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First of all, I’m not super crazy about eggplant when eaten on its own. Mostly it’s about the texture. But when I made this vegan eggplant soup in the first week of culinary school, I realized that I actually loved eggplant as part of an ensemble.

In truth, culinary school not only taught me technique, but also exposed me to new foods. Or in the case of this eggplant soup, new ways of preparing foods I knew, but was absolutely certain I didn’t like. 

Is Eggplant Bad For You?

For some people, the answer is yes. Eggplant is part of the nightshade family, along with tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers and tomatillos.

Nightshades contain alkaloids, including solanine, which can be toxic. Eating the leaves or tubers of these plants can cause burning in the throat, nausea and heart arrhythmias. if you suffer from an auto-immune condition, ask your physician if you can ingest nightshades.

What Are The Benefits of Eggplants?

Eggplants have a lot of nutritional benefits, such as…

Great source of many vitamins and minerals

Support great digestive health

Improve heart health

Help to prevent cancer

Improve bone Health

Help prevent Anemia

Increase brain function

For details on these benefits, go check out this article!

Roasted eggplants 

Vegan Eggplant Soup Ingredients

This soup is full of umami particularly from the eggplants, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.

Eggplant

There are a few kinds of eggplant that you may see at your market.  I use Italian Eggplant for this eggplant soup. They’re smooth and a dark purple. Other kinds of eggplant you can use in this eggplant soup include Graffiti Eggplant (also known as Sicilian Eggplant), which sport purple and white stripes, and long, skinny Asian or Chinese Eggplants. As a note, the long skinny eggplants have fewer seeds and are therefore ideal for grilling.

Tomato

You only need one tomato and any tomato works well in this soup as long as it’s medium-size.

Onions

Yellow onions are your best bet here, but white onion should work too. Steer away from red onions for this vegan eggplant soup.

Garlic

I used garlic cloves in this recipe, but another option is to purchase garlic paste in tubes. The only purchased garlic paste I like is Gourmet Garden’s. All others I’ve tried lack flavor. But seriously, freshly smashed and minced is the best. I purchase a bag of peeled garlic so I don’t have to peel the cloves. Because peeling garlic cloves is so fun, said no one ever.

Fresh Herbs and Dried Spices

I use a combination of oregano and thyme from my garden. Marjoram works great too. Rosemary could work well with the flavors, but it doesn’t purée well. 

Vegetable Broth

Use your favorite pre-made broth from your market (Swanson’s is the best IMHO), make you own, or do what I do and use Better Than Bouillon vegan pastes. To use these pastes, measure 1 teaspoon of bouillon for every cup of water added to the soup. NOTE: If you use a sodium-free broth in this vegan eggplant soup, you may need to add additional salt at the end.

Balsamic Vinegar

Splitting open a roasted eggplant

Peeling the eggplant

Removing the seeds

And now, let’s make soup!

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Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Easy Vegan Roasted Eggplant Soup with Tomatoes

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time1 hr 20 mins

Course: Vegan Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: roasted eggplant soup, vegan eggplant soup

Servings: 4

Author: The Wimpy Vegetarian

Equipment

a sturdy baking sheet

chef's knife

Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot

blender

Ingredients

• 2 large eggplants, see notes
• 1 medium tomato
• 3 cups chopped yellow onion see noes
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano + thyme
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
• 3 cups vegetable stock, see notes
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
• Score the eggplants 3 - 4 times, and lay them on the prepared baking sheet. Form a little tray out of foil to hold the tomato. Slice the tomato in half across its width. Place the two halves in the foil tray, with the cut surfaces facing up.
• Roast for 20 - 30 minutes, or until the skin on the tomato loosens. Remove the tomato from oven, and set aside until it's cooled enough to handle. Continue roasting the eggplants for another 45 minutes to one hour. The eggplants are done when they feel soft and hollow. Remove the eggplants and set aside until cool enough to handle.
• Prep Tip: Chop the onions, garlic and herbs while the eggplants roast. Also, gather all the remaining ingredients, and begin sautéeing the onions per the next step.
• Place a heavy bottomed pot on the stovetop over medium heat, and add the oil and chopped onions. Sauté until completely softened, about 15 - 20 minutes. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon.
• Add the garlic, herbs, salt, cumin, and cayenne. Sauté for another 5 minutes to mingle the flavors.
• Peel the tomato, coarsely chop, and add to the pot -- including any juices. Peel and seed the eggplants. Read the notes on how to do this. Add the eggplant meat to the pot.
• Add 2 of the cups of vegetable broth, reserving the third cup. I use Better Than Bouillon vegan pastes, and add 1 teaspoon for every cup of water. Also stir in the balsamic vinegar. Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Pour the soup into a blender and purée until smooth. Depending on your blender, this may require 2 batches. Return the soup to the pot. If the soup is too thick, stir in the remaining vegetable broth, and correct for seasoning.

