This stuffed eggplant recipe fills tender roasted halves with savory pork sausage, tomatoes, garlic, and warm spices. Finished with Parmesan and fresh basil, it brings a little taste of Provence to your dinner table.
When summer arrives, my lunches become an endless parade of salads, fruit, and iced tea. But by dinnertime, I usually want something warm. By then, the salad bowl has had its moment, and I'm ready for something comforting with a little more substance.
Provence has a way of following you home. Every trip there leaves me dreaming of ripe peaches, apricots, lavender ice cream, and all those wonderful stuffed vegetables. Tomatoes and zucchini are the usual suspects, but this time I gave eggplant the starring role.
The trick to this stuffed eggplant recipe is to roast the halves before filling them. Their centers turn soft and flavorful, and the roasted flesh goes straight into the sausage mixture. Nothing is wasted, and the filling tastes even better for it. Add cumin, a pinch of French quatre-épices (a warm blend of pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger), Parmesan, and basil, and dinner is ready for its grand entrance.
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Tips for the Best Stuffed Eggplant Boats
- Choose medium eggplants. Very large ones can soften and slump as they cook. They'll still taste delicious, but they may be less inclined to pose for a photo.
- Score the flesh before roasting. Cut shallow zigzags into each half without piercing the skin. This helps the center cook while the skin stays sturdy enough to hold the filling.
- Use the roasted flesh. Once the halves are tender, scoop out some of the center, chop it, and stir it into the sausage mixture.
- Go gently with the salt. Pork sausage, chicken bouillon, and Parmesan all bring salt to the party. Taste the filling before adding any more.
- Finish with fresh basil. Add it after baking so its flavor stays bright.
What Kind of Sausage Should I Use?
In France, we use chair à saucisse, or bulk pork sausage meat. For this sausage stuffed eggplant, use a mild bulk pork sausage or sausage with the casings removed. If your sausage is strongly seasoned, taste the filling before adding all the cumin and quatre-épices.
You can also use a mixture of ground pork and ground beef, or ground beef alone. The flavor will be a little different, but both work well with the tomatoes, spices, and Parmesan.
How to Make Baked Stuffed Eggplant
The eggplants roast while you prepare the sausage filling, then everything comes together for a final bake with Parmesan.
1. Roast the eggplants. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, score the flesh in a shallow crisscross pattern, and drizzle with olive oil. Roast at 220°C (425°F) for about 25 minutes, until tender.
2. Cook the onions and garlic. While the eggplants roast, soften the chopped onions in a skillet with a little olive oil. Add the garlic and optional chili pepper, then cook for another minute or two.
3. Prepare the sausage filling. Add the pork sausage to the softened onions, as shown below, and break it into small pieces as it browns. Once cooked through, stir in the diced tomatoes, cumin, quatre-épices or your chosen substitute, and chicken bouillon.
4. Stuff, bake, and finish. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (350°F). Scoop some tender flesh from the roasted eggplants, leaving the skins intact. Chop the flesh and stir it into the sausage filling. Spoon the mixture into the eggplant halves, leaving excess skillet liquid behind. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake for 10 minutes. Finish with fresh basil and a little extra Parmesan, if you like, and serve your stuffed eggplant boats hot.
What to Serve with Stuffed Eggplant
This stuffed eggplant recipe makes a satisfying main dish on its own. Serve the eggplants with a simple green salad dressed with lemon and olive oil, plus a piece of crusty baguette to catch any filling that escapes. For a heartier dinner, add plain rice or couscous.
Ready to make them? You'll find the full recipe with all the measurements just below.
And if you love stuffed vegetables as much as I do, try my stuffed round zucchini next. They bring the same summer spirit to the table, with their little hats still on.
If you make these stuffed eggplants, please leave a star rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and a comment. I love hearing how my recipes turn out in your kitchen, and it means the world to me!
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Stuffed Eggplant Recipe with Sausage and Parmesan
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplants
- 2 onions finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tomatoes diced
- 500 g bulk pork sausage about 1 lb 2 oz
- Grated Parmesan to taste
- 1 level teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 generous pinch French quatre-épices see note for substitutes
- ½ small chili pepper finely chopped (optional)
- ½ ½ Knorr chicken bouillon cube, or 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon chicken or beef base (up to ¾ cube to taste)
- Fresh basil chopped, to finish
- Olive oil as needed
- Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Score the flesh in shallow zigzags without cutting through the skin. Drizzle with olive oil and place on a baking sheet.
- Roast the eggplant halves for about 25 minutes, or a little longer if needed, until the centers are tender. Begin preparing the filling when they have about 15 minutes left in the oven.
- Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet. Cook the onions for a few minutes until softened. Add the garlic and optional chili pepper, and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the pork sausage. Cook over medium heat, breaking it into small pieces with a spatula, until browned and cooked through.
- Add the tomatoes, cumin, quatre-épices or your chosen substitute, and ½ chicken bouillon cube. Add black pepper. Stir and taste before adding any more bouillon. Do not add salt automatically, as the sausage, bouillon, and Parmesan may already provide enough.
- Remove the eggplants from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (350°F). Scoop some flesh from the center of each half, leaving enough around the edges for the shells to hold their shape. Chop the scooped flesh and stir it into the sausage filling.
- Spoon the filling generously into the eggplant halves, leaving excess liquid in the skillet. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake for 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle with chopped fresh basil and more Parmesan, if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Quatre-épices is a French spice blend commonly made with pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. If you do not have it, use a tiny pinch each of ground nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, plus a little black pepper. For a simpler option, use a small pinch of ground allspice. Allspice is a single spice, so its flavor will be slightly different.
- Mild bulk pork sausage works well here. You can also remove the casings from mild pork sausages. A mixture of ground pork and ground beef, or ground beef alone, can be used instead, though the flavor will change.
