Roasted Eggplant and Ricotta Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil
Eggplant and cherry tomatoes roast until caramelized, then get tossed with rigatoni and a lemony whipped ricotta that turns into a silky sauce with pasta water.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Serves
- 4
Roasted Eggplant and Ricotta Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil is a vegetarian dinner recipe made with eggplant (1 large or 2 small), cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves. It takes 45 minutes of hands-on time, serves 4, and each serving has 634 calories, 22 g of protein and 8 g of fiber.
The trick here is treating the ricotta as a sauce base rather than a topping: whipped smooth with lemon zest, parmesan and a few splashes of hot pasta water, it loosens into something silky that clings to every rigatoni ridge instead of sitting in cold lumps. Roasting the eggplant at a high heat on its own sheet gives it deeply browned, creamy edges without the oil-soaked texture you get from pan-frying, and the cherry tomatoes burst into a sweet, jammy sauce alongside it. Everything comes together in the time it takes the pasta to boil.
Ingredients
Roasted vegetables
- 1¼ lb567 geggplant (1 large or 2 small), cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 pint300 gcherry tomatoes, left whole
- 4 cloves12 ggarlic cloves, peeled and lightly smashed
- 4 tbsp54 golive oil, divided between the two trays
- ¾ tsp4.5 gfine sea salt
- ½ tsp1.2 gfreshly ground black pepper
- ½ tsp0.9 gred pepper flakes (optional)
Whipped ricotta
- 1 cup246 gwhole-milk ricotta, thick not watery
- ⅓ cup26 gparmesan, finely grated (use a vegetarian rennet-free wedge)
- 1 tsp2 glemon zest, finely grated
- 1 tbsp15 glemon juice
- 1 tbsp14 golive oil
- ¼ tsp1.5 gfine sea salt
Pasta and finishing
- 12 oz340 grigatoni or another short ridged pasta
- 1 cup21 gfresh basil leaves, torn
- 2 tbsp10 gparmesan, grated, for serving (optional)
Kit: two rimmed baking sheets, large pot, food processor or blender, large skillet or wide sauté pan
Tips
- Salting the eggplant isn't necessary with modern varieties, but do buy eggplants that feel heavy and firm with taut skin — spongy ones soak up far more oil.
- If your ricotta is loose and watery, drain it in a fine sieve for 20 minutes first, or the sauce will be thin.
- No food processor? Beat the ricotta mixture hard with a whisk for a minute; it won't be as glossy but it works.
- Most supermarket parmesan is made with animal rennet. Look for a wedge labelled vegetarian, or use a vegetarian hard cheese like Grana Padano alternatives.
Swap ideas
- Use zucchini instead of eggplant, roasting for about 20 minutes
- Lighter and sweeter, with less of the silky, custardy texture roasted eggplant gives.
- Swap ricotta for an equal weight of cottage cheese
- Tangier and looser; blend it longer to get rid of the curds.
- Stir a handful of spinach or arugula into the hot pasta at the end
- Wilts in instantly and adds a peppery, green edge.
- Finish with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes before roasting
- Deepens and sweetens the tomato juices into a more jammy sauce.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
634kcal per serving
Everything else · 4 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 6.7 g 34%
- Sugars
- 9.6 g
- Sodium
- 774 mg 34%
- Potassium
- 817 mg 17%
- Calcium
- 279 mg 21%
- Iron
- 4 mg 22%
- Vitamin C
- 17 mg 19%
- Vitamin B12
- 0.27 µg 11%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Eggplant, raw, Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average, Garlic, raw, Oil, olive, salad or cooking, Salt, table, Spices, pepper, black, Cheese, ricotta, part skim milk, Cheese, parmesan, grated, Lemon peel, raw, Lemon juice, raw, Pasta, dry, enriched, Basil, fresh
Method
Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Toss the eggplant cubes with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the black pepper, and spread them in a single uncrowded layer on a rimmed baking sheet — crowding steams them instead of browning them.
On a second sheet, toss the cherry tomatoes and smashed garlic cloves with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes if using.
Roast both trays for 25–30 minutes, flipping the eggplant with a spatula at the 15-minute mark. The eggplant is done when the cubes are deeply golden at the edges and collapse easily when pressed; the tomatoes are done when most have split and released syrupy juices. Pull the tomatoes earlier if they start to scorch.
Meanwhile, blend the ricotta, 1/3 cup parmesan, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor for 30–45 seconds, until completely smooth and glossy. Scrape it into a large skillet or wide pan and set aside off the heat.
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until just shy of al dente, usually 1 minute less than the package time. Before draining, scoop out 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water.
Whisk 1/2 cup of the hot pasta water into the ricotta in the skillet until it loosens into a pourable, cream-like sauce. Set the pan over low heat — keep it gentle, as high heat will make the ricotta grainy.
Add the drained pasta, the roasted eggplant, and the tomatoes with all their pan juices and softened garlic cloves (mash them against the pan with a fork). Toss for 1–2 minutes, adding pasta water a splash at a time until the sauce coats every piece and pools slightly at the bottom of the pan.
Take the pan off the heat, fold through most of the torn basil, and taste for salt and lemon. Serve right away, topped with the remaining basil and extra parmesan.
Storage: Best the day it's made. Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days; reheat gently in a skillet with a splash of water or milk to bring the ricotta back together, as microwaving alone can make it grainy. Not suitable for freezing.
Questions
- How much protein is in roasted eggplant and ricotta pasta with cherry tomatoes and basil?
- Each of the 4 servings has 22 g of protein, 8 g of fiber and 634 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is roasted eggplant and ricotta pasta with cherry tomatoes and basil vegan?
- No, it's vegetarian rather than vegan because it contains whole-milk ricotta and parmesan and parmesan. Everything else in it is plant-based.
- How long does roasted eggplant and ricotta pasta with cherry tomatoes and basil take to make?
- 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking, so 45 minutes of hands-on time.
- Can you make roasted eggplant and ricotta pasta with cherry tomatoes and basil ahead?
- Best the day it's made. Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days; reheat gently in a skillet with a splash of water or milk to bring the ricotta back together, as microwaving alone can make it grainy. Not suitable for freezing.
- What can I substitute in roasted eggplant and ricotta pasta with cherry tomatoes and basil?
- Use zucchini instead of eggplant, roasting for about 20 minutes — lighter and sweeter, with less of the silky, custardy texture roasted eggplant gives.. Swap ricotta for an equal weight of cottage cheese — tangier and looser; blend it longer to get rid of the curds.. Stir a handful of spinach or arugula into the hot pasta at the end — wilts in instantly and adds a peppery, green edge.. Finish with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes before roasting — deepens and sweetens the tomato juices into a more jammy sauce..
- Does roasted eggplant and ricotta pasta with cherry tomatoes and basil contain gluten?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published September 20, 2026 ·Italian
