(This post is part of an ongoing CHG recipe compilation series. To date, we’ve covered marinades, salad dressings, spice mixes, party food, seafood, pork, and beef. Suggestions for future comps are definitely welcome.)As bikini season comes to a close (thank god), we denizens of the kitchen are being immersed in a sea of late summer produce. The lot of us are doggie paddling through plums, drowning in corn, and gasping for air under a tidal wave of tomatoes. (Oh, metaphor. I love you.) More than anything else, though, zucchini and eggplant are crowding our senses with their purple and emerald abundance.
To be honest, zucchini used to make me barf. (Confidential to potential bloggers: there is nothing more appealing to readers than drawing parallels between vomit and the vegetable you’re about to write 500 words on. Take note!) Only recently have I come to understand its inherent goodness and versatility. Same with eggplant, which hasn’t just become distinctly edible, but nearly my favorite veggie (besides sweet potatoes).
In honor of this dynamic duo, what follows is a list of 134 delicious, inexpensive, nutritionally dense recipes highlighting their uniquely squashy tastes. The dishes are taken from all over the internet, and span a multitude of cuisines (meaning there are only two Eggplant Parmesan recipes). But first – a few words about research methods:- To make the list, zucchini and/or eggplant had to be either the focus of the dish, or a main component thereof.
- Every dish is low calorie, low fat, and low price. (I checked.)
- By nature, most of them are vegetarian dishes, though a few involve meat.
- While I’ve made and devoured every meal with the CHG tag, I can’t give a first-hand stamp of approval for the others. However, if they’re from an aggregate recipe site, rest assured they’ve received at least an 87% approval rating (or 3.5 stars out of 4) from reviewers.
- If a recipe comes from a food blog, it’s probably not been formally reviewed. But hey - I trust food bloggers in general, and so should you. (*wink wink nudge nudge*)
- With two exceptions, Martha Stewart/Everyday Food recipes aren’t listed here, because their website reviews are not well organized. However, her dishes tend to be inexpensive and light, and none have ever straight-up failed me. If you have the chance, check ‘em out at MarthaStewart.com.
And that's it. Let's get started.
EGGPLANT
All Recipes: Baingan Bharta (Eggplant Curry)
All Recipes: Eggplant Antipasto
All Recipes: Eggplant Parmesan II
All Recipes: Eggplant Supper Soup
All Recipes: Mediterranean Vegetable Stew
All Recipes: Tater-Dipped Eggplant
All Recipes: Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie
Beyond Salmon: Honey Garlic Grilled Eggplant
Bitten: Cold Eggplant Salad with Sesame Dressing
Bobby Flay: Grilled Vegetables and Chiles
CHG/Weight Watchers: Angel Hair Pasta with Eggplant-Tomato Sauce
CHG/Eating Well: Baba Ghanouj
CHG/Cooking Light: Baked Eggplant with Mushroom-Tomato Sauce
CHG/Serious Eats: Broiled Eggplant Japonaise
CHG/All Recipes: Cheesy Eggplant Bake
CHG: Eggplant Mini-Pizzas
CHG/Barefoot Contessa: Roasted Eggplant Spread
Closet Cooking: Nasu Dengaku (Eggplant Broiled in Miso)
Cook Almost Anything: Tunisian Eggplant Salad
Cooking Light: Baba Ghanoush with Red Pepper Swirl
Cooking Light: Braised Eggplants and Potatoes with Lemons, Capers, and Olives
Cooking Light: Bucatini with Eggplant and Roasted Peppers
Cooking Light: Chicken with Eggplant-Pepper Sauce
Cooking Light: Chopped Eggplant Relish
Cooking Light: Eggplant Matzo Lasagna
Cooking Light: Eggplant and Tomato Mint Salsa
Cooking Light: Grilled Eggplant with Sesame Marinade
Cooking Light: Grilled Eggplant Salad
Cooking Light: Pasta with Roasted Eggplant-Tomato Sauce
Cooking Light: Penne with Sausage, Eggplant, and Feta
Cooking Light: Poor Man’s Caviar
Cooking Light: Quick Eggplant and Tomato Saute
Cooking Light: Spicy Vegetable Ragout Over Polenta
Cooking Light: Stuffed Eggplant
Eating Well: Eggplant Couscous Rolls
Eating Well: Eggplant Parmesan
Eating Well: Pasta with Eggplant Ragu
Eating Well: Roasted Eggplant Dip
Epicurious: Eggplant with Tomato-Mint Sauce and Goat Cheese
Epicurious: Grilled Eggplant with Caponata Salsa
Epicurious: Herb-Roasted Eggplant with Tomatoes and Feta
Epicurious: Moroccan Eggplant Salad
Epicurious: Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Salad with Tomatoes
FatFree Vegan Kitchen: Roasted Eggplant Almond Dip
Juan Carlos-Cruz: Eggplant Parmesan
