Tomato Basil Eggplant Noodles - Spiralized Eggplant Noodle Recipe (2024)

This simple recipe for eggplant noodles is tossed with a quick tomato basil sauce and lots of parmesan cheese for a fresh summer meatless meal.

I’ve come a long way with eggplant.

This recipe for maple orange roasted eggplant explains my history with the vegetable perfectly.

In the almost 7 years since that recipe (woah, it’s kinda crazy how long ago that is!) we’ve been on the up and up.

From eggplant fries to eggplant chips and most recently, just brushed with olive oil, grilled and then doused in balsamic vinegar, I’ve been enjoying this vegetable I used to despise more and more.

I’m digging this recipe for stuffed eggplant with lentils and goat cheese lately too!

I don’t know why it never occurred to me to try making eggplant noodles with my spiralizer before this summer but it just didn’t.I’ve made almost every other veggie noodle there is but never eggplant.

I’m very glad the idea finally popped into my head though because this faux-pasta approach might just be one of my favorite ways to now enjoy eating eggplant.

I made a quick chunky tomato basil sauce to go with the eggplant noodles, threw in a bunch of freshly grated parmesan and it was like the epitome of summer in my bowl.

If you’re not as much of an eggplant fan but want a similar type of summer recipe, this parmesan tomato gratin is for you!

The perfect light meatless meal or easily a great base for some grilled chicken, sausage or, crispy tofu for a more filling meal.

If you’re looking for a more decadent version of something like these eggplant noodles, I can’t recommend Amanda’s marinara baked eggplant slices enough.

They’ve got a lasagna and eggplant parm kinda thing going on that’s totally crave-worthy.

I consider these marinara eggplant noodles the lighter, healthier sister to that dish.

How To Make Eggplant Noodles

You’ll notice I didn’t in fact use my spiralizer for this eggplant noodle recipe though.

I used my beloved julienne peeler instead.

And here’s why – eggplant will literally turn to mush in the spiralizer.

It just doesn’t hold together well enough due to the texture of the eggplant and you end up decimating the vegetable rather than turning it into noodles.

I’ve had my trusty julienne peeler for years. It’s what I made these super popular zucchini noodles with avocado cream sauce and many of my other “zoodle” recipes with before I bought an actual spiralizer.

And as it turns out, it’s the perfect tool for transforming eggplant into eggplant noodles. So, put the spiralizer away because to get spiralized eggplant you’re gonna need a julienne peeler.

Go figure.

Ok so you have eggplant noodles.

Now what?

If you’re wondering what to do with these gorgeous eggplant noodles, well so was I…

I was so excited to get these perfect strands after my first attempt with the spiralizer butchered them that I hadn’t really thought about what I was going to cook them in or with.

Ha.

Because it’s the middle of summer, I went the simple route.

A basic chunky tomato sauce (basically a summer marinara), lots of fresh basil and of course, parmesan cheese.

It’s basically a 20 minute meal or side dish (it can go either way) and it’s just fun!

Because you guys get excited about finding new ways to eat the same foods fun, right?

Or is that just me?

For those of you into the lower-carb thing, these eggplant noodles definitely fit the bill.

They’re a fun way to feel like you’re eating pasta when really, you’re just getting your veg on.

If you want to make this dish even more like a true pasta with tomato sauce, give this 20 minute tomato sauce.

It’s a bit more traditional and smoother (like a real marinara) so it’ll coat the eggplant ‘pasta’ more evenly than the chunkier diced tomato sauce in this recipe.

The one *trick* to this eggplant noodle pasta is not overcooking the eggplant once you put it in the skillet.

Just like the zucchini in these Chinese chicken zoodles, you only want to cook the eggplant for 1-2 minutes to soften.

Anything longer than that and the vegetable starts to release its water and you’ll end up with a soggy mess on your hands.

Err on the side of undercooking rather than overcooking in this case.

Once the eggplant is in the pan, you basically just want to toss to coat in the sauce and barely heat it through.

That’s enough, I promise!

I really want to try eggplant noodles with pesto instead of tomato sauce next.

Doesn’t that sounds like another great summer option?

If you love this easy eggplant noodle recipe try one of these too:

Thai Chicken Zucchini Noodles
Zucchini Noodles with Creamy Roasted Tomato Basil Sauce
Roasted Baby Eggplants with Goat Cheese Stuffing
Bucatini Pasta with Garlic Shrimp