This creamy and scrumptious Eggplant Gratin is smothered with a secret white sauce and topped with a generous layer or Gruyere cheese. It is a side dish that is so easy to make and will be gone before you know it.
Eggplant Gratin
If you ever ask me what my favorite vegetable is, eggplant would be one of my top choices.
I have tried so many recipes with eggplant and I seriously can’t get enough of this meaty vegetable.
In Ukraine, where I grew up, eggplants are crazy popular. We used to grow eggplants and as soon as they were ready to be picked, we loved incorporating them in appetizers, stews and make so popular in Ukraine and other post-Soviet countries Eggplant Caviar.
Because of eggplant’s thicker consistency, it can easily be used in a variety of vegetarian dishes as a great substitute for meat.
In fact, some time ago, I made eggplant meatballs and my meat-lover husband couldn’t even tell they were vegetarian.
Recently, I made an awesome side dish – Eggplant Gratin. It has a French origin and you know that I’m obsessed with French cuisine.
I first made Eggplant Au Gratin for my husband’s birthday and everyone absolutely loved it.
As a matter of fact, what not love? Prebaked eggplant slices are layered with a rich tomato sauce, some basil leaves, drizzled with my secret creamy Feta cheese sauce and topped with Gruyere. Then everything is baked until bubbly perfection.
Believe me, this Aubergine Gratin (how they call it in England) goes really fast. You can make it for holidays or at other times throughout the year.
So much flavor and just like my new favorite French Chicken Gratin (have you had a chance to try it yet?), this Eggplant Gratin is a total comfort food.
So What Is Gratin
Gratin is a special culinary technique which originated in France.
According to the sources, gratin means that the recipe is usually prepared in the oven or finished under the broiler so that a crispy crust was formed.
For the luscious crispy topping breadcrumbs and/or cheese are used.
Gratins are usually prepared in a shallow baking dish.
Nowadays, cooking Au Gratin became a very popular technique.
And beside well-known Scalloped Potatoes or my new favorite Potato and Zucchini Gratin, cooks around the world started to use this method to prepare meat, seafood and all kinds of different vegetables.
When I made this Eggplant Gratin recipe for the first time, I decided to fry the eggplants.
And although the final result came out really delicious, but it also was a bit unhealthy.
See, eggplant loves oil and it soaks it up like a sponge. So for frying individual slices of eggplant, I had to use quite a bit of oil.
In addition, it added to the total preparation time. And if you’re just like me and love you recipes to be cooked faster, frying in batches is not a preferred way of cooking.
When I cooked the dish the second time around, I prebaked the eggplants until it’s tender.
And while it was baking, I quickly made my delicious secret white sauce.
So what is my secret white sauce is made of?
- Half and half
- Creme Fraîche
- Feta cheese
- a few herbs
If you’ve never cooked with Creme Fraîche before, I highly recommend you to try it. It had a very rich and creamy taste. A little tart and somewhat resembling the sour cream.
Creme Fraîche is very popular in French cuisine and is used both in hot and cold recipes.
I personally like to use Creme Fraîche as a base for my Mustard Chicken sauce as well as a topping for desserts.
If you can’t find Creme Fraîche in your local grocery store, not a problem. Just mix regular cream and sour cream in equal proportions.
Should You Peel Eggplant?
Should You Peel Eggplant?It depends. If you have an older and bigger eggplant, the skin can be a little tough so it’s okay to peel it before cooking.
But if you’re using small and young eggplants, you can leave the skin on.
If you love this Eggplant Gratin, here are some of my similar favorite recipes:
Cauliflower And Potato Au Gratin
If you're looking for new side dish recipes with fresh eggplants, try my Eggplant Gratin and you'll be surprised how good it tastes. Rich, creamy and super comforting.
If you're looking for a quick overview of the recipe, please check out my Eggplant Gratin web-story.
If you make this recipe, please leave me a comment below and rate it. I always appreciate the feedback. Also, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.
Recipe
Eggplant Gratin With Feta Cheese
Video
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants , sliced ½ inch thick
- ½ cup Crème Fraîche
- ½ cup half and half
- 3 oz Feta cheese crumbled
- 1 teaspoon thyme leaves chopped
- 1 tablespoon chives chopes
- 4-5 basil leaves
- ¾ cup Gruyere cheese grated
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- salt, pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Place sliced eggplant on a parchment lined baking pan (you might need to use 2 pans). Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil.
- Bake for about 20 minutes until eggplant is tender.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine Crème fraîche, half and half and Feta cheese. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat. Stir in thyme and chives and set aside.
- In 2.5-quart baking dish or gratin dish spread tomato sauce to cover the bottom. Place eggplant slices. They can slightly overlap each other. Spread tomato sauce once again and sprinkle with ¼ cup of Gruyere cheese. Scatter 1-2 torn basil leaves over the cheese.
- Continue layering with remaining eggplant, sauce and basil. Finish with pouring over the cream and Feta sauce and sprinkling with the remaining Gruyere cheese.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until bubbly and the top is browned. Serve warm.
Nutrition
Iryna Bychkiv is the founder and writer of the culinary website Lavender & Macarons, where she shares clean, European-inspired recipes that are delicious, easy to prepare, and made with wholesome ingredients. Iryna loves creating meals that are simple yet healthy and unique, including vegan and vegetarian recipes.
Iryna is also a freelance writer for MSN and Associated Press Wire.
Eu Sei says
I don't mean to be rude, but this is not vegetarian. It uses milk and milk-derived products, which are not vegetables.
Iryna Bychkiv says
Hello Eu Sei! Not rude at all. Depending on how you define vegetarianism. In the US, most vegetarian recipes can contain milk, cheese, and eggs. On the other hand, vegan recipes can only have plant-based ingredients in them. This eggplant gratin is classified as vegetarian; hence, it contains dairy products. I hope this helps.
