easy vegan babaganoush recipe without oil

A quick and easy vegan babaganoush recipe made without oil and roasted eggplant.

Babaganoush - the first time I heard this word, was recently. Very recently. In south Florida one does not eat babaganoush. Maybeeee hummus, if that. But not babaganoush.

You see the thing is, growing up in south Florida surrounded by a primarily Hispanic family, food was always Cuban staples - rice, black beans, plantains, (and of course meat, lots of it.)

But never babaganoush. 

And what a shame that is because it is AMAZING!!! I am totally hooked and so is my boyfriend.... who has literally planted eggplants in our garden just to ensure that we continue eating this delicious dip (or spread?) for many more months to come.

On to the recipe: 

This is a very basic recipe, but the thing is that traditional babaganoush itself is very basic. If you've got eggplant, garlic, tahini, and lemon juice - you've got yourself some babaganoush.

Of course you can dress it up more - add a dash of cayenne pepper,  a sprinkle of smoked paprika, more tahini, maybe even leave the skins ON if you're feeling extra generous (note: this does affect the color and texture of babaganoush but kicks it up a notch in the nutrition department.)

The part that takes the longest is prepping the eggplant. You need to salt it, let it sit so that it can release some of its extra water, wipe it down a bit and then roast it.

Traditional recipes call for roasting the eggplant in the oven for about 40 to 50 minutes until soft and golden brown. However, that is a LONG time and when you're craving babaganoush you want it NOW.

So, lucky for us - minimalistbaker aka genius in the kitchen - came up with a quick alternative to that, and instead experimented with using the BROIL setting to roast these babies up in, like, 10 minutes. Yes, now we're talking!

Instead of having to wait nearly an hour for roasted eggplants, you can turn them nice and soft and golden brown within 10 minutes using broil. But be careful friends, broil is nothing to play around with. It gets hot, quick! And can burn your food in an instant (trust me, it has happened to me, multiple times.)

If using the broil method - stay near your oven at all times and keep an eye on the eggplant. In my oven, it takes 10 minutes total, five on one side, five on the other and that is using the LOW broil setting. Some ovens do not have medium/low setting so if using HIGH please note the roasting time will be much shorter.

Oil free option:

I don't use refined oil in my recipes so this babaganoush is of course oil free. Make sure to coat the raw eggplants with vegetable broth before roasting - this will ensure a nice soft and golden roasted eggplant that won't stick to the aluminum foil.

How to enjoy babaganoush:

Think of babaganoush as hummus' less famous cousin - but just as tasty if not more! 😛

You can enjoy babaganoush as a dip or as a spread. It tastes delicious with pita bread, crackers, and even raw veggies such as carrots and bell peppers. Serve it up at your next party or get-together as an appetizer or as a side to another main dish.

The possibilities are endless.

*This recipe was adapted from Minimalist Baker

Want to see more vegan dips or spreads?

Check out this tasty (and pretty) roasted beet hummus, or my favorite carrot garlic hummus!

with love + gratitude,

Jen ♥

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