper had I not used it, but due to its peppery taste it was perfect. Thank you for constantly making my life easier by providing such easy and tasty recipes. I appreciate all your hard work!
I love that you added arugula! Nice peppery taste addition. I appreciate the comment and review, Shannon.