Pasta Alla Norma Recipe (Eggplant Pasta) - Little Sunny Kitchen (2024)

This Roasted Eggplant Pasta is such a simple showstopper! Pasta Alla Norma is creamy, hearty, and totally vegetarian with chewy al dente pasta, homemade tomato sauce, and perfectly crispy baked eggplant.

This simple pasta recipe is one of my favorite ways to use eggplants! If you’re like me, and you always have an eggplant sitting on your counter that you’re not sure what to do with, try my baba ganoush dip recipe (it’s the best EVER!), or make this traditional Italian pasta dish.

Pasta alla norma is a dish that originated in Sicily, Italy. It’s a light and filling vegetarian pasta with just 3 parts: penne pasta, tomato sauce, and eggplant! It’s a traditional Sicilian recipe your friends and family will absolutely love.

I love that this vegetarian pasta has a super “meaty” sauce without a shred of meat! I also use a vegetarian Parmesan cheese instead of ricotta salata which is a traditional ingredient in pasta alla norma because parmesan is easier to find in my grocery store.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

1. It’s truly delicious with a balance of amazing textures and sweet flavors.
2. Celebrate fresh eggplant with this beautifully roasted recipe.
3. Perfect for meal prep! I love whipping up a double batch, divide into containers and enjoy it for a few days!
4. Customize this pasta dish with more veggies, a heartier sauce, or your favorite pasta.

Ingredients Used

Here’s what you’ll need to make eggplant pasta:

• Eggplant: Cut your eggplants into evenly sized cubes for the best baked eggplant. I think roasting the eggplant in the oven delivers a superior final product versus frying eggplant.
• Pasta: You can use any shape of pasta you love! I used penne for this recipe. Low carb, gluten free, or other pasta types are welcome here! Steer clear from super small pasta shapes though.
• Tomato sauce: Use a can of tomato sauce or Italian passata as the base for this delicious pasta sauce. Don’t worry, we’ll dress it up! You can also use crushed tomatoes for a chunkier sauce.
• Spices: I add a mix of oregano, basil, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, onion, and garlic to my tomato sauce.

Tip!

Always taste your tomato sauce as you cook it, if it’s too acidic, just stir in a teaspoon of granulated sugar and that usually does the trick!

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

How to Make Eggplant Pasta

Follow these steps for the best pasta alla norma recipe:

1. Bake eggplant. First, toss the cubed eggplant with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them out on a baking sheet, and roast for half an hour, Brown them under the broiler for a few minutes until they’re golden and crispy.
2. Cook the pasta. Then, boil the pasta according to the directions. You want a perfectly al dente pasta.

1. Sauté onions. To make the sauce, sauté the diced onions in olive oil until they’re soft and translucent.
2. Sauté garlic. When the onions are almost cooked, add the garlic. Keep stirring to keep it from burning!
3. Add tomato sauce. Now, pour the tomato sauce into the pot. Fill the can halfway with water, and add it, too.
4. Season and simmer. Finally, add the oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Stir it all up and simmer until it thickens. Cover it with a lid to reduce splatter.
5. Add pasta and eggplant. When the pasta is done, strain it and add it to the sauce. Gently stir in the baked eggplant, too.
6. Garnish and serve. Garnish with freshly chopped basil or parsley leaves and grated Parmesan cheese.

Tips and Tricks

Pasta alla norma probably sounds complicated, but as you can see it’s so simple to make! Here are some tricks I’ve learned along the way:

• Soak your eggplant. If you think eggplant is a little too bitter, here’s what to do: Once it’s cubed you can either liberally salt it and let it sit for an hour then lightly rinse off some of the salt. Or let the cubed eggplant sit in a bowl of milk for about half an hour before cooking. It also helps to make it extra creamy!
• Add more veggies. I kept this pasta recipe simple with just noodles, sauce, and eggplant, If you want a heartier dish, add more vegetables like carrots, mushrooms, peas, or zucchini to the mix.
• Freeze your sauce. I use this tomato sauce recipe for most of my pasta dishes! I’ve always got a frozen batch for quick weeknight dinners. Save time by using leftover tomato sauce!
• Keep it al dente. I always cook my penne pasta to a perfect al dente. The pasta will keep cooking slightly in the warm sauce, so be sure not to overcook your noodles!

FAQs

What to Serve with Eggplant Pasta

Pair it with a crisp salad: Tossed Green Salad, Burrata Salad, Caprese Salad, Kale Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette, or Shirazi Salad.

Warm up with a soup appetizer: Zuppa Toscana, Italian Wedding Soup, Olive Garden Gnocchi Soup, Chicken Alfredo Tortellini Soup, or Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup

Make it a decadent date night with dessert: Italian Wedding Cookies, Easy Tiramisu, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, or even Oreo Tiramisu!

How to Store

You can keep pasta alla norma leftovers for up to 4 days before the eggplant begins to turn into mush. If you’ve got tons of extras, you can freeze them, too! Pasta dishes are great to freeze because they thaw and reheat well.

Simply microwave in small spurts to reheat, or warm the pasta on low heat, stirring occasionally, until it’s hot again.

This is such an easy dinner recipe that feels so decadent! You’ll never use jarred tomato sauce again once you taste this simple sauce recipe. Make sure to Pin this recipe so more people can enjoy it too!