Can You Freeze Grilled Eggplant?

I love grilled eggplants so much that I could eat them every single day. When I do get bored with all that grilled eggplants, I switch to my second favorite option, grilled eggplant parmesan.

But the thing is, it gets tough for me to grill the eggplants every so often because of my work schedule.

Before starting a long day, or even after one, it’s hard to muster up the energy to start from scratch.

So what to do?

Of course, I don’t give up on savoring my favorite dish at any cost! So I opt for the next best thing, which is freezing all the grilled eggplants I make in one go.

But can you freeze grilled eggplant?

You sure can freeze grilled eggplants! And guess what? You can keep your grilled eggplants in the freezer for about 10 to 12 months, meaning up to a year, without needing to throw them out!

How to Freeze Grilled Eggplants

It’s possible to preserve eggplants in the freezer in a few different ways.

You can blanch them, make eggplant purees, roast them, grill them, or make your favorite dishes with them, then put them in the freezer. I mostly enjoy grilled eggplants on their own.

So I prefer grilling them and freezing them. This is why I’ll guide you through the process of grilling and freezing eggplants that have worked best for me.

In what steps?

I’ll explain them all in detail in a minute!

How to Grill Eggplant Grilling Eggplant on a Gas Grill Recipe

Grilling the Eggplants

I usually grill a certain number of eggplants on a weekend when I have sufficient time, depending on how many I plan to eat.

First, I gather all the ingredients, obviously! Take a look:

Wisely selected eggplants
Kosher salt
Dried oregano
Red pepper flakes
Olive oil (because it’s healthier)
Black pepper
Crumbled feta
Lemon juice
Parsley

After gathering all these ingredients, I start by heating up the grill by setting the heat to medium-high.

While the grill preheats, I mix the oregano, oil, and red pepper in a container and coat my sliced eggplants with the mixture. Then I add the kosher salt and black pepper as seasoning.

Now I grill the eggplants for about three minutes on each side till they are soft on the inside and a bit seared on the outside.

All that’s left to do is top the delicious grilled eggplants with the rest of the ingredients, which are the parley, feta, and lemon juice, before I dig in.

Cooling Down the Grilled Eggplants

You might feel the urge to toss your grilled eggplants into the freezer right after you’re done grilling them.

But don’t!

Putting hot or even warm grilled eggplants in the freezer poses the risk of alternating the temperature inside your freezer and causing surrounding frozen food harm.

Thus I let my eggplants cool down for about an hour till it’s not even warm to the touch before I move on to the next step.

Flash Freezing the Grilled Eggplants

To preserve the nutrients in any food before freezing it, you should always use the flash freezing method.

How though?

It’s quite simple, actually! Just put your grilled eggplant slices on a baking sheet over a tray while spreading each slice just enough so that they don’t touch.

Whatever you do, don’t let them come into contact with each other, or they will get stuck together.

Now put the tray into the freezer for an hour or for as long as the grilled eggplants need to harden up. I usually keep them there for about 20 minutes or so.

Bagging and Sealing the Grilled Eggplants

All you need for this step are some freezer-friendly plastic zipper bags. You could use plastic containers, but I feel like the bags do a better sealing job.

Divide your grilled eggplant slices into small portions that you might need each time you want to eat them. I separate enough slices I usually eat in one go.

Why, you ask?

This way, you don’t have open and reseal the bag every time you need your eggplants, which can cause the eggplants to get freezer burns. And trust me; you don’t want that!

Now I put each portion in a small plastic bag and start sealing the bags tightly.

I used to take out all the excess air by putting pressure on the bags and sealing them right when I thought all the air was out.

But now I use a vacuum sealer, which is pretty inexpensive and easy to use. And it gets the job done better and faster!

Labeling the Grilled Eggplants

I try never to forget to label each bag with the date of freezing and the name of the food I froze. Just use small pieces of paper and stick them aptly onto the bags.

For what reason?

Even if you have a brilliant memory, it’s entirely possible to forget the freezing date if you’re planning on preserving the eggplants for months. Better safe than sorry, right?

Another reason I do this is that I freeze a lot of different kinds of food. So it’s easier if I write the names down to save time.

Storing the Grilled Eggplants in the Freezer

This is the easiest step among the others. All you need to do is stack up all the plastic bags one by one on a tray and levelly store the tray in the freezer.

Just make sure that the temperature of the freezer is below or at the correct freezing temperature.

I once didn’t take that into account, and my freezer went above the freezing temperature. It caused my frozen food to suffer from freezer burns. So I’ve been more cautious since.

How to Reheat Frozen Grilled Eggplants

Now that you’re done with freezing the grilled eggplants, all you have to do is reheat them and enjoy.

By what method?

Feast your eyes on the simple steps I use:

Thaw the frozen grilled eggplants for a couple of hours or overnight. I keep them in the refrigerator the night before I want to have them.
Take the eggplants out of the plastic bags, and put them on a sheet of aluminum foil.
Now rehydrate them using a bit of olive oil.
Wrap the aluminum foil around the eggplant slices to keep the heat in.
Place that into the oven and bake for about 5 minutes.
Add more time if the eggplants aren’t scorching hot through and through.
Take them out and enjoy your mouthwatering grilled eggplants.

The Wind-Up

So can you freeze grilled eggplants? Yes, there is nothing stopping you from freezing grilled eggplants if you know how to do it right.

I have to admit; when I first tried to do this, I made a lot of mistakes. This method I shared is the final result of all the trials and errors I went through.

Try it, and add your own flare to it if you need to!