My plant-based Healthy Vegan Eggplant Onion and Tomato Stew recipe is an easy one-pot meal using fresh summer produce that's ready in about 30 minutes + Instant Pot instructions to make it even quicker in only 5 minutes! It's made with 8 clean, real food ingredients, is perfect for Meatless Monday and everyone will love it!
"Eggplant Onion and Tomato Stew" was originally created, photographed, and published on January 2, 2014 by Karielyn Tillman of The Healthy Family and Home™ and not OneGreenPlanet.
Table of Contents
Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- It Can Be Made in a Skillet or Instant Pot
- Ready In Under 30 Minutes
- Made With Clean, Real Food Ingredients
If you love a quick + easy dinner with minimal cleanup, then you'll LOVE this Eggplant Tomato and Onion Stew.
It has a minimal ingredient list and fresh veggies - the hardest part is just prepping the veggies!
While visiting my parents, my dad wanted me to make something for dinner with the eggplant he had just bought, so decided to make this dish since they had the rest of the simple ingredient list on hand.
Not only did I make it for him that night, but he asked if I would make it again a couple of nights later!
So after making a grocery trip for more eggplant, I made it a second time for him before we left our visit and because he liked it so much we had it twice in one week...it was that good!
This healthy plant-based dish is not only perfect for "Meatless Mondays', but is also vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, paleo-friendly, low-fat, oil-free, and Medical Medium® Compliant.
"Feel good about what you eat..."
- Karielyn Tillman
Ingredients
Here are the clean, real food ingredients I used to make this recipe. Try to use organic if possible.
- Eggplant
- Tomatoes
- Onion
- Tomato Sauce
- Filtered Water
- Ground Cumin Powder
- Ground Cayenne Powder
- Himalayan Pink Salt
That's it!
How To Make This Recipe: Step-by-Step Instructions
This is an easy, one-pot recipe (that you can even make in 5 minutes with an Instant Pot) and I'll show you how to make it step-by-step!
Step 1: Prep Your Veggies:
The hardest part of this recipe is getting your veggies ready.
You'll need to cut the eggplant into cubes and dice the tomatoes and onions.
I like to leave the skins on the eggplant, but you can cut the skins off before cutting them into cubes if you prefer.
Step 2: Add Everything Together
Once you've got the veggies ready, all you need to do next is add them to a skillet (or an Instant Pot), along with the seasonings and water.
Mix everything together until all the ingredients and seasonings are evenly distributed.
When you add the water, start with ½ cup and if you find you prefer your stew to have a more liquid consistency, add a little more water.
Step 3: Prepare the Eggplant Stew
Stovetop Instructions:
- Add the prepped veggies and all remaining ingredients to a skillet, then stir to make sure everything is evenly distributed.
- Cover the skillet and let it simmer on low-medium heat for about 20-25 minutes, or until the eggplant is soft.
- Remove the lid, stir the contents and adjust the water and/or seasonings if you prefer.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Add the prepped veggies and all remaining ingredients to an Instant Pot.
- After adding all the ingredients to the Instant Pot, stir to make sure everything is evenly distributed.
- Close the lid and turn the vent to the "SEALED" position.
- Set the settings on "PRESSURE COOK" --> "HIGH" --> "5 MINUTES".
- When the timer goes off, carefully "QUICK RELEASE" the steam.
- Remove the lid, stir the contents and adjust the seasonings if preferred.
You can serve it as is or make a hearty meal by adding it over organic rice, organic cauliflower rice, or even gluten-free pasta.
Frequently Asked Questions
Either one will work!
1. Stovetop with Non-Toxic Skillet: Ready in about 30 minutes
2. Instant Pot: Ready in about 5 minutes
Although it's great just by itself, here are some other options to make it more filling:
White Rice
Brown Rice
Cauliflower Rice
Quinoa
Gluten-Free/Grain-Free Pasta
It's completely optional! I like to leave the eggplant skin on when I make it, but you could also peel it before dicing it if you prefer.
Not to worry! This has happened to me plenty of times as well as when I was in a hurry to get dinner ready.
You can also use canned or jarred diced tomatoes for this recipe!
If you use canned, try to buy a brand that has a BPA-free can and no added preservatives or salt.
My photos and complete recipe also appear on OneGreenPlanet, who unfortunately uses bloggers content to generate profit for their website by using bloggers content in their recipe app, cookbooks and by charging readers to print a recipe.
Prior to August 1, 2025, they did not link back to the original author's content and photos for credit or attribution. Their links either went to dead links or to an author page on their website but never back to the original author's website URL.
For this reason, I do not recommend their website and would ask that you visit and support the original author's website for recipe content instead of recycled and duplicate content on the OneGreenPlanet website.
In regard to this recipe, if you see my photos and exact recipe (word for word) from January 2, 2014, on another site, primarily OneGreenPlanet, mine was the original and was posted first.
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Water. You can adjust the amount of water in the recipe to make it the consistency you prefer. Start with ½ cup water as listed in the recipe and add an extra ½ cup water if you like a thinner stew.
Seasonings. Adjust the salt and cayenne pepper to your preference (or omit) if you are serving to children or don't like spicy food.
Tomatoes. I like to use the "Roma" tomato variety because they are easy to cut and don't have a lot of flesh to them, but any type of tomato variety would work. If you are in a hurry or don't have fresh tomatoes on hand, you can use organic diced tomatoes in a jar (to avoid BPA-free lined cans) and it will work just fine.
Tomato Sauce. Try to buy tomato sauce in a glass jar or BPA-free can, if possible, to avoid BPA lining.
Onions. I've used both white onions and red onions and both work fine. Just use your favorite variety or whatever you have on hand.
