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5 from 14 votes
Stuffed baked eggplant with lentils and vegan cheese! This is a simple vegetarian weeknight dinner, side dish or entrée which contains wholesome ingredients. The recipe is meat-free, plant-based, healthy, low-carb, and easy to make! You can use your favorite veggies and sub lentils for chickpeas.
Lentil Stuffed Epplant
Lentil Stuffed EpplantHow awesome are eggplants/aubergines? I love them most when they are baked or grilled and topped with lots of vegan cheese. These eggplants are stuffed with flavorful lentils which add healthy plant-based protein.
I love this recipe because it is:
- The perfect vegan side dish, weeknight dinner or entrée
- Hearty, cheesy, flavorful, spicy
- Easy to make with simple ingredients
How To Make The Best Vegan Stuffed Eggplant?
How To Make The Best Vegan Stuffed Eggplant?Check the following step-by-step instruction photos below:
- Cut the eggplants in half (lengthwise), scoop out some of the flesh, leaving a border around the skin.
- Process the scooped out flesh in a food processor and set aside.
- Place the eggplant “boats” on a baking sheet, sprinkle with sea salt and bake for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the filling in a skillet and stuff each eggplant half with the filling.
- Add vegan cheese sauce and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh herbs and enjoy!
Health Benefits Of Eggplants
Did you know that eggplants have many health benefits? They contain lots of fiber, vitamins, minerals and are rich in antioxidants. I found a great article with awesome facts about eggplants! I am going to share some facts with you:
Heart health
The fiber, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and phytonutrient content in eggplants all support heart health…Cancer
Polyphenols in eggplant have been shown to have anti-cancer effects…Liver health
Research has suggested that the antioxidants in eggplant may help protect the liver from certain toxins…Eggplants also contain flavonoids, such as anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are water-soluble pigments that have many health benefits. They also help give the eggplant its well-known, dark purple color.
The skin of the eggplant is rich in antioxidants, fiber, potassium, and magnesium.
The phenolic content of eggplant makes it such a potent free radical scavenger that this vegetable is ranked among the top 10 vegetables in terms of oxygen radical absorbance capacity.
Check out this link to find out more incredible facts about eggplants.
Preparation Of Eggplants
Preparation Of EggplantsI sometimes get asked what’s the best way to prepare eggplant. Eggplants might taste bitter (due to the glycoalkaloids) but the ones I ate actually never tasted bitter. I assume it’s different from region to region and it also depends on the variety.
If you are afraid of a bitter taste or can’t buy a low-bitter variety, you might want to try the following trick:
- “Sweat” the eggplant by cutting it in half and then sprinkling each half with a little salt.
- Set aside for 30 minutes.
- You will see that moisture will be drawn out which you can rinse off with water (or pat dry with tissues).
Vegan Stuffed Eggplant Ingredients
Vegan Stuffed Eggplant IngredientsAs mentioned before, these eggplant boats are stuffed with a hearty lentil mixture and vegan cheese. However, I also used the eggplant flesh because if you prepare it with various seasonings it actually turns out to be tasty and flavorful!
I hate food wasting and therefore I would never throw away the scooped out eggplant flesh!
If you don’t like lentils, you can, of course, use beans (kidney beans, white beans, pinto beans, black beans…), refried beans, or chickpeas instead. I cooked the lentils (from dry brown lentils), however, you can also use canned lentils.
This Vegan Stuffed Eggplant Recipe is:
This Vegan Stuffed Eggplant Recipe is:- Meat-free, egg-free, dairy-free
- Relatively low-carb
- Hearty
- Satisfying
- Flavorful
- Comforting
- Easy to make with simple ingredients
Should you recreate these vegan stuffed eggplant, please leave a comment below and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I love to see your remakes! If you like eggplant, definitely also check out the following recipes:
- Chickpea Eggplant Curry
- Coconut Veggie Curry
- Crispy Spinach Eggplant Tacos
- Easy Ratatouille Recipe
Vegan Stuffed Eggplant
Author: Michaela Vais
Stuffed baked eggplant with lentils and vegan cheese! This is a simple weeknight dinner, side dish or entrée which contains wholesome ingredients. The recipe is plant-based, relatively low-carb, and easy to make!
5 from 14 votes
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Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Course Side
Cuisine gluten free, low carb, vegan
Servings 4
Calories 313 kcal
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplants
- 1 onion diced
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tbsp oil (or water, if oil-free)
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth
- 2 plum tomatoes chopped
- 1 1/2 cups of (300 g) cooked lentils e.g. canned
- 1 batch (200 g) vegan cheese sauce or 7 oz of store-bought vegan cheese
- 1/2 to 3/4 tsp sea salt or to taste
- 1/3 tsp black pepper or to taste
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp paprika
- 3/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp soy sauce gluten-free if needed
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- Fresh herbs to garnish
- Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 410 degrees Fahrenheit (210 degrees Celsius) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut the eggplants in half (lengthwise) and scoop out about 2/3 of the flesh leaving a 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick border around the skin.
Process the scooped out eggplant flesh in a food processor and set aside. Check the step-by-step photos above in the blog post.
Place the eggplant "boats" on a baking sheet, sprinkle with sea salt and bake for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for about 4-5 minutes.
Add garlic, eggplant flesh, all spices, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, maple syrup, and vegetable broth. Put a lid on the skillet and cook for about 10 minutes.
Add tomatoes and cooked lentils and cook for a few more minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add more salt/pepper/spices to taste.
Prepare the vegan cheese sauce or use store-bought vegan cheese.
Once the eggplants have been in the oven for 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius) and stuff each half with the lentil eggplant mixture.
Add vegan cheese and bake for another 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh herbs and enjoy!
Notes
- Please check the step-by-step process shots and videoabove in the blog post.
- If the eggplants in your region have a slightly bitter taste (which also depends on the variety), check out the preparation trick above in the blog post.
- Recipe serves 4. Nutrition facts are for one serving made with my vegan cheese sauce.
Nutrition Facts Vegan Stuffed Eggplant Amount per Serving Calories 313 % Daily Value* Fat 10.7 g 16 % Carbohydrates 32.6 g 11 % Fiber 15.5 g 62 % Sugar 16 g 18 % Protein 13.3 g 27 % * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
Equipment
Baking sheet*
Food processor*
Simple and Delicious Vegan Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!
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