The stuffed eggplants are a classic of Mediterranean cuisine, which can be prepared in many different ways: today I want to show you a delightful vegetarian recipe that honors this dish. The meatless stuffed eggplants are a tasty and nutritious dish that offers a delicious alternative to traditional versions and is also quite quick: there is no need to pre-cook either the eggplants or the filling!
In the meatless stuffed eggplants recipe, the eggplants are halved (or into boats) and scored in the flesh with a crisscross pattern: this way, the filling – made of cherry tomatoes, breadcrumbs, and Parmesan – can penetrate inside the eggplants and season them well. If you use not too large eggplants, about 30 minutes in the oven will be enough to have perfectly cooked eggplant boats, with a crunchy topping on the surface and a soft and flavorful filling!
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 15 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer, and Autumn
Ingredients for the Vegetarian Stuffed Eggplants
With these quantities, you’ll get an appetizer for 4 people or a main course for 2 people.
- 2 eggplants (small 5-6 oz each)
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (gluten-free for me)
- 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese (grated)
- 4 leaves basil
- to taste salt
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Baking tray
- Parchment paper
- 1 Teaspoon
- 1 Bowl
How to Make Meatless Stuffed Eggplants
To prepare the meatless stuffed eggplants, start by washing and drying the eggplants. You can remove the stem if you wish, or leave it for “beauty” and discard it when eating the eggplants. Cut them lengthwise.
With a sharp knife, score the flesh with several crosswise cuts, first in one direction and then in the other, thus forming a kind of checkerboard pattern (1). Be careful not to cut through the underlying skin, but only to score the flesh.
Sprinkle a pinch of salt inside the cuts (2) on all the eggplant boats. Set them aside. Wash and dry the cherry tomatoes, then cut them into very small pieces (3).
Put them in a bowl and add the chopped basil, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (4). Mix and also add the breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan. Mix well with a spoon to distribute the breadcrumbs evenly (5).
Then proceed to fill your stuffed eggplants: place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and, with the help of a teaspoon, distribute the cherry tomato filling inside the cuts, pressing well with your fingers to make it penetrate inside the eggplant (6).
Put some filling even in areas where there are no cuts (7). Garnish the meatless stuffed eggplants with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (8).
Then bake them in the preheated oven at 400°F for 25-30 minutes. This way, if you used eggplants weighing 5-6 oz each, they will be perfectly cooked; for larger eggplants, more time will be needed, so the advice is to test the doneness with a fork before taking them out of the oven. If the flesh is soft and tender, they are ready (9).
Remove the stuffed eggplants from the oven and let them cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. They are good hot, but in my opinion, they are even more enjoyable when served at room temperature, both as an appetizer and – in larger quantities – as a vegetarian main course.
Storage
You can store the vegetarian stuffed eggplants in the refrigerator for about 3 days.
Tips and Variations
This meatless stuffed eggplants recipe is a so-called “basic” version, meaning that, depending on tastes and needs, it can be enriched with other ingredients. You can add to the cherry tomato filling, for example, some capers and chopped olives, cubes of provolone cheese, 1 finely chopped garlic clove, a tablespoon of pine nuts, oregano, thyme… Anchovies in oil also go very well, but of course, the dish will no longer be suitable for vegetarians.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
How can I tell if the eggplants are cooked?
The best way to tell if the stuffed eggplants are cooked is to pierce them with a fork in the thickest part of the vegetable (generally the part opposite the stem). If the fork penetrates the flesh without difficulty, as if it were soft, the eggplants are ready. If, on the other hand, when piercing them, you feel that the flesh still offers a bit of resistance, it means they need about ten more minutes of cooking.
