Meatless Monday: Eggplant Pasta with Red Pepper & Tomato

A few months back, Rebecca's dad was on a flight, and was seated next to a food blogger he struck up a conversation with. She shared her favorite Milwaukee area restaurants and talked about the recipes on her blog. Rebecca's dad texted her right away; and told her she had to check out the blog. 

Done and done: Well Plated is a gorgeous blog: full of delicious recipes and beautiful photography. The Cool Dads Crew follows Well Plated on several social media platforms; and the Wisconsin Test Kitchen even tried a Well Plated recipe for Meatless Monday last week!

Update on No-Meat June: Rebecca breezed through the first 20 days of the month, but the past week has been a struggle. The worst was watching the family devour a delicious Thai Pork (will be posted Friday); while she had a veggie burger instead. The month will be ending with a celebratory burger from Cudahy Burger Joint. 

Eggplant Pasta with Red Pepper & Tomato

12 ounces pasta
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 pound)
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 x 1-inch strips
2 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces prepared tomato pasta sauce
1/2 cup pitted green, black, or mixed olives, chopped (we used black olives)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley or basil
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving


Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to package directions. Drain, toss with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking, and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium. Add the chopped eggplant and bell pepper and cook until just softened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add the garlic and sauté just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato sauce, olives, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until warmed through. Stir in the lemon juice and zest.

Stir the pasta into the eggplant tomato sauce, adding a little more of the prepared pasta sauce as needed to moisten the noodles. Served topped with chopped fresh herbs and Parmesan. Enjoy immediately.

This might be our favorite Meatless Monday recipe so far. We had given SB some plain noodles (she's not always a fan of tomato sauce); but after trying our dish- she wanted this pasta instead of her plain buttered noodles. I believe her exact words were, "Yum! I love eggplant!" Aww, that kid is a keeper.

Additionally, this pasta is also good cold the next day: it yielded enough for leftovers, and Rebecca had it for lunch almost all week. This is a perfect summer pasta dish that carnivores, vegetarians and vegans will all enjoy. 

Stay Cool,

The Cool Dads Crew