Baked eggplants stuffed with breadcrumbs and cherry tomatoes, without meat. Baked stuffed eggplants without meat or vegetarian eggplant boats are a typical dish of the Southern Italian cuisine and can be prepared in many ways. I also stuff them with rice or with pasta. Quick and tasty, they are excellent just made and even after a few hours of rest. They are easy to prepare and capture all the flavor and aroma of summer. These baked stuffed eggplants made this way are a tasty and flavorful dish prepared in minutes with inexpensive, simple ingredients that everyone can find. I made a vegetarian version with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and breadcrumbs. They can be a main course, a complete one-dish meal, and are simple to make: just halve the eggplants, scoop them out to form a shell and fill them either with a vegetarian stuffing without meat or with ground meat. Once stuffed, you can bake them until a golden, gratinated surface forms and the filling is soft and melded with the shell! Want to make the stuffed eggplants at home with breadcrumbs, cherry tomatoes and mozzarella? Follow me in the kitchen, but before you start cooking, I suggest taking a look at my collection of First courses with eggplant and Tasty recipes with eggplant. Also, if you want to stay updated on all my kitchen ideas, you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here).
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer and Autumn
Ingredients to make vegetarian baked stuffed eggplants
- 1 eggplant (large)
- 1 1/3 cups cherry tomatoes
- to taste salt
- to taste parsley
- 7 oz mozzarella (about 1 cup, cut into pieces)
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (or Grana Padano)
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- Baking dish
- Oven
- Pans
Steps to make eggplants stuffed with breadcrumbs and cherry tomatoes
Rinse the eggplant and cut it in half, leaving the stem on. Using a knife, score the flesh and then scoop it out with a spoon, creating two boats. Sprinkle them with salt and let them rest for a few minutes on a rack, cut side down. Cut the flesh into small pieces and begin to sauté it in olive oil with a pinch of salt.
Once the eggplant is golden, add the cherry tomatoes and the parsley and let cook for a few minutes. Put this preparation in a bowl and add the breadcrumbs and the grated cheese, mixing well.
Pat the eggplants dry with kitchen paper, add the mozzarella pieces to the breadcrumb mixture, mix and use this filling to stuff the eggplant boats.
Arrange them in a baking dish where you have poured half a glass of water, drizzle a good amount of oil so it reaches the bottom as well and bake for 20–25 minutes in a convection oven at 392°F (200°C).
After the time has passed, pierce the outer part with a fork and if it is soft you can remove them from the oven.
Let them rest at least 15 minutes before serving; the longer they rest the better they will taste — they are delicious even when lukewarm.
Baked stuffed eggplants without meat can be stored in the refrigerator for 2–3 days in an airtight container and should be reheated slightly before serving.
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