Healthy and delicious paleo roasted eggplant salad with roasted bell peppers, toasted almonds, olives, and more. It’s packed with veggies, and it’s so refreshing and tasty as a side or a main dish!
I’m a huge fan of cooked salads. They are warming and delicious on cold days, have a ton of flavor, and they are easier to digest than raw salads. I also love that they can last longer if you have any left over, and the flavors usually improve the longer they sit.
Paleo & Vegan Eggplant Salad Recipe
This Whole30 and paleo roasted eggplant salad is one of my favorite cooked salads to enjoy. The combination of the ingredients meld together so well, and the texture is incredible as well. I absolutely love the crunchiness of the toasted almonds and the smokiness of roasted bell peppers. The eggplants are delicious and meaty, and the salad could be eaten as a whole meal on its own or as a side to a tasty protein.
Colorful Ingredients in Roasted Eggplant Salad
This paleo and vegan eggplant salad is packed with so many wonderful vegetables and healthy fats. These are some of the main ingredients:
- Eggplant: The eggplant will wilt down a lot during roasting, so make sure to grab a large one!
- Bell peppers: Red, orange, or yellow bell peppers will add a beautiful color to the salad, and be milder in flavor than the green variety.
- Almonds: If you don’t have almonds on hand, you can also use cashews or any other nuts. I toasted the almonds myself for this recipe, but you can use pre-toasted almonds.
- Lemon juice
- Kalamata olives
- Garlic
- Cilantro: Not everyone loves cilantro, so you can choose to omit or use parsley instead.
- Oregano
- Red pepper flakes: This is optional, but the hint of spice that the red pepper flakes gives is such a tasty and delicious addition!
How to Make Whole30 & Paleo Roasted Eggplant Salad
While this salad takes a bit of time to make, I promise – the end result is 100% worth it. It’s one of my favorite Whole30 eggplant recipes and I like to make a double batch of it so I have an easy yummy snack or side to reach for throughout the week. Here’s how to make this roasted eggplant salad recipe:
- Roast the eggplant with the bell peppers a 450 degrees F for 30 minutes. The skin side of the bell peppers should be tender and bubbly.
- Cover the roasted bell peppers immediately to steam for 5 minutes. This makes the skin easier to peel. After 5 minutes, remove the skin and slice into strips.
- If using raw almonds, toast them while the bell peppers are steaming on the stove top for 3-4 minutes. Roughly chop them.
- Put together all the ingredients! Combine roasted eggplant, roasted peppers, almonds, olive oil, salt, lemon juice, olives, garlic, cilantro, oregano, and ground black pepper in a large bowl, and toss together to combine.
That’s it! You can serve this delicious paleo and vegan eggplant salad right away or chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. I personally love it at room temperature.
To store – place in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 3-5 days!
If you enjoyed this Whole30 eggplant recipe, you might also like…
- Whole30 Chinese Eggplant and Pork (Paleo, Gluten Free)
- Turkey Eggplant Lasagna (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
- Mediterranean Cauliflower Couscous Salad (Paleo, Whole30, Keto, Vegan)
- Whole30 Roasted Squash Salad (Paleo, Vegan)
- Roasted Whole30 Greek Salad (Paleo, Keto, Vegan)
Paleo Roasted Eggplant Salad (Whole30, Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers halved, seeded, and cored
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil divided
- 3/4 tsp sea salt divided
- 1/4 cup almonds
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives roughly chopped or halved
- 1 garlic clove minced (omit for low FODMAP)
- 3 tbsp fresh cilantro
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- Ground black pepper to taste
- Optional: red pepper flakes to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Place the eggplant cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1/4 tsp sea salt. Nestle the bell pepper halves alongside the eggplant, skin-side up. Brush the tops of the peppers with 1 tsp olive oil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, tossing the eggplant halfway through. The skin on the peppers should be bubbly and tender.
- Remove from the oven, then immediately place the bell peppers in a bowl, and cover with a plate so they can steam for 5 minutes.
- While the pepper are steaming, Toast the almonds in a skillet over medium high for 3-4 minutes while tossing them frequently. They should be golden and give a toasty aroma when they are done.
- Transfer the almonds to a cutting board, then give them a rough chop.
- Uncover the bell peppers, peel the skin (they should peel off easily), then cut them lengthwise into thin strips.
- Place the eggplant cubes, bell pepper strips, and toasted almonds in a large bowl with the rest of the ingredients: 2 tsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, lemon juice, olives, garlic, cilantro, oregano, ground black pepper. Toss well to combine.
- Sprinkle with red pepper flakes, if desired, then serve chilled or at room temperature.
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Pretty good salad. Healthy and a variety of flavors that blend well together. Only reason for not 5 stars is that it takes a lot of work. But if you want to impress don’t mess with this recipe.
Amazing salad! The best part is that it gets even better the next day after marinating in all the flavors. I love eggplant so this recipe will become a staple for me! It’s great cold, warm and at room temperature. Can’t go wrong. Thanks, Jean!
Yay! Thanks so much for leaving a review, Rachel. So glad you enjoyed it!
Im obsessed with this recipe! Have made it so many times and never get tired of it.
Thank you so much!!!