It’s eggplant season, and that means this Provencal Eggplant Gratin is on repeat in my kitchen. This typical Southern French recipe includes tender slices of eggplants baked in-between layers of tomato sauce, spiked with Herbs de Provence and loads of Parmesan cheese. This is a fuss-free recipe that makes a great side or a perfect vegetarian dinner.
Cooking notes:
- When sourcing for eggplants, look for ones that are slightly firm, with a smooth skin and that feel heavy for their size. The stem is also a good indicator: it should be green. Sadly, a lot of eggplants I see in grocery stores have stems that are brown-ish or dried out.
- This is a fairly simple recipe, but it does require a bit of active time – especially the initial broiling of the eggplant slices. For this reason, this recipe may be best suited for weekends, rather than busy weeknights. Although the good news is that I think it tastes even better when made ahead and re-heated the next day (like a lot of gratins and saucy dishes do).
- Herbes de Provence is an essential ingredient in this recipe. It consists of a blend of dried herbs: savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme and oregano. You can find Herbs De Provence online, in spice shops, bulk stores, and sometimes in grocery stores in the spice aisle.
- I like to use a round cast iron skillet for this recipe (10.5 to 12.5-inch is ideal). It provides a nice caramelization around the edges of the gratin. But you can also use a classic gratin dish or casserole.
I hope you’ll love this Provençal Eggplant Tomato Gratin as much as I do! It makes a great vegetarian dinner or a perfect side to serve with grilled meat or fish.
You may also like:
- Eggplant Caviar Dip
- Classic Tomatoes Farcies (Baked Ground Meat Stuffed Tomatoes)
- Classic French-Style Potato Salad
- Provençal Chickpea Salad with Olives, Anchovies and Celery
- French-Style Couscous Salad
Did you make this recipe?
I’d love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a comment below, rate the recipe and/or share a photo on Instagram: tag @pardonyourfrench and hashtag it #pardonyourfrench. This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my Privacy Policy & Disclosure page for more details.
26 comments
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Hi There! I meant to add your contact details to receive the newsletter, but it did say you already signed up 🙂 (probably after you posted this comment).
Made for the first time this morning. Excellent recipe–will make again.
Thank you!
Made this today! My first time making it and it was a winner! 9 out of 10!
Amazing, thanks Joanne!
Audrey, I mistakenly rated this recipe 2-starts when trying to click it to see the reviews. My apologies, it will not let me change it!
No worries Colin, thank you for letting us know! Leaving a comment is good too!
Made this tonight and it was delicious. Even my husband who is not much of an eggplant fan had several helpings. I cut the recipe in half cause there’s just the two of us and it worked great. Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe.
Fantastic, thank you Susan!
Made this dish last night, absolutely delicious, really enjoyed it ! First time I “salted” eggplant, and will start doing this process when needed. I thought it improved the texture of the eggplant in the final dish. I’m making the Cod Provencal with tomatoes, capers dish this evening. Thanks, Audrey
Thank you for your feedback Doreen, so glad to hear you enjoyed this dish!
Interesting and lovely recipes
Thank you
thank you!
Where in France do you come from? I would like some other refreshing French Dishes from you as I will be ordering your books in the near future.
Thank you!
I’m originally from (and back living in) Bretagne, in the Northwest of France. In english, it’s more commonly known as “Brittany”. I live right along the coast. I love it!
This was a very tasty recipe that took me about 45 minutes to serve from start to finish as I didn’t sweat the eggplant slices, and rarely do for most dishes. I added about a cup of white wine to simmer the tomato/onion/herb mixture to add a bit of flavor and create a chunky sauce. I did top the whole thing with home-made breadcrumbs and spayed the top with olive oil to help creat even browning under the broiler. The dish went extremely well with slow-braised lamb shanks Provencal and I highly recommend you try this easy recipe.
Thanks, Richard! Those personal touches sound amazing and especially to accompany a braised lamb shank Provencal. Love a little kiss from the broiler as well!
Do you think I could use the air fryer to prepare the egg plant before assembling the dish?
Hello, Linda! While I have never used an airfryer before, I have heard some great things about them, and think you could prep the eggplants ahead of time using one at the unit’s highest temperature.
Perhaps try one slice to start, just to get an idea on the timing. But overall I see no reason why it wouldn’t work out.
This was so delicious, I made it twice in a week. If you don’t like eggplant, try it anyway: you will love eggplant after tasting this!
Super kind words, thank you so much! Couldn’t agree with you more about this one… If there’s a dish that’ll turn someone into an eggplant lover, this might be it!
Clear instructions got me to a delicious meal. Excellent recipe!
Merci, Annette! That’s my main goal with this blog, so I’m glad to know it was mission accomplished! I hope you’ll get to try other recipes soon.
Made this for supper tonight, quite labour intensive but so worth it. Will have again! Just returned from 2 weeks in Perigord region and made us wish to be back in France!
Thank you so much, Gaynor! Knowing a recipe transported you back to France is the ultimate compliment! It does take a bit of prep, but as you said… So worth it!