Mediterranean Grilled Eggplant Salad is going to be the next hit side dish at all your future barbecues. It’s the perfect easy salad to make when you’re already firing up the grill for your main meal. Just throw the veggies alongside and you’ll be multitasking two dishes at once like a grilling wizard. 🧙♂️ Also, it’s definitely one of the best ways to enjoy eggplant, especially if you’re not a fan of the dubious nightshade.
Grilling up a salad isn’t typically the sign of a grill-master, but trust me, most vegetables taste better grilled, particularly eggplants. Their whole flavor profile of potentially bitter and slimy benefits greatly from the infusion of flames kissing their purple flesh. They take on the flavor of their searing flesh beautifully, creating a richness that’s otherwise absent. The addition of slightly spicy peppers, fresh herbs, juicy tomatoes, and a simple lemony dressing makes this a great complementary salad to any hearty dish. The herb blend is also customizable: feel free to try other flavorful greens like tarragon, cilantro, and green onions.
This grilled eggplant salad is a reliable standby side at most summer grillfests in our family. It’s light, refreshing, and that charred smoky flavor is probably what eggplants should always taste like. I’d even bet eggplants will never not be grilled from now on.
