Easy Stuffed Mini Eggplants
EASY Stuffed Mini Eggplants ~ are brimming with sautéed onions, fresh tomatoes, chopped eggplant, sundried tomatoes, basil, and breadcrumbs. Topped off with grated pecorino cheese, baked until they are golden and tender, making these Italian mini eggplants savory and light! Besides making a big impression, we think you’re gonna love them!
We love mini eggplants, no matter how they are prepared! Using fresh ingredients when making these stuffed mini eggplants are the secret to giving them a lot of flavors.
The fresh basil and fresh ripe tomatoes give a sweetness to them, while it balances some of the saltiness from the pecorino cheese on top.
Eggplants are in abundance now, inexpensive too (about 3 for $1.00 at the farmer’s market). However, we found a package containing 5 mini eggplants there and decided to stuff them.
Keep in mind, you can find these mini eggplants at Costco too.
We made these easy stuffed mini eggplants the other night for meatless Monday and I thought they were perfect with a green salad next to them.
These simple, savory, and delicious stuffed mini eggplants are not heavy or weighed down with a lot of ingredients.
Amazingly, they make a perfect size to serve as a side to the main course and enough for everyone to try at least one.
A great recipe – easy to make, delicious to eat, served warm or at room temperature, they are ideal to serve at a summer BBQ or picnic.
Leftovers taste even better the next day, so prepare to take them to work for lunch!
HOW TO MAKE EASY STUFFED MINI EGGPLANTS?
1. First, prepare the eggplants by hollowing out each half, then chop the flesh into small pieces and transfer them into a bowl.
2. Next, transfer the eggplant shells onto a baking sheet and drizzle them with some olive oil and salt.
3. Bake for a few minutes in the oven to soften them before stuffing them.
4. While the eggplants are in the oven, you can get started by preparing the mixture with which to stuff them. Sauté the onions in olive oil along with the fresh tomatoes and basil for a few minutes.
5. Add in the chopped eggplant and sundried tomatoes and continue to cook until the eggplant softens. Stir in some breadcrumbs and turn off the heat. Remove pan from the stove.
Cook’s Tip!
When you’re short for time in the kitchen, you’ll be thrilled to see how quickly the flesh softens when sautéing on the stovetop. In fact, it takes the same amount of time as it does for the eggplant shells to soften while they’re in the oven.
And for me, saving some time is always a good thing.
6. Next, fill each eggplant shell evenly with the mixture. Sprinkle some grated pecorino cheese on top and return them back into the oven and bake for additional 15 minutes or more.
7. When the eggplants are tender and golden brown, there ready! Remove, and let them cool for a few minutes before serving.
Cook’s Notes and Tips:
- Keep in mind, all ovens vary. The eggplant boats hollowed out should be baked for at least 15 minutes or more (until they are tender) before stuffing them.
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If you notice the stuffing seems to be a little dry and needs a little more moisture, simply stir additional olive oil into the mixture before stuffing, or lightly drizzle over the tops of each stuffed eggplant.
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If you are looking for these to be gluten-free? Just omit the breadcrumbs, and maybe add in some cooked quinoa (about 1 cup cooked) to the stuffing, and add some protein.
Easy Stuffed Mini Eggplants are fun to make because they cook up so quickly.
You can easily modify the recipe by adding in some of your favorite ingredients into the stuffing, like adding in some Kalamata olives, capers, and even stuff them with browned chop meat.
If you can’t find the package for the mini ones, try looking for the smallest eggplants in the produce section. Sometimes they are labeled as “Italian eggplants” which are the same size as these mini ones we found here.
ENJOY!!
*Our full recipe card is at the bottom of this post.
More eggplant recipes? Try these:
Best Eggplant Manicotti Casserole … and our
Individual Roasted Eggplant Parmigiano-Lightened!
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Hello friends,
Thank you for your condolences and your sweet personal emails about our father’s passing. Two months have passed with so much going on in our families, I’d like to give you a quick update.
The month of May was a busy one. My Maria graduated from college, while my youngest Lizzy finished her first year in college.
A selfie with the girls! That’s me and Aunt Liz behind my daughters.
My son’s wedding was this past Memorial Day weekend! And, it was an entire weekend of celebrations!
My granddaughter Valentina, along with our brother’s granddaughters too, all of which are the same age – were the flower-girls! How precious….
….and you know the rest.
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!
Warmly,
Anna and Liz
Yield: 10 mini eggplants
Easy Stuffed Mini Eggplants
Stuffed Mini Eggplants ~ are brimming with sautéed onions, fresh tomatoes, chopped eggplant, sundried tomatoes, basil, and breadcrumbs. Topped off with grated pecorino cheese, baked until they are golden and tender, making these Italian mini eggplants savory and light! Besides making a big impression, we think you're gonna love them!
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Total Time
45 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 5 mini Eggplants, rinsed and cord discard
- 1 large Vidalia onion- finely chopped
- 3 ripe plum tomatoes - chopped or pureed
- 2 sundried tomatoes -chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 cup plain breadcrumbs
- salt and pepper, to taste
- grated pecorino cheese
- cooking oil spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a large baking dish or sheet with cooking oil and set aside.
- Slice each eggplant lengthwise and carefully using a pairing knife to hollow out the flesh with each half, transfer the fresh of the eggplant onto a chopping board, and place each eggplant onto a prepared baking dish. Lightly drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle some salt inside each hollowed eggplant.
- Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the eggplant is tender. When ready, remove from the oven. Set them aside.
- In the meantime, chop all the flesh into small pieces, set them aside.
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the onions.
- Sauté the onions for a few minutes, until they are softened and translucent.
