Eggplant and zucchini slow cooked in a creamy tomato sauce with Indian spices. Serve with cauliflower rice for a flavorful vegan and gluten-free meal!
It’s time to break out your slow cooker (yet again) because I have a another tasty recipe to share. It’s inspired by Baingan Bharta, one of my favorite vegetarian dishes to order when we go out for Indian food.
Naturally this make-at-home version involves Indian spices, but I’ve changed it up a bit by using a combo of eggplant and zucchini. And I also added coconut milk to make it extra creamy. I’m all about the coconut milk lately.
After cooking for hours the eggplant and zucchini get melt-in-your-mouth tender and soak up tons of flavor from the spicy sauce. So delicious!
And did I mention it’s super easy? You literally throw everything in your slow cooker, stir, cover and go about your business while the veggies cook to perfection.
For serving I love pairing the curried eggplant with rice — I used cauliflower rice but basmati rice would work great as well. I also recommend adding in a little protein. Chickpeas would be awesome for a vegetarian meal or you can do chicken or even shrimp.
Oh, and it would be absolutely amazing served with naan! Seriously, garlic naan is one of the things I miss most since going gluten-free. I’m making a note to myself right now to find a gluten-free naan recipe so I can stop feeling naan-deprived. If you have a good one, please share.
If you try this curried eggplant please leave a comment and star rating down below to let us know how it turned out. Your feedback is super helpful for the EBF team and other EBF readers!
Eggplant and zucchini slow cooked in a creamy tomato sauce with Indian spices. Easy, healthy, vegan and gluten-free. Serve with cauliflower rice for a veggie packed meal!
Ingredients
4 cups chopped eggplant (peeled, if desired)
4 cups chopped zucchini (or more eggplant)
1 medium yellow onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
6 oz can of tomato paste
15 oz can coconut milk
1/4 cup vegetable broth (optional)
chopped fresh parsley or cilantro for garnish
Instructions
Place onion and garlic in a food processor(affiliate link) or chopper to finely chop.
Add chopped onion and garlic mixture, eggplant, zucchini, spices, tomato paste and coconut milk to your slow cooker. Stir everything together. At this point if the mixture seems too thick you can add in a little vegetable broth. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Garnish with fresh parsley or cilantro. Serve warm with rice and naan.
I haven’t made this yet, but it looks easy and yummy. One clarification, though: I think you mean garam MASALA and not marsala. I was a bit confused when I first read the recipe.
Hey Allison! If you’re adding canned chickpeas, I’d add them to the slow cooker after the eggplant is done cooking, with just enough time for them to get warm before serving.
Omg, it is soooo good!!! I have made it at least 4 times already and I love it every time! I just top it with sour cream for a complete meal. It is delicious and meatless! 🙂
Tried this today, it was spicy! I love the spice but my 17 month old… Not so much! Sadly I had to make an alternate meal for him (good thing for leftovers 😊) I did find it needed something. Maybe I missed a spice? Will definitely make it again with some meat 👍
This was excellent- velvety, flavorful and filling. I added carrots and sweet potato. Strongly encourage not adding coconut milk until the last hour so that it doesn’t break.
I tried this recipe exactly as per instructions, and after 4 hours it came out smelling awful – the coconut milk had gone rancid! I’ve made recipes before where the coconut milk goes in at the end, so I should have trusted my instincts and put it in at the end. I don’t know why this didn’t work for me but seems to have worked for others. A full pot of veggies ruined and time wasted!
Hi- I was wondering if you think the slow cooker could be left on for 8-10 hours on low instead of the 4-5 hours in the recipe, or would the entire dish be too mushy?
Hi Justin. Yeah, I would cut back on the amount of veggies a bit (just so you have enough sauce) and add chopped raw chicken to the slow cooker. Let me know how it turns out.
I haven’t tried it on the stove top yet, but I’d cook it on medium for at least an hour. This should give the eggplant sufficient time to cook down and get soft. Let me know if you try it. 🙂
This is cooking in the slow cooker right now! We had rice yesterday, so I’ll serve it with whole-wheat pasta and grilled chicken breast. I’ll let you know how it turns out 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe. It is super hot and humid here today and I have 4 eggplants ready in my garden along with about 5 zucchini so this will help use at least some of them up. My kids LOVE ‘indian food’.
This was sensational. I substituted boneless chicken breast for zucchini. I did not add any broth as the chicken provided enough liquid. Will definitely make this again.
Aloha from Hawaii! I made this last night and it was delicious! I made my own garam marsala and added carrots. I think when I make it again I’ll use different veggies and maybe tofu. The sauce is so delicious, I think there are a lot of different veggie combinations that can be used with this. I made cauliflower rice to go with it. This is a keeper!! Thank you for a great recipe ????
LOVE your crock pot recipes! Keep them coming! Can’t wait to try this one – I’d love to add some chicken like you suggested – do you think it would work okay to add chicken thighs in with everything in the crock pot?
This looks fabulous! Perfect for chilly winter nights. I don’t have a slow cooker – do you have a sense of how long it would take for the flavors to develop well on the stove-top?
I’m trying to get rid of the food in my fridge and pantry before I go home for the holidays, and I have almost a whole can of coconut milk and an eggplant. I said, what am I going to do with this? Then THIS RECIPE!! Thank you!!