Karina’s Kitchen: Mediterranean Eggplant with Crumbled Beef, Tomatoes, and Mint
Karina’s Kitchen: Roasted Eggplant Tapenade
Kalyn’s Kitchen: Grilled Eggplant with Garlic-Cumin Vinaigrette
Kathleen Daelemans: Eggplant and Tomato Pasta
Mental Masala: Basil Ghanouj
Sara Moulton: Mixed Grilled Vegetable Crostini
Serious Eats: Steamed Spicy Eggplant
Simply Recipes: Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Soup (cut olive oil by 1/3rd)
Smitten Kitchen: Marinated Eggplant with Capers and Mint (cut down on grilling olive oil)
Tasty Palettes: Eggplant and Pumpkin/Butternut Squash Curry
ZUCCHINI
101 Cookbooks: Apple Zucchini Crostini
All Recipes: Connie’s Zucchini “Crab” Cakes
All Recipes: Easy Vegetarian Pasta
All Recipes: Elegant Zucchini and Tomatoes
All Recipes: Japanese Zucchini and Onions
All Recipes: Steamed Zucchini
All Recipes: Zesty Zucchini and Squash
All Recipes: Zucchini Boats on the Grill
All Recipes: Zucchini Cookies
All Recipes: Zucchini Parmesan
All Recipes: Zucchini Pasta II
All Recipes: Zucchini and Potato Bake
All Recipes: Zucchini Risotto
All Recipes: Zucchini Saute
Bitten: Pasta With Corn, Zucchini and Tomatoes
CHG/Everyday Food: Curried Zucchini Soup
CHG: Shredded Zucchini and Chick Peas Over Polenta
CHG/Cooking Light: Zucchini Bread
CHG/Chocolate and Zucchini: Zucchini-Mushroom Crumble
Chocolate and Zucchini: Salade de Blé Tendre, Courgette et Abricot (Soft Wheatberry Salad with Zucchini and Apricots)
Chocolate and Zucchini: Zucchini and Chicken Salad with Raspberry Vinegar
Cooking Light: Ajlouk Qura'a (Mashed-Zucchini Salad)
Cooking Light: Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
Cooking Light: Italian Stuffed Summer Vegetables
Cooking Light: Layered Zucchini
Cooking Light: Lemony Orzo Salad
Cooking Light: Omelet with Summer Vegetables
Cooking Light: Quick Vegetarian Chili
Cooking Light: Roast Vegetable and Quinoa Salad
Cooking Light: Roasted Pepper and Zucchini Crostini
Cooking Light: Roasted Vegetable Pitas with Sour Cream Dressing
Cooking Light: Skewers of Rosemary Chicken and Zucchini
Cooking Light: Vegetable Lasagna
Cooking Light: Zucchini, Olive, and Cheese Quesadillas
Cooking Light: Zucchini Ribbons with Saffron Couscous
Cooking With Amy: Zucchini Mint Soup
Eating Well: Cool Zucchini Slaw
Eating Well: Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons & Parsley Brown Butter
Eating Well: Mary’s Zucchini with Parmesan
Eating Well: Summer Squash and White Bean Salad
Eating Well: Tortellini and Zucchini Soup
Ellie Krieger: Tuscan Vegetable Soup
Ellie Krieger: Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
Ellie Krieger: Zucchini Ribbon Pasta
Epicurious: Baked Eggs with Zucchini Ragout
Epicurious: Couscous and Feta Stuffed Peppers
Epicurious: Couscous Vegetable Salad (reduce the vinaigrette)
Epicurious: Grilled Zucchini and Summer Squash Salad with Basil-Parmesan Dressing (reduce olive oil for grilling)
Epicurious: Vegetable Frittata with Asiago Cheese
Epicurious: Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
Epicurious: Zucchini-Basil Soup (reduce olive oil for sautéing)
Epicurious: Zucchini-Tomato Frittata Sandwiches
Green Lite Bites: Baked Zucchini Fries
Kalyn’s Kitchen: Zucchini and Yellow Squash Soup
Kathleen Daelemans: Ribolita
Kathleen Daelemans: Zucchini with Green Peppercorns, Lemon, and Parmesan
Juan-Carlos Cruz: Chiles Rellenos
Juan-Carlos Cruz: Herbed Zucchini Noodles
Raspberry Eggplant: Minimalist’s Zucchini-Pear Soup
Simply Recipes: Zucchini with Thyme
A Veggie Venture: Feta-Stuffed Zucchini
EGGPLANT AND ZUCCHINI
All Recipes: Vegetarian Moussaka
Barefoot Contessa: Roasted Vegetable Torte
CHG/Bon Appetit: Ratatouille
Cook’s Hideout: Eggplant-Chickpea Tagine
Cooking Light: Eggplant Stew Over Couscous
Cooking Light: Grilled Eggplant Stack
Cooking Light: Grilled Italian Vegetables Over Pasta
Eating Well: Polenta and Vegetable Bake
Ellie Krieger: Cornmeal-Crusted Roasted Ratatouille Tart
Epicurious: Grilled Chicken and Ratatouille
FatFree Vegan Kitchen: Zucchini Spirals with Fresh Vegetable Sauce
Gluten-Free Mommy: Baked Eggplant Zucchini Spaghetti
La Tartine Gourmande: Eggplant Millefeuille
Lucullian Delights: Zucchini and Grilled Pepper Dice With Capers
Martha Stewart: Eggplant Bolognese
Martha Stewart: Vegetable Saute
Sara Moulton/Kathleen Daelemans: Grilled Vegetable Pizza
Sara Moulton: Ratatouille with Penne
And that’s it. Readers … any favorites not listed here?
(Photos courtesy of shem tov v’ ta’am tov and How to Grow Eggplant.)
