This one started because I had half an eggplant and a container of cherry tomatoes that were not going to survive another day. I wasn’t planning to make anything special — but once the eggplant hit the hot pan and started getting those dark crispy edges, I knew where this was going. Brown butter pasta bake. In the toaster oven.
The thing about eggplant is it needs real heat and enough space to actually roast, not steam. A toaster oven is genuinely great for this because it’s a smaller environment and the heat is more concentrated. If you have a good toaster oven baking pan with low sides, you’ll get better browning than on a deep dish. That browning matters. It’s the whole point.
Brown butter takes this from decent weeknight pasta to something you’d actually want to serve to someone. Nutty, a little rich, and it mixes right into the sauce so every bite has it. The burrata on top is added after the bake comes out of the oven — the residual heat softens it just enough without turning it into mush. It’s kind of an embarrassingly easy dish for how good it tastes.
If you don’t already have a toaster oven with a convection setting, this works on regular bake too — just add a few extra minutes for the eggplant. You want it genuinely golden, not pale and soft.
Toaster Oven Crispy Brown Butter Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Pasta Bake with Burrata
Roasted eggplant and cherry tomatoes get tossed with rigatoni and finished under the toaster oven broiler until golden and bubbling, then topped with torn burrata that melts right into the pasta.
Ingredients
For the roasted vegetables
For the pasta
Instructions
Roast the vegetables
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Preheat your toaster oven to 425°F on the bake or convection bake setting. Line your toaster oven pan with foil and give it a light coat of olive oil.
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Toss the eggplant cubes, halved cherry tomatoes, and smashed garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Spread everything out in a single layer — crowding is the enemy here, the eggplant will steam instead of roast.
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Roast for 20 to 22 minutes, flipping the eggplant once around the 12-minute mark. You want the eggplant deep golden brown on at least one side and the tomatoes collapsing into themselves. The garlic should be soft and a little caramelized.
Make the brown butter and assemble
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While the vegetables finish, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and let it cook until it smells nutty and turns a light amber — about 3 minutes. Watch it closely because it goes from done to burnt fast. Pull it off the heat immediately.
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Grab a medium oven-safe baking dish that fits in your toaster oven. Toss the cooked pasta with the marinara, the roasted vegetables (and all the juices from the pan — that's flavor), the brown butter, Parmesan, and just a splash of the reserved pasta water to loosen things up. Taste it. Adjust salt if needed.
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Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over the top and slide the dish into the toaster oven. Bake at 425°F for another 10 to 12 minutes until the pasta on top is getting crispy at the edges and everything is hot and bubbling.
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Switch to broil for the last 2 minutes if you want a little more color on top. Keep an eye on it — toaster oven broilers move fast.
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Pull it out and immediately tear the burrata over the hot pasta. It'll melt a bit into the dish as you serve it, which is the whole point. Scatter the fresh basil on top and add more Parmesan if you feel like it.
Notes
The pasta water is worth saving — even a few tablespoons help the sauce cling instead of sitting dry at the bottom of the dish. Don't skip browning the butter; it takes two extra minutes and adds a depth that plain melted butter just doesn't have. Leftovers reheat well in the toaster oven at 375°F for about 8 minutes, though you won't have burrata anymore — it's best added fresh each time. If your toaster oven runs hot, check the eggplant around the 18-minute mark. And if burrata isn't available, fresh mozzarella torn over the top works fine.
Nutrition
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Written by
Emma is a home cook who loves coaxing big flavor out of a toaster oven — from crispy roasted vegetables to easy weeknight dinners and sweet treats. She develops and tests Toastera's recipes for small-appliance kitchens.
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