Easy Eggplant Pasta Bake with Chickpeas

This easy eggplant pasta bake with chickpeas is vegan, low in fat, packed full of goodness and absolutely delicious! It’s also one of the easiest to make one pot pasta dishes you’ll ever find!

Easy Eggplant Pasta Bake

This easy eggplant pasta bake is made using tinned tomatoes and chickpeas (so it’s quick and uncomplicated), in addition to the eggplant (aubergine).  Plus a few extras, such as seasoning, oil etc.  Very simple.  I didn’t use any spices other than paprika (smoked paprika is especially tasty in this recipe).

Cooking all the ingredients together for 30 minutes infuses the dish with lots of flavour, so the sauce is rich and really delicious.  I used a similar method in my recent recipe, Mediterranean inspired vegan butternut squash casserole. (Though I made it without the pasta).

This eggplant chickpea recipe is really super simple and easy to throw together.  You won’t need more than 20 minutes to prepare it and there’ll be enough to feed 5 hungry people.  I used quite a bit of tinned tomatoes so this pasta bake is beautifully cooked on the inside while the top gets nicely browned and caramelized.

Which is why a one pot bake is such a delicious way of enjoying a pasta dish.

Other examples include tomato bean pasta bake, pasta bake with fennel and cherry tomatoes, as well as lentil lasagna with kale.

Equipment you’ll need

• Large cutting board and knife
• Large oven proof pan with lid and spatula
• Medium size pot for cooking the pasta and strainer

How to make eggplant pasta bake with chickpeas: step-by-step

1.Preheat the oven.  In a large shallow pan fry the garlic, onion and eggplant for about 10 minutes or until softened. Stir often.  Add the wine and cook for another minute.

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2. Add the beans, tomatoes, cover and cook for 15 more minutes or until the eggplant is tender (fully cooked). Add the rest of the ingredients (including the precooked pasta), give it a good stir and bake for 25 minutes.

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3. Serve immediately.

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Top tips

• Fry the eggplant (on a fairly low heat so it doesn’t brown too quickly) in the pan until tender.  It should be fully cooked before your pop your casserole into the oven.
• Use more spices or herbs if you like.  I only used paprika but you could add chilli flakes for a bit of heat, oregano or basil.
• Serve your pasta casserole immediately.

More easy eggplant recipes

If you like this easy eggplant pasta bake you may also like my Eggplant Tomato Casserole with Beans.  Another delicious, easy eggplant recipe is this aromatic Spicy Vegan Eggplant Casserole with Thai Basil.

Baked eggplant also makes a fantastic sauce ingredient.  I used it in this Smoky Eggplant Pepper Pasta Sauce recipe.  Check out also this Spicy Quinoa Stuffed Eggplant (Vegan), another fuss free delicious meal idea.

Check out also this collection of over 12 healthy vegetarian pasta meals.

KEEP IN TOUCH!

If you’ve made this quick eggplant pasta bake I’d love to know how it turned out for you.  Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

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Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Easy Eggplant Pasta Bake with Chickpeas

This Easy Eggplant Pasta Bake with Chickpeas is vegan, low in fat, packed full of goodness and absolutely delicious! It's also one of the easiest to make one pot pasta dishes you'll ever find!

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time55 mins

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: International

Keyword: chickpeas, eggplant, pasta bake

Servings: 5 people

Author: Monika Dabrowski

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant/aubergine, cubed, approx. weight 450-500g
• 2 cups fusilli pasta
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1 400g tin chickpeas including the brine
• 2 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 3 tbsp olive oil plus more for drizzling
• 4 tbsp white wine
• 1 tsp fine sea salt plus plenty of pepper
• 1.5 tsp paprika smoked or sweet
• 1 bay leaf

Instructions

• Boil the pasta with the bay leaf in salted water for 4 minutes, strain and reserve 2/3 cup of the water. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 375 F/ 190 C/ gas mark 5.  
• While the pasta is cooking in a large shallow casserole dish (with a lid) heat up the oil, add the garlic, onion, eggplant and fry over a low/medium heat for about 15 minutes or until the eggplant is quite soft and lightly browned, stirring often. Add the wine and continue cooking for another minute. 
• Add the beans, including the brine, tomatoes, seasoning, cover and continue cooking for 10 more minutes, or until the eggplant is quite soft.  
• Add the pasta plus 2/3 cup of the water it cooked in and stir thoroughly. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Half way through drizzle with a bit more oil (optional).
• Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Notes

Fry the eggplant (on a fairly low heat so it doesn't brown too quickly) in the pan until tender.  It should be fully cooked before your pop your casserole into the oven.

Use more spices or herbs if you like.  I only used paprika but you could add chilli flakes for a bit of heat, oregano or basil. 

Serve your pasta casserole immediately. 

RECIPE LINK PARTIES

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