Silky, sweet, and sour, this eggplant caponata recipe is a delicious summer appetizer. Serve it on crostini with lots of fresh basil for garnish!
These days, our neighborhood farmers market is basically like a caponata cooking kit. Mounds of eggplants, tomatoes, and multicolored peppers fill every stall. I’m pretty pleased about it, because this Sicilian vegetable stew is one of my favorite late summer dishes. It’s tangy, briny, and lightly sweet, with a rich, silky texture that’s absolutely irresistible.
I first fell in love with caponata years ago on a trip to Italy. Jack and I ordered it as an appetizer with crusty bread and a glass of white wine almost everywhere we went. When we got home, of course I had to learn how to make my own version. This caponata recipe has been a fixture in our kitchen ever since. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Caponata Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this eggplant caponata recipe:
- Eggplant, of course! Traditional caponata recipes start with fried eggplant, but for a lighter, hands-off shortcut, I roast it instead.
- Celery, onion, and garlic – They add savory flavor.
- Red bell peppers – A classic caponata ingredient!
- Tomatoes – They create a light sauce for the other veggies.
- Tomato paste – It thickens the fresh tomato sauce.
- Capers – For briny flavor. Some caponata recipes call for both green olives and capers, but I find that just capers do the trick. Plus, I always have a jar in my fridge!
- Sherry vinegar – In a pinch, red wine vinegar will work here too.
- Cane sugar and golden raisins – For sweetness. Many eggplant caponatas are only sweetened with sugar, but I love the complexity that the raisins add to this recipe.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – For richness.
- Fresh parsley and basil – For an aromatic finishing touch.
- And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
The first step to making this recipe is roasting the eggplant.
While it’s in the oven, place the golden raisins in a small bowl with the vinegar and capers. They’ll plump up nicely in the vinegar. By the time you add them to the caponata, they’ll be soft, juicy, and full of the vinegar’s tang.
Then, sauté the aromatic veggies and cook the saucy tomato and pepper mixture. Tip: make sure to sauté the vegetables until they soften fully. This caponata recipe is best when all the veggies are tender!
Add the roasted eggplant, plumped raisins, vinegar, and capers to the tomato and pepper sauce. Cook for another 5 minutes to allow the eggplant to soak up the sauce’s flavors.
Finally, stir in the parsley and season to taste. Garnish with fresh basil before serving!
How to Serve Eggplant Caponata
Though you certainly could serve eggplant caponata warm as a side dish, I like it best chilled or at room temperature. Serve it as an appetizer with crostini, or add it to a mezze platter or cheese board at a late summer gathering. It keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days. I recommend serving it on day 2 or 3, after the flavors have had a chance to meld.
If you have leftover caponata, here are a few fun ways to use it up:
- Toss it with pasta for a speedy weeknight meal.
- Serve it over polenta with toasted pine nuts for crunch.
- Pile it onto toast and top it with a poached or soft-boiled egg.
- Slather it onto a sandwich with arugula and fresh mozzarella cheese.
How do you like to serve caponata? Let me know in the comments!
More Favorite Eggplant Recipes
If you love this caponata recipe, try one of these delicious eggplant recipes next:
- Ratatouille
- Baked Eggplant Parmesan
- Eggplant Rollatini
- Air Fryer Eggplant
- Baba Ganoush
- Grilled Eggplant
- Or any of these 12 Easy Eggplant Recipes!
Eggplant Caponata
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Roasted Eggplant
- 3 tablespoons golden raisins
- 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 pound tomatoes, about 4 medium, cored and diced
- ½ teaspoon cane sugar
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
- Crostini, for serving
Instructions
- Roast the eggplant according to this recipe.
- In a small bowl, combine the golden raisins, vinegar, and capers. Set aside for the raisins to soften while you prepare the caponata.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook for 8 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened. Add the red pepper and salt. Cook until tender, about 8 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, garlic, tomatoes, and sugar, and cook, stirring often, for about 8 minutes, or until the tomatoes have cooked down and become saucy.
- Add the roasted eggplant, raisins, vinegar, capers, and several grinds of pepper, and cook, stirring, for 5 more minutes. Stir in the parsley and season to taste.
- Allow the caponata to cool to room temperature. We like it best on days 2 and 3, after the flavors have had a chance to meld. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- When ready to serve, garnish the caponata with fresh basil. Serve with crostini.
Just made it. Absolutely delicious!
Hi Jane, so glad you loved it!
Can I freeze?
Hello God bless you
I just made the eggplant oh my God I made it a little different used the skillet for everything even the eggplant but it was so fantastic I can’t believe how great it was I’m definitely going to use your recipes and with God’s help amen I made garden fresh tomatoes crushed and then I made some tomato paste fresh with garlic olive oil and a pinch of Himalayan I also added both types of olives voila
Before my wife was diagnosed with celiac, I put caponata on large pasta shells and baked it with a little extra sauce and cheese. I don’t mind being a gluten free house, but seeing this recipe makes me long for the old days.