- Next, add the pureed tomatoes, fresh basil and salt, and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes. Next, stir in the chopped eggplant, and the sundried tomatoes.
- Cook the mixture over medium-low heat, until the eggplant is softened and tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. If you feel the eggplant needs a little more moisture, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the mixture in the skillet. Taste the eggplant mixture, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir in the breadcrumbs. Turn off the heat.
- Using a wooden spoon, spoon the stuffing into each eggplant evenly. Sprinkle with grated pecorino cheese over each one.
- If the stuffing seems to be a little dry and needs a little more moisture, simply drizzle some olive oil over the tops of each stuffed eggplant. Return the baking dish into the oven and bake for additional 15 minutes or more. Remove and set aside to cool for a few minutes before serving. Serve warm.
- Yields: 10 stuffed mini eggplants
It was very good! My grandson love it.
Thanks for the recipe.
Cecilia
So happy to hear!! Thanks so much Cecilia! Hope to hear from you again, soon! 🙂
I tried your recipe for the first time,coz I’m running out of ideas what to cook every day,right now it’s in the oven baking for few minutes and I’ll know what will be the taste.my youngest grandson is waiting for it. I will let you know if this is a success!!
Thanks
Cecilia
aw, thanks Cecilia! Would love to know how you like our stuffed mini eggplants. looking forward to hearing from you soon! 🙂
I’ve made these twice now, and they are really good! I use Japanese eggplant, since that’s what’s growing in the garden. I always use quinoa in place of the breadcrumbs, and moisten the stuffed with a little chicken broth instead of oil. I’ve used Parmesan and feta-both are good. The air fryer works if you don’t want to heat up the whole house!
Hi Sheri! So glad you had a great outcome with our recipe! Welcome to our blog, it is so nice to meet you. Love all the substitutions you made, and yes the air fryer is great, but most of the time, it will not fit as many of them “inside” the basket. So, for that reason, I prefer to use the oven.
Thanks so much again! 🙂
Perfectly timed recipe. I just picked up a bag of mini eggplants and though was going to make eggplant parmesan, wanted something a little lighter (eggplant parm is in my top three meals- pizza and gnocchi being the other two- but wanted something slightly different). I omitted breadcrumbs, but did add a 1/4 can of leftover chick peas, some raisins, a large dollop of lentil soup from last night, sautéed some red onion, garlic, and a small piece of yellow squash- all finely minced, and a large handful of grape tomatoes. A bit of grated Pecorino Romano, too. A salad on the side and momma and daughter have dinner tonight.
Wow… Doug your ingredients sound fantastic!! And, you gave me a new idea to try with mini eggplants! Super thanks so much for the inspiration. Please come back and try a few more of our recipes! 🙂 Have a great evening!
I must update the outcome: the skins were very tough. They really needed more time in the oven. I’ll gladly make this again and try at least 30 minutes in the oven before stuffing. I still ate the skins but wife and daughter didn’t. Filling was fabulous, however. Would have made a very good pasta sauce.Oh, and FYI if others have difficulty finding these, COSTCO carries the bag of 5. Asian markets often carry a nice assortment of eggplants.
HI Doug, thanks for the tips on where to find these mini eggplants. Also, and just curious, did you first baked them hollowed for 15 minutes (before stuffing them)? And then, stuffed them and baked again for an additional 15 min or more. Let me know. thanks!
I’m going to look for these small eggplants because I know we would LOVE this recipe! Condolences for your father and congratulations on all the wonderful events. Such lovely photos- thanks for sharing them.
Aw thanks so much, Judee! I get those at Costco, but you can find them in most supermarkets, the small ones are usually labeled Italian eggplants. Enjoy 🙂
So nice to have found your blog and this delicious recipe. I've never seen those mini eggplants but can make this recipe with eggplants growing in my garden. I'm so sorry to hear about your father. It's tough to lose a beloved parent, but I'm glad you had a happy event recently too – your son's wedding. The photos of the flower girls are precious.
Thank you LIinda and welcome to our blog! So nice to meet you.
You are so lucky to grow your own eggplants! Enjoy and we look forward to hearing from you again!
Xox Anna and Liz
Ladies, this is one of the best recipes we've seen all summer; just a genius and delicious idea! We love the photos of your beautiful family; it's nice to see how life goes on with new generations, especially in the wake of losing a parent. We wish you both a wonderful rest of the summer. Thanks for this lovely post!
Thank you Dan for your sweet words!
You too have a great summer and thanks for stopping by!
I love eggplants and these look yummy! Thanks for sharing. Sorry about your father's passing. May him RIP. What a gorgeous wedding! Lovely family pictures and adorable flower girls. 🙂
Thank you Amy! Hope you enjoy the weekend!
Wow, wow and wow! So happy you were blessed with these wonderful events during a difficult time – your son's wedding must have been picture perfect! What a handsome groom and gorgeous bride! Congratulations on your daughter's graduation and the first year too! Thanks for sharing these photos and I almost forgot about the great recipe! Love the addition of sun dried tomatoes!
Lol! Thank you for your beautiful comment!
The sundried tomatoes was my husbands idea, because he loves them. And it added more flavor!
Thanks again!
Xo Anna
Another gorgeous eggplant recipe. I love them in any form also! Thank you for this new one.
Lovely family photos. Your dad is proud of you all from where he is now.
Thank you Sandra! We hope to post more eggplant recipes before the summer is over. Enjoy!
Xo
Such a beautiful family. A real testament to your dad. Blessings, love and well being as you relive the beautiful and also sad memories.
Thank you Gemmagirl! We appreciate your kind words, and we are grateful for your friendship and support.
Xo