The simplest Italian Stuffed Eggplant made with a flavour-packed tomato sauce, fresh basil, fennel seeds and bubbling mozzarella cheese. An easy and healthy recipe that can be served as a light lunch or dinner or as a delicious veggie side dish.
There is an abundance of eggplant during the summer months and one of my favourite ways to use them when they are at their best is to stuff them.
Like a lot of Italian food, this recipe uses very simple ingredients yet it's packed with incredible flavour.
Enjoy them as they are or switch it up with endless variations by adding different herbs and spices, cheese or meat.
See the recipe below including notes on ingredients, step by step photos, tips, variations and a video tutorial. For the full printable recipe scroll to the bottom or click the recipe link below.
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Ingredients
See the photo below that shows you everything you need to make our Italian stuffed eggplant recipe plus some important notes on ingredients.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Eggplants - use medium-large eggplants (aubergines) that are firm and plump with no bruising.
- Tomatoes - good quality tomatoes are a must for this recipe so use a trusted brand such as Cirio or Mutti.
- Mozzarella - use a good quality fresh mozzarella such as buffalo mozzarella.
- Basil - make sure you use fresh basil, do not substitute it with dried although dried oregano can be used.
Step by step photos and instructions
Prepare the eggplant - Wash and dry the eggplant then cut them in half lengthwise so you have four halves. Score the inside flesh of the eggplants in a criss-cross pattern making sure you don’t pierce the skin.
Place the eggplant on a shallow baking tray. Sprinkle each with salt, pepper and some fennel seeds then drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake them in the oven for 25-30 minutes until soft (photos 1 & 2).
Make the sauce - Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a frying pan and add the chopped garlic. Saute for a few seconds until the garlic is fragrant but not browned then add the chopped tomatoes. Rinse the can out with around 1 tablespoon of water and add that to the sauce (photos 3 & 4).
Add a good pinch of salt and pepper then simmer the sauce gently for 15 minutes until reduced and thickened slightly (you don’t want the sauce to be watery).
Once ready, remove the eggplants from the oven. When cool enough to touch, scoop out the inside of the eggplant and add to a mixing bowl (photos 5 & 6).
Mix the filling - Add the tomato sauce, fresh basil (torn or roughly chopped) and roughly chopped mozzarella and mix until combined (photos 7 & 8).
Stuff the eggplants - Fill the eggplants with the mixture then sprinkle each one with some fennel seeds. Bake in the oven for another 25 minutes until melted and slightly golden (photos 9 & 10).
Recipe tips and variations
- High-quality ingredients are a must! - like most Italian recipes this recipe is very simple and uses very few ingredients yet it tastes incredible, why? Because high-quality ingredients are used.
- Sauce consistency - make sure your tomato sauce has thickened and isn't watery or there will be too much liquid in the filling.
- Make it spicy - to add some heat try adding some red pepper flakes (chilli flakes) to the tomato sauce.
- Other cheeses to use - to add a stronger cheese flavour you can swap half of the mozzarella for fontina, taleggio or even gorgonzola cheese.
- To add meat - you can brown some Italian sausage before continuing with the sauce or add some cubed mortadella or prosciutto slices to the filling mixture.
FAQs
Absolutely, you can eat the whole eggplant (except from the stalk). The skin is delicious!
No, the eggplant is baked first and the flesh is scooped out, there's no need to soak them.
Once cooked they'll keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days. You can reheat them in a preheated 350F (200C) oven for 15-20 minutes until piping hot. Cover them with foil so the cheese does not burn.
Yes, you can freeze them for up to 1 month.
Serving suggestions
There are so many ways to serve stuffed eggplant, this recipe, in particular, is so simple that they're perfect as a Primo (first course).
You can also serve two halves per person with our arugula salad as a main course or serve them as a vegetable side dish with meat or fish. Our pistachio-crusted chicken is a great option.
More Italian eggplant recipes
If you’ve tried this Italian Stuffed Eggplant recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest or sign up to our Newsletter to see more of our delicious food.
📖 Full Recipe
Italian Stuffed Eggplant
Ingredients
- 2 medium-large eggplant (aubergine)
- 14 oz canned chopped tomatoes such as Cirio or Mutti (400g)
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 1.5 cups chopped fresh mozzarella (200g/7oz)
- 1 Large handful fresh basil
- ½ tablespoon fennel seeds
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350F (200C).
- Wash and dry the eggplant then cut them in half lengthwise so you have four halves. Score the inside flesh of the eggplants in a criss-cross pattern making sure you don’t pierce the skin.
- Place the eggplant on a shallow baking tray. Sprinkle each one with a little salt, pepper and fennel seeds then drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake them in the oven for 25-30 minutes until soft.
- Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a frying pan and add the chopped garlic. Saute for a few seconds until the garlic is fragrant but not browned then add the chopped tomatoes. Rinse the can out with around 1 tablespoon of water and add that to the sauce.
- Add a good pinch of salt and pepper then simmer the sauce gently for 15 minutes until reduced and thickened slightly (you don’t want the sauce to be watery).
- Once ready, remove the eggplants from the oven. When cool enough to touch, scoop out the inside of the eggplant and add to a mixing bowl.
- Add the tomato sauce, fresh basil (torn or roughly chopped) and roughly chopped mozzarella and mix until combined.
- Fill the eggplants with the mixture then sprinkle each one with some fennel seeds. Bake in the oven for another 25 minutes until melted and slightly golden.
Notes
- Sauce consistency - make sure your tomato sauce has thickened and isn't watery or there will be too much liquid in the filling.
- Make it spicy -Â to add some heat try adding some red pepper flakes (chilli flakes) to the tomato sauce.
- Other cheeses to use -Â to add a stronger cheese flavour you can swap half of the mozzarella for fontina, taleggio or even gorgonzola cheese.
- To add meat -Â you can brown some Italian sausage before continuing with the sauce or add some cubed mortadella or prosciutto slices to the filling mixture
- Storage and reheating - once cooked, the stuffed eggplant will keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days. You can reheat them at 350F (200C) for 15-20 minutes until piping hot all the way through. Make sure to cover them with foil so the cheese they do not burn.
- Freezing - freeze them in suitable containers for up to 1 month.
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Jim
Wondering what I could do with an eggplant I had acquired, I came across your recipe. Excellent!!! For the sauce, I used some Carbone Marinara with a good pinch of red pepper flakes, and before baking topped the halves with slivered almonds. My wife says that we should invite our neighbours over next time, the recipe is that good!
Christian Houmann
So simple and so tasteful! We really loved this and it now has a place in our favourites folder 😉
Btw. since a lot of italian dishes are vegetarian it would be nice if you had a category for meatless dishes, but I don't know how difficult it is reorganize things in the web template you are using...
Emily
Hi Christian, thank you for the feedback, we'll look at creating a vegetarian or meat-free category!