Italian stuffed eggplant (no meat)

💙 Why you'll love them

• Very few ingredients - you'll need just a handful of ingredients, all simple to find and use.
• Really easy - this recipe is child's play, as all you have to do is cut the eggplants in half, pre-cook them, garnish them and put them back in the oven for a few minutes. Child's play, I told you!
• Economical - as there are only a few ingredients and you're using a seasonal vegetable, this recipe is budget-friendly!

🧀Ingredients

You'll need the following ingredients to make these delicious Italian stuffed eggplants. You can find the quantities are in the recipe card below.

• Eggplants - in season from June to September included.
• Herbs - herbes de Provence and basil, to add flavor to the dish.
• Garlic - I use garlic powder, which melts better into the flesh of the eggplants, but if you don't have any, you can also finely chop garlic cloves. And if you want to choose your garlic carefully so you do not encourage the slavery of Chinese prisoners, read my Eco Tips on the subject.
• Tomato sauce - use a good quality sauce that doesn't contain too much water, otherwise it will soak your eggplants.
• Mozzarella - you can use grated mozzarella if you can find it, but if you can't, balls of mozzarella cut into pieces will work just as well.

🍗 Variations

Feel free to modify this recipe to suit your tastes, and adapt it according to whether you want to make it a main course or a side dish. I suggest several options:

• The cheese - you can replace the mozzarella with Parmesan or Gorgonzola. You can also add a little fresh burrata or straciatella (instead of mozzarella).
• Protein - feel free to add chicken, prosciutto, diced pancetta, Italian sausage, ground beef or even bacon.
• Vegetables - you can add mushrooms, zucchinis or peppers.
• As a side dish - these oven-stuffed eggplants are a delicious main course, but they can also be a side dish. They can accompany a pasta or rice dish, zucchini tagliatelle, or even meat dishes such as chicken meatballs.

✅Vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free version

• Vegan version - make sure that your tomato sauce is vegan and replace the mozzarella with the vegan cheese of your choice.
• Dairy-free version - replace the mozzarella with the vegan cheese of your choice.
• To make sure your recipe is gluten-free, check your garlic powder, salt and pepper, which may contain gluten.

👩🏻‍🍳 Chef's tips

• Tomato sauce - choose a good quality tomato sauce that doesn't contain too much water.
• Olive oil - respect the given quantity of olive oil, as eggplants absorb a lot.
• Don't stick them together when cooking - as eggplants contain a lot of water, you want to give them room in the oven for the water to evaporate. So don't stick them together.

💡Frequently Asked Questions

❄️ Storage

Storage - once cold, place the stuffed eggplants in an airtight container. This way, you can keep them for two or three days.

Reheat - to reheat, cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven at 410°F/210°C for 10 to 15 minutes.

Freeze - I don't recommend freezing, as eggplants are 80% water, and may become completely soggy when defrosted.

😋Other family-style Italian dishes

• Zucchini lasagna with chicken
• My nonna's Roman semolina gnocchi
• Cheesy zucchini involtini

If you make this Italian stuffed eggplant without meat, it would be so nice to leave me a comment and rate the recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. You can also tag me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook or Tik Tok, or even send me a photo, I love seeing my little dishes in your homes!