Notes

Cooking Time

The prep time is for scoring the eggplant and prepping the onion, garlic and herbs. With the exception of scoring the eggplant, this can all be done while the eggplant and tomato roasts. The cook time includes roasting the eggplant and tomato; sautéing the onion, garlic, herbs and spices; peeling the eggplant; simmering everything together and puréeing the soup. The time recorded reflect the fact that some steps can be done in parallel.

Vegan Eggplant Soup Ingredients

This soup is full of umami particularly from the eggplants, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.

Eggplant

There are a few kinds of eggplant that you may see at your market.  I use Italian Eggplant for this eggplant soup. They're smooth and a dark purple. Other kinds of eggplant you can use in this eggplant soup include Graffiti Eggplant (also known as Sicilian Eggplant), which sport purple and white stripes, and long, skinny Asian or Chinese Eggplants. As a note, the long skinny eggplants have fewer seeds and are therefore ideal for grilling.

Tomato

You only need one tomato and any tomato works well in this soup as long as it's medium-size.

Onions

Yellow onions are your best bet here, but white onion should work too. Steer away from red onions for this vegan eggplant soup.

Garlic

I used garlic cloves in this recipe, but another option is to purchase garlic paste in tubes. The only purchased garlic paste I like is Gourmet Garden's. All others I've tried lack flavor. But seriously, freshly smashed and minced is the best. I purchase a bag of peeled garlic so I don't have to peel the cloves. Because peeling garlic cloves is so fun, said no one ever.

Fresh Herbs and Dried Spices

I use a combination of oregano and thyme from my garden. Marjoram works great too. Rosemary could work well with the flavors, but it doesn't purée well. 

Vegetable Broth

Use your favorite pre-made broth from your market (Swanson's is the best IMHO), make you own, or do what I do and use Better Than Bouillon vegan pastes. To use these pastes, measure 1 teaspoon of bouillon for every cup of water added to the soup. NOTE: If you use a sodium-free broth in this vegan eggplant soup, you may need to add additional salt at the end.

Balsamic Vinegar

Balsamic vinegar is a great way to add a little extra savory umami oomph. The amount is small so feel free to use whatever balsamic vinegar you have on hand.

 

Tips for Peeling Eggplant

 

This eggplant soup is very easy to make, but if eggplant is a vegetable you've not worked with before, here are some tips for roasting and peeling it.

 

I roast eggplants whole at 400˚F, but there are other ways to do this. For example, you can slice each eggplant in half, lengthwise, and roast them that way. This reduces the roasting time. If you choose this path, place the eggplant halves on a baking sheet with the cut side facing down. The only downside is that the eggplant surface resting on the baking sheet becomes dry and tough. 

 

The eggplants are done roasting when the skin darkens and becomes all wrinkly. It should feel soft and hollow to the touch. 

 

When the eggplants are cool enough to handle, slice off the top and cut each eggplant in half, lengthwise. A chef's knife is ideal for this.

 

 

Splitting open a roasted eggplant

 

 

 

To peel the eggplants, start at the bottom rounded edge where it's easy to separate the skin from the flesh. Slip the point of a sharp carving knife between the skin and flesh, and tease the skin away. I use a Bird's Beak Knife because of its curved shape. Discard the skins. 

 

 

 

Peeling the eggplant

 

If you're unfamiliar with this type of knife, i have a photo of it that's linked to a description in the above Equipment section. It's fabulous for peeling apples, peaches, nectarines and any other rounded fruit or vegetable.

 

Next, remove the ropes of seeds. I use both my fingers and a sharp carving knife to nudge them away from the flesh. Pull the eggplant open to get at all the ropes - many of them hide in the flesh in layers. Excess seeds can increase the bitterness of the eggplant, but don't be concerned if stray seeds remain.

 

 

Removing the seeds

 

Take the flesh that's been peeled and seeded, coarsely chop it, and add it to the pot you're using to make this vegan eggplant soup.

More Recipes with Eggplant

Baked Eggplant Parmesan Casserole with Pesto

Moroccan Chickpea Stew with Charred Eggplant and Tomatoes

Fusilli with Eggplant, Tomatoes and Capers

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