After a little internet exploring, I realized that eggplant croutons are not my invention, but I’d never seen them before I came up with the idea as a topping to my Paleo Tomato Basil Soup!  The original tomato basil soup recipe included making homemade croutons with pita bread.  I had an eggplant in the fridge that I had been meaning to use, and then the idea hit me that I could cut it into cubes and roasts them like chunks of bread!  I was extremely pleased with these yummy little eggplant bites.  With the leftovers, I served them on top of my Paleo Stuffed Pepper Soup!

I kept the skin on the eggplant, but you may absolutely remove the skin if you don’t like the texture.  If you have an eggplant with small seeds you may leave them, but large seeds are extremely bitter and will take away from the roasted eggplant flavor.  Also, I seasoned the eggplant with sea salt, ground black pepper and garlic powder.  Depending on what dish you would like them to accompany/your palate, feel free to play around with different seasoning combinations!

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant, rinsed, cubed, and large seeds removed
• sea salt, ground black pepper, and garlic powder, to taste
• 2 tbs organic olive or coconut oil

Instructions

• 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• 2. Cube eggplant, avoiding/removing areas with large seeds
• 3. Place in large plastic bag, add 2 tablespoons of organic olive oil, seal, and shake to cover eggplant evenly
• 4. Pour onto an aluminum foil or parchment paper-lined roasting pan, season with sea salt, black pepper, and garlic powder
• 5. Bake eggplant for 33-35 minutes, stirring once at the halfway point
• 6. Serve eggplant hot or at room temperature
• 7. Enjoy!