Stuffed Eggplant Parmesan

Stuffed Eggplant Parmesan is a great choice for dinner. Meaty eggplants that are filled with ground beef and topped with two types of cheese, who can say no to this?

Saying hi to you from Gaithersburg,MD!

Yes, these days we are here and probably when this post is published I will be in another place. How awesome is this?

I’m trying to embrace these days as much as I can and enjoy this unexpected trip of ours to the most. But that’s how life is, right? Full of unexpected stuff!

How often do you eat eggplant? We try to have it at least once a week but it doesn’t always happen. I think eggplant is somehow of an under appreciated vegetable. There are many ways to add it to meals like grilling for a side dish or layering if for a casserole. Oh, and have you tried smoking it? Smoked eggplant is a gift from heaven, trust me.

When we were in Ithaca for my husband’s graduation, one day I made this stuffed eggplant parmesan and everyone loved it. There are a million ways to make eggplant parmesan, right? Do you have any favorite recipes for it? I can call this a “westernized” version of a type of stuffed eggplant we make in Iran. The Persian version is really good, and it’s in my cookbook which will be published in November. Yay for having a cookbook in the first year of blogging!

This stuffed eggplant parmesan is one of our favorites and I hope it becomes yours, too! I mean, two types of cheese, eggplant, ground beef and spices. There is no way this dish can’t steal your heart!

I like to fill the eggplants and then bake them for two reasons: first, they will keep their shape better and therefore look prettier for serving and second, all the flavors of the filling is mixed with eggplant which makes it ten times more delicious.

You can substitute ground beef with more eggplants for a vegetarian version of stuffed eggplant parmesan and you can also just place all the stuffed eggplants in an oven safe dish next to each other and top them with the filling. As I always say, it will work just as fine and it will be just as delicious!

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Stuffed Eggplant Parmesan

Stuffed Eggplant Parmesan is a great choice for dinner. Meaty eggplants that are filled with ground beef and topped with two types of cheese, who can say no to this?

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 230 kcal

Ingredients

• 4 Eggplants
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan
• 1 cup grated mozzarella

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Cut the eggplants into half lengthwise and take the flesh from the center of the eggplants out and chop them into small pieces, set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic until translucent, add ground beef and cook until brown. Using a spatula, break it into small pieces while cooking.
4. add in red bell pepper and the eggplant flesh.
5. Add in salt, pepper and turmeric. Stir and cook for 7 to 10 minutes until flavors are combined.
6. Add tomato paste and water, stir and cook for 10 minutes.
7. Fill the eggplants with the filling and bake them in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until eggplants are cooked.
8. Top the eggplants with parmesan and mozzarella. Turn the broil on and broil for 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted.

You can find more deliciousness here!

• Hash Browns Eggplant Casserole
• One Pan Chicken Parmesan Pasta
• Easy No Fail Ratatouille
• Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb and Walnuts