This roasted red pepper dip uses eggplant for extra creaminess and fresno chili for heat. It’s sure to be a hit at your next get together!
This recipe combines the creamy texture of eggplant, smoky flavour of roasted red pepper, low pungent sweetness of roasted garlic, and mellow fire of fresno chili to make a full-flavored, simple-to-make dip perfect for serving with flatbread, crackers, on sandwiches, or any other place your palate craves a little zing.
To make this dip you need four cloves of roasted garlic, as well as some of the oil the garlic is cooked in, so be sure not to throw away your delicious garlic oil! You can use garlic oil in so many places – see our post on how to roast garlic (7 ways!) for tips.
We topped ours with extra spices, a drizzle of garlic oil, and some fresh herbs. Za’atar would be an excellent addition.
💖Why You’ll Love This Recipe
✔️ It’s creamy, a bit spicy, and perfect for dipping crackers in.
✔️ Using roasted garlic adds a nice mellow garlic flavour without becoming overwhelming (or causing upset stomach).
✔️ It makes great use of late summer vegetables.
📋Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Fresno pepper: you can use another type of milder chili pepper you have, but we recommend this if possible.
- Red pepper: it is possible to roast the pepper with the stem on (as pictured) and easy to remove after cooking.
- Vinegar: plain white vinegar is what we use, but white wine or apple cider vinegar would also work.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
👩🍳Method
STEP 1: toss the vegetables with a tablespoon of garlic oil.
STEP 2: arrange on a baking sheet, with the peppers cut-side down.
STEP 3: roast for about 20 minutes. The pepper skin should be slightly charred.
STEP 4: cool slightly before adding to a blender or food processor.
STEP 5: blend until completely smooth or slightly chunky, your choice.
STEP 6: transfer to a bowl and serve.
💡Top Tips
1. A handy way to peel eggplant easily is to trim the ends with a knife and use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin.
2. Because the chili pepper used in the recipe is much smaller than both the eggplant and the red pepper, try tucking it underneath the red pepper halves for protection.
📝Recipe Notes
- You can use either a food processor or blender, both good options! This was photographed with a blender but has been tested with a processor too. Note that a blender will make for a smoother dip.
- If your vegetables aren’t charring at all (see pepper skin image above), place them under the broiler for a minute, keeping a close eye to prevent burning.
❓Recipe FAQ
While some recipes might use ingredients like various dairy products, the eggplant adds plenty of heft to this recipe and makes for a nice thick, smooth dip.
You really want to make the roasted garlic in oil for this recipe – trust us, you’ll find so many ways to use it!
You can use a food processor, normal blender, or immersion blender for this recipe. While you could puree by hand, it would take ages and you’d need a very large mortar and pestle.
🌶️ More Savoury Recipes
Recipe
Roasted Eggplant Red Pepper Dip Recipe
Description
Equipment
- Measuring spoons
- baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Mixing bowl
- Wire rack
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 1 small eggplant, peeled, chopped into large chunks
- 1 large red pepper, halved, seeds removed
- 1 fresno chili, halved, stem and seeds removed
- 4 cloves roasted garlic
- 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons garlic oil, divided
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, ground
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF (230ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl toss the eggplant, red pepper, and chili with 1 tablespoon of garlic oil.
- Place the red pepper halves face down, tucking the chili pieces underneath the red pepper halves for protection.
- Roast everything in the oven for 20 minutes or until the skin of the red pepper is charred.
- Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Once cooled slightly, place the roasted eggplant, red pepper, and chili, along with the roasted garlic, in the bowl of a food processor or in a blender.
- Pulse the vegetables together a few times until well mixed. You can leave it chunky or blend until completely smooth.
- Scrape the mixture into a serving bowl. Stir in the vinegar, salt, pepper, and remaining garlic oil.
- Adjust the seasoning to suit your taste then serve with pita, nacho chips, crackers, or anything else you like.
Billy says
The red peppers give it such a great color! This dip sounds so delicious. Thank you so much for sharing. Love eggplant based dips!
Vicki says
The recipe mentions 1 tablespoon of the garlic oil in with veg when roasting, but does not say when to add the other 2 teaspoons. I’m assuming they go into the processor. Hope I’m right, coz that’s what I’m doing….?
Kelly Neil says
Yes, sorry Vicki! We will update the recipe card right now! Thanks for letting us know. :)
Rose Granato says
Wow! So easy to make a d delicious! I only added 1 tbsp of olive oil for the roasting as I could it wasn’t needed afterwards. I didn’t add the hit peeper as I can’t handle spice and not even 1/2 tsp of salt.
Going to double the recipe next time to enjoy for the next day!
Raymond Oster says
do we skin the red pepper?
Kelly Neil says
Removing the skin is totally optional after roasting. You can do whichever you prefer!
Sheila says
I recently recieved a gallon container of this already made. How do I use this ?
Kelly Neil says
Hi Sheila! I usually serve mine as a dip with nachos, crackers, or pita but it’s also great on eggs for breakfast, on chicken, dolloped on pasta, basically anywhere you want a condiment or sauce. Hope this helps!