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Tender Grilled Eggplant Slices with Barbecue Sauce

5 from 4 reader reviews
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 -6
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Ingredients

  • 2 medium eggplants, sliced into 1-inch thick rounds
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • oil spray (I like avocado)
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ground black pepper, to taste
  • ½ cup barbecue sauce of choice
  • chopped herbs, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  • Set a large colander in the sink. Place the rounds of eggplant into the colander. Sprinkle the tablespoon of salt over the eggplant and toss with your hands to evenly coat each slice in the salt. Let the eggplant rest for 20 minutes.
  • Place a baking sheet on the counter and line it with a clean kitchen towel.
  • The eggplant should have let off quite a bit of moisture. Rinse the eggplant thoroughly, tossing the slices with your hands to get all of the excess salt off. Then, transfer the rinsed eggplant slices to the baking sheet lined with the clean kitchen towel. Pat them dry and then remove the towel, leaving just the dry eggplant slices on the baking sheet.
  • Preheat your grill to high.
  • Evenly spray both sides of the eggplant with the oil. Season the slices with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper on both sides. You can sprinkle some salt here, but I generally find it unnecessary.
  • Place the eggplant slices on the grill. Cook until char marks appear on the undersides, about 3 minutes. Using tongs, flip the eggplant slices over. Continue to cook until char marks appear on the other side and eggplant has softened, about another 3 minutes. Brush the eggplant slices with barbecue sauce and flip over to caramelize. Repeat this step on the flip sides of the eggplant slices.
  • Serve the eggplant slices immediately with chopped herbs on top if you wish.

Equipment

  • Grill

Recipe Notes

  • It seems like a lot of salt, but you will be rinsing most of it away before it’s time to cook!
  • You could apply this cooking method with any sauce you love! Harissa, peanut sauce, chimichurri… the sky is the limit. 
  • Homemade barbecue sauce is great, but I rock with store bought options too. Primal Kitchen makes my go-to’s and you can find them here.
  • I really do find that oil spray is the most effective here for coating the slices evenly without absolutely drowning them.
A simple trick renders grilled eggplant downright succulent! Seasoned with spices and slathered in sticky barbecue sauce, this is definitely one of the most flavorful ways to prepare a somewhat tricky vegetable.