Miso Eggplant Salad With Chickpeas

By Hetty Lui McKinnon

Updated October 27, 2025

Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.
Ready In
35 min
Rating
4(73)
Comments
Read comments

The flawless flavor pairing found in the popular Japanese dish miso-glazed eggplant serves as inspiration for this bold and textural salad. For high-temperature roasting, cutting the eggplant into chunky pieces optimizes golden, crisp edges with a buttery and silky interior. The vinaigrette is a standout, punchy from the ginger, intensely savory from the miso, with a sweet hum from the mirin. The simplicity of a salad founded on just eggplant and chickpeas makes this an excellent weeknight option, but there are also many ways to add more heft: Incorporate a few handfuls of spinach, add some pan-fried or baked tofu, or toss with some cold soba noodles. 

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

For the Eggplant Salad

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

  • 2 pounds eggplant (about 3 small or 2 medium), trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks

  • Salt and pepper

  • 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed

  • 2 scallions, sliced

  • Toasted white sesame seeds 

For the Miso Dressing

  • 2 tablespoons white (shiro) miso paste

  • 2 tablespoons mirin 

  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 

  • 1 garlic clove, finely grated 

  • 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated 

  • 1 teaspoon sugar 

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

68 grams carbs; 574 calories; 11 grams monosaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 27 grams fat; 22 grams fiber; 1151 milligrams sodium; 20 grams protein; 18 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

  2. Step 2

    Prepare the eggplant salad: In a small bowl, mix together the vegetable oil and sesame oil. Place the eggplant on a rimmed sheet pan and drizzle with the oil mixture. Season with salt and pepper and toss well to coat. Place in the oven and roast until the eggplant is tender, with golden edges, 20 to 25 minutes. 

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile, make the dressing: Place the miso, mirin, sesame oil, vinegar, garlic, ginger and sugar in a large bowl and whisk to combine. 

  4. Step 4

    Add the eggplant to the bowl with the dressing, along with the chickpeas and scallions; toss to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Top with sesame seeds and serve.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
73 user ratings
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Comments

Scout277

I made this as written and thought it was very good. I wanted more acid & heat so I added some lime juice and red pepper flakes. It needs quite a bit of salt and black pepper. I understand the recipe suggestion for soba noodles, but I decided to use short pasta (pipe) to conform to the size of the other ingredients. I also think adding the roasted eggplant at time of serving will keep its crisp roasted nature intact. I used both black and white sesame seeds for contrast. Mint or dill also.

Name

@Dan from Seattle agreed, rice works better dry (aka noodles need sauce to make them edible. rice naturally has great flavour)

Dan from Seattle

I'm trying to picture eating this over soba noodles with a fork. Good luck. Rice would be nice.

ohiomama

No body in my household cared for this. My eggplant may be partially to blame. Maybe the late season eggplant just was not very good. Also thought the dressing ratio was off. You could double it, I think. Will not make this again.

Bill

Very good. I “roasted” the chickpeas in some olive oil in a cast iron skillet on the stove, rather than tossing them in straight out of the can. I took to heart the comments that it was, or would be hard to eat with soba noodles or spaghetti and instead (as odd as it may sound) used whole wheat bow ties. I also added some chopped baby spinach. I think the leftovers will be even better tomorrow.

Kirsten

Delicious! I halved the garbanzos and instead added wild mushrooms that I sauteed separately. Mirin isn't something I typically have on hand, so a quick web search provided a workaround using rice vinegar and sugar. Served alongside rice ramen. Will make again.

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