Frank, maybe try Jovial or Cappello’s brand gluten-free pastas!
YUM! I have lots of fresh tomatoes and eggplant in the garden, so I chose this recipe to combine both. I have to admit that it was difficult to keep from eating all the roasted eggplant before adding it to the other ingredients…but I succeeded, and it was delicious! We liked to eat it with tortillas chips, as an alternative to the bread.. We also can’t wait to use it as a sauce with meats!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This is an amazing recipe! I was worried about two things: 1/2″ seemed to be a bit small to dice the eggplant and I thought they over-roasted a bit. And my golden raisins were pretty chewy–they had been in my cupboard for awhile. But it turned out to be absolutely wonderful. In fact, one of the friends we had over for wine-and-appetizers admitted that she photographed the recipe she saw on my kitchen table! I served it with the crostini, as recommended.
Hi Christine, I’m so glad it was a hit!
What at amazing bomb of flavors and texture. I hope I did it properly, Im not Italian. I didnt have raisins, I used dry currants (the acidity really worked). I added a bit more sugar. I also added Calabrian peppers to give it a kick. I used fig vinegar found at a local shopping place. I also used Italian eggplants. It was exquisite. Not sure if the eggplant should be a bit chewy, mine was, and I really love that fact. The added heat was amazing, nothing crazy just to give a bit of interest to the palate.
Hi Amalia, Thanks so much for sharing your twist! It sounds delicious, and I’m so glad you loved the caponata.
My grandparents came over on the boat from Sicily and had a vegetable farm. My grandmother used to make caponata and jar it for the winter. It was superb, especially with crusty bread. I know she didn’t use raisins and her version was nice and tangy. Hope to see how this stacks up. I apologize for a review “pre-trial”.
I don’t know if I have ever had caponata before. This sounds delicious! Great summertime appetizer!
Hi Marysa, It’s so delicious! Definitely worth trying this summer.
Phenomenal flavours and texture, wow! I didn’t know where I was or what I was doing as I went on a trip around Sicily as I devoured a full serve 😉 what a real divine treat, even just on its own, can only imagine how infused the flavours would be come day 2 or 3 – it would marry beautifully on crispy golden crostini, I thank you for sharing such a beautiful recipe, the only alteration I made was sherry vinegar subd for red wine vinegar, just as good, oh and a few extra garlic (always!) a true flavour explosion all round and cannot wait to share at the next shared table this summer xx
I’m so glad you loved it!
I alterted this recipe because of allergy and to things available on hand
Sherry vinegar to Balsamic Vinegar
(Allergic due to where it is processed) Capers to Dill Pickles
Fresh Parsley to Dried Parsley Flakes
Ended up tasting great served on top of chickpea pasta! I can only imagine how it would have turned out using original ingredients
Hi Mariah, I’m so glad you enjoyed the caponata!
This was SO delicious! I loved the mixture of tomatoes, bell pepper and eggplant with the raisins and capers. Haven’t cooked much with capers but will be from now on! I used balsamic vinegar instead of sherry vinegar since that’s all I had!
I’m so glad you loved the caponata!
I really love your recipes. My problem is that I cannot email your recipes. Could you offer that option please?
Hi Jerry, Thanks for your feedback! That would be a great feature to add to the site.
Delicious! Made it with rice and loved all the flavours 😍
Hi Julia, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe was AMAZING!! My first comment was, “this tastes like something from a fine restaurant.” We made it exactly as you directed, but we placed it over penne pasta and enjoyed it with a bottle of red wine. My husband and I could not get enough of this!
Another great eggplant recipe to have in my arsenal! I omitted the celery and substituted balsamic vinegar for the sherry vinegar. I tasted right off the stove and it’s great, good mix of textures with lots of tang from the vinegar and capers. It’s about to go in the fridge and get devoured tomorrow once my sourdough is ready. 🙂 I think I might also try it as a packed lunch with bread (to be toasted at work) and Italian herb tofu on the side for protein, or maybe as a vegan pizza topping!
I’m so glad you loved it!
My husband’s comment: “That’s the BEST eggplant dish I’ve ever tasted!” I had fun chopping, roasting, & toasting! I had some “everything” sourdough bread that I toasted…can’t wait to eat the leftovers!!! Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes! ~Sue
Hi Sue, I’m so thrilled you both enjoyed it! I hope you love the leftovers too (we think it gets better on the second day!)
What about leaving out tomato paste? Seems like it might taste like pasta sauce with the addition of paste. Thank you
Hi Ru, it helps it thicken, we don’t think it tastes like pasta sauce. If you’d like to leave it out, it’ll be fine too.
Can I make this in a slow cooker?
Hi Debbie, I haven’t tried, but I think that would work fine.