Easy Stuffed Eggplant 2 Ways: Vegan and Meat Lovers

Are you like me and like to include vegetarian, or vegan, meals into your week’s meal planning? Or do you have both conventional and vegan or vegetarian eaters in your family? Then this recipe is for you! I love it as the base is made the same for both versions and you cook up the easy fillings separately to then have two meals to satisfy who eats what! Ground beef, chicken or turkey is in the one and crumbled tempeh is in the other. Both are so good, nutritious and filling and a perfect dinner on any night of the week!

I love the sweet potato topping which ups the nutritional content of this dish and makes it extra delicious!

Eggplant, also called aubergine, is actually a fruit and not a veggie, as it grows from a flowing plant and they contain seeds! Interesting, right?! Eggplants are a nutrient dense food, low in calories and contain fiber, folate, manganese, potassium and VitC. They are an antioxidant food, and their dark colour is due to a pigment that helps protect against cellular damage in the body.

Sweet Potato has many nutritional benefits. An excellent source of the antioxidant beta carotene, it converts into an active form of VitA in our bodies which is beneficial in supporting eye health. Sweet potatoes are a rich source of fiber to aid in digestion and contain VitC to support immune health, and contain choline to support the nervous system. Sweet potatoes are a good source of plant-based calcium and a range of B vitamins.

Nutritional yeast is a complete protein, an antioxidant and immune support, containing all 9 amino acids, it is a good source of B vitamins (which is wonderful for vegans as most B vitamins are consumed naturally through meat and dairy products) and contains trace minerals that our bodies need for optimal health.

Tempeh is a fermented soy product that is a wonderful meat replacement. It is high in protein and contains iron, calcium, manganese, phosphorous and magnesium. Being a fermented food, it is a probiotic that is beneficial to help balance the microbiome bacteria in the gut and digestion and it is also a prebiotic – a food that promotes the growth of good bacteria in your gut. Prebiotics are beneficial as an anti-inflammatory. As it is made with soy, studies have shown that it can aid in reducing bad cholesterol and is an antioxidant, and the calcium content promoted healthy bones.

As always, when you make this recipe, I would love to see your creation so please post a photo of your Easy Stuffed Eggplant 2 Ways goodness and tag my IG account #RenataCollective or leave a comment with your thoughts!

Prep Time: 15 minutes / Cook Time: 45 minutes / Makes: 2 large or 4 generous servings

Ingredients

2 Medium Sized Sweet Potatoes
¼ Cup Nutritional Yeast
¼ Cup Oat Milk (or another plant-based milk of your choice)
¼ Cup Parmesan Cheese
¼ Cup Vegan Parmesan Cheese

1 Medium Sized Eggplant
4 Cloves Garlic – chopped
1 Medium Onion – chopped
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
½ Pound (250gr) Extra Lean Ground Beef
½ of a 250gr Package Tempeh – original (not flavoured)
1 Cup Passata (Ground Tomatoes)
2 teaspoons Dried Parsley (and a pinch for garnish)
½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
Pinch of Herbed Seasoned Sea Salt – or plain sea salt
A Few Grinds of Fresh Black Pepper

How It’s Made

Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Prepare your baking dish – choose one that is large enough to hold the two halves of the eggplant side by side.
Wash, peel and cube the sweet potatoes and boil them in water or veggie bouillon until a sharp knife pokes each cube easily. Remove from the heat and drain well. Set aside.
Peel and chop the garlic and set it aside so it can create its nutritional magic.
Wash and then cut the eggplant lengthwise in half. Using a spoon (or a melon baller as I do!) scoop out the flesh from the eggplant halves, leaving a thickness of ~1/2 inch.
Chop the eggplant flesh.
In a medium sized frying pan, over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. When hot, add the onion, garlic and chopped eggplant flesh and cook until soft and fragrant – about 3 minutes, stirring often. Season with a pinch of herbed seasoned sea salt, or plain sea salt, and a few grinds of fresh black pepper. Transfer this mixture to a bowl and set aside.
This is where the two versions are made. They are the same, just with meat in one and tempeh in the other – all the other ingredients you add to each are the same.
In the pan you just had the onion/garlic/eggplant flesh mixture in, add ½ tablespoon of olive oil and add the ground meat. In another pan, add the other ½ tablespoon olive oil and add small cubed/crumbled tempeh. Cook both until the ground beef is braised and the tempeh is nicely browned.
Add a half cup of passata to each pan and bring each to a gentle boil, stirring each often. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add 1 teaspoon dried parsley and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon to each pan. Stir to combine
Add ½ tablespoon lemon juice and teaspoon lemon zest to each pan and stir to combine.
Add half the onion, garlic and eggplant mixture into each pan. Cook each pan to mix the ingredients together, meld the flavours and heat through. Turn off the heat under both pans.
Next make the sweet potato topping. Mash the sweet potatoes until smooth, then add the nutritional yeast and the oat milk and stir until the mixture is combined evenly.
Place the eggplant shell halves, cut sides up, in the prepared pan. Fill one with the meat mixture and the other with the tempeh mixture. Top each with half the sweet potato topping.
Sprinkle traditional parmesan cheese on the meat one and vegan parmesan on the tempeh one. Sprinkle a pinch of dried parsley on each half.
Bake, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes until eggplant shell is cooked, the mixture is heated through and the topping is lightly browned. Test by poking a sharp knife into the side of the eggplant and if it slides in easily it’s done.
Serve with a salad or some steamed or pan roasted broccoli or other veggies of your choice. A half of each half is a generous serving but big eaters might like an entire half!