When the warm dog days of summer are upon us, forget the oven–turn on the grill! These grill roasted eggplant and tomato pita pockets are finished with a creamy easy-to-whisk-up lemon tahini sauce, altogether making an easy casual summer dinner!
Click here to PIN Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Pitas with Lemon Tahini Sauce!
Have you ever tasted the Mid-Eastern dip called baba ganoush? With its lemony tahini sauce, this recipe riffs off that creamy garlicky roasted eggplant baba ganoush. You’ll love the flavor combo going on in these pita pockets and you’ll love the ease of putting together this vegan meal.
How to make grill roasted eggplant and tomato pita pockets with lemon tahini sauce:
- Roast chunks of garlic and cumin-seasoned eggplant on the grill until soft and lightly charred.
- Toss with bright cherry tomatoes, parsley and green onion.
- Tuck the tender eggplant mix and crunchy shredded lettuce into pita pockets.
- Finish with a generous drizzle of lemon tahini sauce!
Just so you know, some of the links below are affiliates. When you purchase products via my links, it doesn’t cost you anything and I earn a tiny commission, which helps me continue to provide free content here on Letty’s Kitchen. Thank you!!
When you cook vegetables on the grill, you need some sort of grilling tray or basket so the veggies don’t fall through the grill grates. Have you ever lost veggies down the grates? Raising my hand.
A flat grilling tray (Affiliate link), or a grill basket are both good options. For this recipe I roasted the eggplant in my Nordic Ware Grill ‘N Shake Basket. (Affiliate link.) The stainless steel basket has fairly tall sides so you can stir-fry veggies without them falling through the grates.
My grill ‘n shake basket has a lovely dark patina from all the use. Besides eggplant, we grill-roast zucchini chunks, fingerling potatoes, and cubes of sweet potatoes. Basically all you do is toss the veggies with olive oil and salt and pepper, add them to the preheated basket, and then cook, shaking and tossing the goods around every so often.
Year round, roasted veggies love a drizzle of sauce. This creamy 5-minute lemon tahini sauce is quick to whisk up and complements these grilled eggplant and pita pockets–like jelly does for peanut butter!
More recipes with vegan tahini sauce:
- Baked Barley and Kale with Lemon Tahini Sauce.
- Soba Noodles, Tempeh, and Kale with Lemon Tahini Sauce.
- Curry Tahini Sauce.
*** If you wish, skip the pita pockets and turn your roasted eggplant and tomato mix into a side dish.
*** Idea: Put it on top of a bed of crisp salad greens and use the lemon tahini sauce as your salad dressing!!
Want to add some protein to your eggplant and tomatoes?
>>>> Add a spoonful of cooked dark green lentils, that you’ve simply seasoned with olive oil, salt, and freshly ground pepper.
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- I received the Grill ‘N Shake basket from Nordic Ware. My opinions about the product are my own and not influenced by Nordic Ware.
This post contains affiliate links. When you purchase products via my links, it doesn’t cost you anything and I earn a tiny commission, which helps me continue to provide free content here on Letty’s Kitchen. Thank you!!
PS If you make this recipe and love it, please consider leaving a blog post comment. Your comments help other readers learn more about the recipe. If you’d also give the recipe a ✮✮✮✮✮ rating, I’d be delighted!
Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Pitas with Lemon Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 medium eggplants
- ¼ cup plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove , minced
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ to 2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes , cut in half
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- 1 green onion , chopped
- About 3 romaine lettuce leaves , cut in ¼-inch ribbons
- 3 pita pocket bread rounds , cut in half, gently pulled apart to make the pockets
Lemony tahini sauce:
- ½ cup sesame tahini
- ½ cup hot water
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Peel away half of the eggplant skin In stripes down the length of the eggplants, leaving some skin on to keep the eggplant from falling apart while grilling. (You might not have peel if the eggplant is fresh from the garden or farmer's market.)
- Cut the eggplant in 1 to 1 ½-inch chunks. Toss with the first ¼ cup of olive oil. Season with the garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper.
- Heat the grill to high—450°F. Spray a grill basket with cooking spray or brush lightly with oil. Place the empty basket on the hot grill for a few minutes. Dump the eggplant into the grill basket, stir to distribute evenly, and close the grill lid. Cook 10 minutes. Stir the eggplant again, close lid and cook another 5 minutes. Repeat and repeat again as needed–the eggplant should be tender with golden char color.
- Toss the tomato halves with the remaining olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, and stir into the grilled eggplant. Close lid and cook until the tomatoes are hot, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter, mixing in the parsley and green onion.
Mix the sauce:
- Whisk the tahini and hot water in a bowl until smooth. Whisk in the lemon juice, garlic, cumin, and salt.
To assemble:
- Tuck the eggplant mix and lettuce into the pockets. Drizzle generously with tahini sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is mean to be an estimate only. The numbers will vary based on the quantity consumed, brands used and substitutions that are made.
love eggplant, cooked on the stove,do not have a grill, it turned out very good.Thanks for sharing. · 10 July, 2019
Thank you! I’m so glad you like the pitas! · 10 July, 2019
I can’t wait to try this recipe. It looks so yummmmm. I will try to remember to comment on it after I try it. I think that I will serve it on a bed of greens.
Thank you!!! · 17 July, 2019