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I haven’t made this yet, but it looks easy and yummy. One clarification, though: I think you mean garam MASALA and not marsala. I was a bit confused when I first read the recipe.
Yes, garam masala! So sorry for the confusion, Lisa and thank you for catching that. I just fixed it on the blog! 🙂
If I were to add chickpeas, do you recommend during the slow cooking process or to add-in when serving? Thanks!
★★★★★
Hey Allison! If you’re adding canned chickpeas, I’d add them to the slow cooker after the eggplant is done cooking, with just enough time for them to get warm before serving.
Hi! Do you have an idea of how long this will keep in the fridge or freezer?
I haven’t tried freezing this dish yet, but it’ll keep in the fridge for about 5 days.
Omg, it is soooo good!!! I have made it at least 4 times already and I love it every time! I just top it with sour cream for a complete meal. It is delicious and meatless! 🙂
Tried this today, it was spicy! I love the spice but my 17 month old… Not so much! Sadly I had to make an alternate meal for him (good thing for leftovers 😊) I did find it needed something. Maybe I missed a spice? Will definitely make it again with some meat 👍
I love this recipe! I had an eggplant and a yellow squash one day and found this recipe – I’ve made it five or six times. Thank you!!
★★★★★
This was excellent- velvety, flavorful and filling. I added carrots
and sweet potato. Strongly encourage not adding coconut milk until the last hour so that it doesn’t break.
★★★★★
I tried this recipe exactly as per instructions, and after 4 hours it came out smelling awful – the coconut milk had gone rancid! I’ve made recipes before where the coconut milk goes in at the end, so I should have trusted my instincts and put it in at the end. I don’t know why this didn’t work for me but seems to have worked for others. A full pot of veggies ruined and time wasted!
Hi- I was wondering if you think the slow cooker could be left on for 8-10 hours on low instead of the 4-5 hours in the recipe, or would the entire dish be too mushy?
Hi Emily! I haven’t tried it, but I think doing it on low for 8-10 hours would be fine. Let me know if you try it!
Going to make this but just wanted to note that it’s hard to tell you mean 1 X 6oz tomato paste and not 16oz.
Good point! I just updated the recipe. I hope you enjoy it. 🙂
Would you add the chicken raw?
Hi Justin. Yeah, I would cut back on the amount of veggies a bit (just so you have enough sauce) and add chopped raw chicken to the slow cooker. Let me know how it turns out.
This looks delicious. How do you prepare the eggplant before putting it in the slow cooker? Thanks!
Hi Jenna. All you have to do is chop it. You can peel it if you’d like, but it’s not necessary. 🙂
Husband loved it. I’m Asian so I think it needs more spice for me but I will definitely save it and make again. Thanks a bunch
★★★★★
This sounds fantastic! I don’t have a slowcooker, any ideas on how long this would need to simmer to get all the flavours correctly on a stove top?
I haven’t tried it on the stove top yet, but I’d cook it on medium for at least an hour. This should give the eggplant sufficient time to cook down and get soft. Let me know if you try it. 🙂
This is cooking in the slow cooker right now! We had rice yesterday, so I’ll serve it with whole-wheat pasta and grilled chicken breast. I’ll let you know how it turns out 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe. It is super hot and humid here today and I have 4 eggplants ready in my garden along with about 5 zucchini so this will help use at least some of them up. My kids LOVE ‘indian food’.
It’s really the perfect way to use up your eggplant and zucchini! I hope the whole fam loves it, Emily! 🙂
This was sensational. I substituted boneless chicken breast for zucchini. I did not add any broth as the chicken provided enough liquid. Will definitely make this again.
★★★★★
Hi Leslie! I’m so glad that you liked this recipe. And, thanks so much for coming back to leave a comment letting me know. 🙂
Excellent dish. I made it for dinner yesterday but also added garbanzo beans. Big hit! Thank you for sharing.
Aloha from Hawaii! I made this last night and it was delicious! I made my own garam marsala and added carrots. I think when I make it again I’ll use different veggies and maybe tofu. The sauce is so delicious, I think there are a lot of different veggie combinations that can be used with this. I made cauliflower rice to go with it. This is a keeper!! Thank you for a great recipe ????
Hi Barb. I’m so glad that the dish turned out to be tasty. I think it would be delicious with tofu and veggies as well. Enjoy experimenting. 🙂
Can I use almond milk instead of coconut milk? Thx
You can try it, but I’m not sure how it will turn out because I’ve only used coconut milk. Let me know if you try it!
Oh my gosh Brittany… this looks amazing! Definitely going to pin this to make 🙂
LOVE your crock pot recipes! Keep them coming! Can’t wait to try this one – I’d love to add some chicken like you suggested – do you think it would work okay to add chicken thighs in with everything in the crock pot?
Thanks Alexandra! I think adding chicken thighs in with everything will work yet fine. Let me know if you try it. 🙂
This looks fabulous! Perfect for chilly winter nights. I don’t have a slow cooker – do you have a sense of how long it would take for the flavors to develop well on the stove-top?
I’m trying to get rid of the food in my fridge and pantry before I go home for the holidays, and I have almost a whole can of coconut milk and an eggplant. I said, what am I going to do with this? Then THIS RECIPE!! Thank you!!