Jen says
Not the very best eggplant recipe I've made but I appreciated the ease with which it came together. I used an 8 x 8 pan after debating whether or not it should in a 9 x 13. My two eggplant yielded too many slices for the 8 x 8 but I didn’t feel I had enough other ingredients for a 9 x 13.
Iryna says
Hi Jen, sorry the recipe didn't turn out as you expected. Thank you for sharing your feedback!
françoise donnay says
Hello Iryna, vvithin 3 vveeks it's the 2nd time i cooked this delicious recipe. I love it,vve all love it. I had my son and grandsons over for the vveek end and georgian lobio vvas supposed to be the meal. The oldest one said, mammy can you make the "black stuff " vvith cheese in the oven ? LOL !!! VVhich i did !!!
Thanks for your good and healthy food !
Iryna says
Françoise, thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating! I'm happy you and family love this recipe as much as I do!
Karin says
The flavors are awesome. The only thing I will change when I make this recipe again is to sweat the eggplant then cook in the oven.
Iryna says
Karin, thank you so much for your comment! Yes, sometimes it makes sense to sweat the eggplant especially if it's the old eggplant.
Man says
I made this for a dinner party on the weekend. Easy to prepare and everyone including me loved it very much. I never tried Crème Fraîche and it was not available around me in the market so I made it myself by adding a spoon of yogurt to whipping cream and left it rest at room temperature over night. It came very yummy - not sure though if that is the supposed taste of it. I fried the eggplant instead of the oven. My little secret is that I usually sprinkle the eggplant slices evenly with generous amount of salt and leave it for an hour, and then right before frying I press each slice with a flat spoon on a flat surface like a chopping board as if I want to get the water out of it but without damaging the slice. This way it does not absorb oil, and you can fry the whole quantity without needing to add oil in the middle. This recipe will be a regular dish in my future dinner gatherings plus for my own 😉
Iryna says
Hi Man! Thank you for your comment! I'm so happy you enjoyed this eggplant gratin. And thank you for sharing your tip regarding frying an eggplant. I will make sure to remember it next time I cook anything with the eggplant.
kazy says
Can I prepare it ahead of time. IOW can I bake the eggplant for 20 mins like instructed, prepare the sauce and then place it in a baking dish and do all the layering but then refrigerate it for later in the day when I want to bake it for dinner? I know to pull it out of the fridge and get it to room temperature before baking the whole thing.
Iryna says
Kazy, I apologize for the delayed response. Yes, you can totally prepare it ahead of time. It's not necessary to let it come to a room temperature because it won't be frozen.
kazy says
Thanks. I stopped in the middle of step 6, just before having to pour the the Creme Fraiche sauce over the last layer. When I took it out of the fridge, I did let it sit for a about an hour and then warmed the Creme Fraiche sauce over the stove, then poured it over everything and sprinkled with the Grueyere cheese, or in my case Swiss. Gruyere is way too expensive with prices going up on so many food items, all I could find was a 5 oz Gruyere for $9.00. So I opted out and got Swiss instead. By the way this turned out amazing. Will definitely be making again. It was tasty and guilt free.
I do have another question in step 5 you write:Scatter 1-2 torn basil leaves over the sauce. Don't you mean over the Gruyere cheese since that is the final layer as the previous sentence says?
Iryna says
Yes, you're correct. I meant to write "scatter basil leaves of the cheese":)
I'm glad you enjoyed this recipe and was able to prepare it ahead of time. And yes, Swiss cheese is good alternative to Gruyere.
Nina says
could it be made without tomato. ? I can't ea
T tomato.
Iryna Bychkiv says
Nina, you can omit the tomato sauce. Or perhaps you can substitute it with pumpkin puree.
Melissa says
Can this be frozen?
Iryna says
Hi Melissa! Casseroles with cream in them might be tricky to freeze since they tend to curdle when thawed and reheated. Anyways, I would freeze the gratin before you bake it. Just layer all the ingredients, cover with a foil and then freeze. When you ready to consume it, there's no need to thaw, just remove the foil and bake.
kazy says
What do you recommend as an accompanying dish?
Iryna says
Hi Kazy! I love serving this gratin alongside Mustard Chicken (https://www.lavenderandmacarons.com/mustard-chicken-recipe-4/) and mashed potatoes (https://www.lavenderandmacarons.com/best-vegan-mashed-potatoes/) or if you're looking for a side dish, then a fresh salad of greens is always a great choice.
kazy says
Thanks. Good ideas. Doing low carb, so mashed potatoes are out. Mustard chicken sounds good but a side salad sounds even better.
maria says
This dish was excellent and made my kids a believer and now love eggplant! 🙂
Iryna says
Maria, I'm so glad that your kids enjoyed this eggplant recipe! Thank you so much for your comment and a 5-star rating!
Judy C. says
Had all the ingredients on hand except the creme fraiche so subbed with sour cream. It was still great! It’s really the feta that sent it over the top for me. I’m pretty convinced this would work with ricotta or crema fresca as well. Love this recipe and will try it next time with creme fraiche (on my shopping list!). Five stars from me!
Iryna says
Thank you for your comment and 5 star rating Judy! I'm very happy you liked this recipe as much as my family did.
Joyce says
This turned out great! Definitely one of the best recipes I got off of Pinterest. Can't wait to make this for a crowd. Thank you
Iryna says
Thank you for your comment Joyce! I'm so glad you liked the recipe!
Yamuna kutt says
I simply love, love, love eggplant, aubergine or brinjal. I am always looking for new recipes to use this vegetable. Your recipe looks scrumptious and I will make it since I also love cheese. Thank you for this recipe.
Iryna says
You're welcome! I hope you'll like this easy Eggplant Gratin!