Eggplant. I like to leave the skin on the eggplant but feel free to peel the skin off the eggplant before cutting it into cubes if you prefer.
Order Recipe Ingredients
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Healthy Vegan Eggplant Onion and Tomato Stew
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups organic eggplant (cubed)
- 2 cups organic tomatoes (diced)
- 1 cup organic white onion (diced)
- 1 cup organic tomato sauce
- ½ cup water (filtered/purified)
- 1 teaspoon organic ground cumin powder
- 1 pinch organic ground cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
Instructions
Prepare the veggies:
- Cut the eggplant into cubes, dice the tomatoes and onions, then set aside.
Prepare the stew:
- Add the tomato sauce, water, ground cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper to a non-toxic skillet and stir together.
- Add the veggies and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to a low-medium simmer.
- Cover the skillet and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the eggplant is soft.
- Add additional water if you prefer a thinner consistency.
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Prep the veggies the same as in Step 1 above.
- Add the prepped veggies and all other ingredients to an Instant Pot and stir everything together so the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Close the lid and turn the vent to the "SEALED" position.
- Set the settings on "PRESSURE COOK" --> "HIGH" --> "5 MINUTES".
- When the timer goes off, carefully "QUICK RELEASE" the steam.
- Remove the lid, stir the contents and adjust seasonings if preferred.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The instructions, notes, and photographs for this recipe by Karielyn Tillman of The Healthy Family and Home™ website are copyrighted material. This copyrighted work is protected and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International License and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and cannot be legally used without my written permission.
More Healthy Vegan Tomato Recipes
- Creamy Vegan Tomato Basil Soup
- Spicy Chickpea and Tomato Soup
- Creamy Red Lentil and Kale Soup
- or my Real Food Vegan™ 14-Day Meal Plan Program with 42 plant-based vegan + gluten-free recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
Laura M. says
I made this tonight and it was really easy and everyone, including my kids, liked it. I'll be making it again, thanks for the recipe!
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi Laura! I'm so happy to hear that my recipe was approved by the entire family...that's a big deal! I appreciate you trying it out and taking the time to let me know that you enjoyed it. Karielyn 🙂
L says
Hey thanks for ir sharing this and mentioning Medical medium as it can be tough when you run out of ideas. I think my taste buds are so used to sweetness tmin a tomato sauce that I had to add a few dates. It totally rocked my world, great recipe!
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there! Thanks for the feedback and I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
Stay tuned because I'll be coming out with a Medical Medium compliant cookbook soon that you will love! 🙂
Cleo Taylor says
Thank you so much for this recipe. It was absolutely amazing. Everytime I take my children to the store, I have them pick a vegetable and/or fruit they haven't tried before. Now my youngest child is having fun doing so. I have always loved eggplant but not the rest of my family unless I hid it in spaghetti sauce. This recipe was a hit with my 7 yr old, 18 yr old, 27 yes old and my husband. My husband is the most picky of all. He said I could put it on the monthly rotation meals. (That is a very good compliment.)
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there Cleo! I can't tell you how happy I am to hear your entire family enjoyed the recipe - it made my day!
I know how hard it is to try to please everyone in the family at mealtime (especially my husband!), so the fact that your family loved it makes it even more special.
Thank you for trying out the recipe and taking the time to let me know you liked it...I sincerely appreciate it 🙂
Thomas says
Sorry I'm new to this, when you say a cup of tomato sauce - is this tomato paste, pasta sauce or will a can of chopped tomatoes do
Karielyn says
Hi there Thomas! I usually use actual "tomato sauce" like this ---> https://bit.ly/2y4Malg. But if you don't have any, I would substitute tomato paste like this ---> https://bit.ly/2wvY2LV (just add some extra water to thin it out) or a can of chopped tomatoes like this ---> https://bit.ly/2juP5Bv (include the liquid in the can, don't drain). But I, personally, wouldn't use pasta sauce as the seasonings might affect the flavor - unless you want an Italian flavored stew (which actually sounds good!).
Thanks for the question and I hope that helps 🙂
Anne says
Hi do you know if this freezes well? Thanks!
Karielyn says
Hi there Anne! I'm not really sure about freezing it, I've never tried to do it before. The next time I make it I will freeze a little to test it out and report back.
Thanks for your question and I hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Khameelah says
I don't see the recipe.
Karielyn says
Hi there Khameelah! Sorry about that...it's back up there now. Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Patrick says
Great
Karielyn says
Thanks Patrick! 😉
sue says
you mentioned not using tomato paste- but I am unclear how I can substitute for this. I prefer everything to be homemade, so do I just use diced tomatoes? and how much? thanks!
Karielyn says
Hi there Sue! You could omit the tomato paste and use additional diced tomatoes which would work to give it the "tomato-ey" flavor. I would add an extra 1 cup of diced tomatoes to substitute the 8 ounces of tomato paste.
Thanks for the question and I hope you enjoy the recipe 😉
Robyn says
Try it raw! Sort of sweet, and would make great crudités!
Karielyn says
Hi there Robyn! Yum...that sounds delicious! Thanks for the idea 🙂
Hanna says
It's so funny how people get about eggplant but quickly become addicted to its vegetable-gray goodness. This looks absolutely amazing!
Karielyn says
Hi Hanna! I know exactly what you mean! I used to hate eggplant and not even because I had tasted it and didn't like it...I just decided I didn't like it because of it's appearance lol!
But now I love it!
Thanks for stopping by 😉
Lexi @ Lexi's Clean Kitchen says
Absolutely love this Karielyn!!
Karielyn says
Thanks so much Lexi! 🙂