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Weight Watchers Recipe of the Day: Grilled Baby Eggplant with Yogurt Sauce
Weight Watcher’s summer theme is to try something new.
If you’ve never tried eggplant I’m here to cheer you on. You might even discover you like it.
This easy recipe for grilled baby eggplant with yogurt sauce, which appeared in this week’s WW Weekly, would be a great place to start.
It’s a simple Middle-Eastern inspired vegetable side dish with zero Points that would be perfect with grilled chicken, fish, beef, lamb, tofu or even turkey burgers.
Ingredients
- Plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- Kosher salt
- Ground cumin
- Finely minced garlic
- Paprika
- Asian or baby eggplant
- Fresh mint leaves
How to Make Grilled Baby Eggplant with Yogurt Sauce, Step-by-Step
Step 1: Gather and prepare all ingredients.
Step 2: In a small bowl (affiliate link), stir together the yogurt, water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cumin, garlic and paprika until well blended. Set the sauce aside for at least 0 minutes for flavors to blend.
Step 3: Preheat an outdoor grill, or stove top grill pan (affiliate link), to medium-high.
Step 4: Slice eggplant lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Coat each slice with cooking spray and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Step 5: Grill the eggplant until lightly charred and tender, turning as often as needed, about 8-10 minutes.
Step 6: Transfer eggplant to a serving platter and spoon the yogurt sauce over the top. Sprinkle with mint and garnish with paprika.
Step 7: Alternatively, you could broil, or bake, the eggplant until tender, turning about halfway through the cooking time. The cooking time will depend on how hot your oven/broiler is and how thick the eggplant slices are.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Grilled Baby Eggplant and Yogurt Sauce?
According to my calculations, each serving of eggplant and sauce has about 42 calories.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
1 PointsPlus (Old WW plan)
Recipe Notes
Eggplant is a very versatile vegetable that works in all kinds of dishes from Asian to Italian.
Its meaty texture makes eggplant a tasty substitute for meat, too. Bitter when raw, it develops a complex savory flavor when cooked.
The large dark purple pear shaped (globe) eggplant is the most common variety.
For this recipe, you’ll want to use the smaller version of the larger purple skinned eggplant, which is often called Italian or baby eggplant. They have a somewhat more intense flavor and the flesh is much more tender.
Japanese or Asian eggplant, which are long and slender with thinner skin and sweeter flesh, would also work well.
This video shows the different types of eggplant:
While I’ve had all kinds of grilled vegetables including grilled eggplant many times, I’ve never thought to combine them with yogurt sauce.
I plan on sampling it soon, as I continue to challenge myself to try new foods and recipes.
Recipe Variations
Different cooking methods – instead of grilling you could bake or broil until fork tender.
Different vegetables – if eggplant is not your thing, zucchini or red bell peppers would work.
Different sauces – most any Asian, Italian, or Middle-Eastern inspired sauce would work as a topping.
Watch Diana as she demonstrates how to make roasted Japanese eggplant:
If you like this recipe for grilled baby eggplant, be sure to check out my other easy, healthy Weight Watchers friendly recipes including Easy Ratatouille, Baked Eggplant Parmesan Melts, Roasted Eggplant Spread, Slow Cooker Stuffed Eggplant and Slow Cooker Ratatouille.
If you’ve made this Grilled Baby Eggplant with Yogurt Sauce, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
WW Grilled Baby Eggplant with Yogurt Sauce Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons water
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic, very finely minced
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika, regular or smoked variety, plus extra for garnish
- 1-1/4 pounds uncooked eggplant, about 3 baby or Asian eggplants
- Non-stick cooking spray
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a small bowl (affiliate link), stir together the yogurt, water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, cumin, garlic and paprika until well blended. Set sauce aside for at least 10 minutes for flavors to blend.
- Preheat an outdoor grill, or stove-top grill pan (affiliate link), to medium-high.
- Slice eggplant lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Coat each slice with cooking spray and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Grill the eggplant until lightly charred and tender, turning as often as needed, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Transfer to a serving platter or bowl. Spoon yogurt sauce over eggplant. Sprinkle with mint and garnish with paprika.
- Alternatively you could broil or bake the eggplant until tender, turning about halfway through the cooking time. The cooking time will depend on how hot your oven/broiler is and how thick the eggplant slices are.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 1 PointsPlus (Old WW plan) Instead of grilling, you could bake or broil your eggplant until fork tender. If eggplant is not your thing, zucchini or red bell peppers would work.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Source: Weight Watchers Weekly (June 10-16, 2016)
This is how easy it is to make mini eggplant pizzas:
More Weight Watchers Eggplant Recipes
I love eggplant in all its forms—grilled, baked, roasted, or slow-cooked. Here are a few more favorites:
Grilled Eggplant and Zucchini Parmesan (Cookin’Canuck)
Roasted Eggplant Salad (LaaLoosh)
Grilled Italian Eggplant Melts (HungryGirl)
Eggplant Parmesan Casserole (EmilyBites)
Baba Ganoush (Eggplant Dip) (SlenderKitchen)
Roasted Eggplant with Tahini Sauce (LaaLoosh)
Mini Eggplant Parmesan Pizzas (SkinnyKitchen)
Baked Eggplant Sticks (SkinnyTaste)
Grilled Eggplant with Tomatoes and Feta (LaaLoosh)
