How to Freeze Eggplant
Here's a weird one: it sounds a little strange, but you should probably know how to freeze eggplant. Just in case you happen upon a huge stash of nightshades and you can't manage to use it all up in the form of creamy dip, eggplant Parm, caponata, or ratatouille before it goes south (after around 4 or 5 days, when stored in the crisper drawer). Eggplant isn't an ideal candidate for freezing, due to its high water content and a texture that can go from firm-to-way-too-mushy pretty quickly, but it is possible if you do it right. Here's how.
Eggplant with Buttermilk Sauce
Photo by Jonathan Lovekin1. Slice it
Start by slicing the eggplant into rounds of about 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick (cutting perpendicular to the length of the eggplant). That's the perfect thickness for our classic eggplant Parmesan recipe.
Sweet and silky? Or seedy and bitter? Knowing how to pick this late-summer vegetable makes all the difference.
2. Bake it
Once your fruit is sliced (yep, plot twist: eggplant is a fruit), you're going to want to bake it to release some of the moisture. This is a crucial step, since eggplants have high water content, and you don't want it to release all that water into your dish when you eventually cook it from frozen.
Line your slices up on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake them in a 350°F oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, just until the slices are tender. Allow the eggplant slices to cool completely before freezing.
3. Wrap the Slices
To keep the eggplant pieces from freezing together, loosely wrap each slice individually in wax paper before stacking in a freezer bag. When you're ready to use it, you can throw however many slices you need into a baking dish or a hot pan and cook from frozen.
4. ...Or Freeze Eggplant Purée
If you're planning on using the eggplant puréed, like in a dip, cook it first and then freeze the flesh. You want to roast the eggplant until the insides are creamy, the same way they get when you make our smoky eggplant dip.
Smoky Eggplant Dip
Bon Appétit
The Kitchn suggests roasting your eggplant in a 400°F oven for 30 to 45 minutes, until the skin becomes flaky and the body of the eggplant begins to cave in. Let the eggplant cool, cut it in half, and scoop all the flesh into a freezer-safe dish for future use.
Okay, so now you know how to freeze eggplant—but here's what you should do once you're ready to use it:
