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September 15, 2014

Skinny Sausage Parmesan Stuffed Eggplant

Skinny Sausage Parmesan Stuffed Eggplant is so flavorful and perfect for dinner tonight! A great way to use up the eggplant from your garden!

Sausage Stuffed Eggplant

During the month of August I had the luxury of spending a lot of time with some really good cooks, including my boyfriend’s mother. One of the new-to-me dishes I learned to love – and cook – was stuffed eggplant. Have you guys made this before? It’s so delightfully simple! Not to mention major in the delish department. I was hooked after one bite (ok… three!), and I just know you will be, too.

I lightened up this meaty// cheesy stuffed eggplant situation by using whole wheat bread crumbs, light cheese, and chicken sausage. With so many flavors and textures exploded in this dish, you’ll never even notice those sneaky little changes 😉 Promise.

You can eat this excellent eggplant dish alongside a salad, stuffed shells, swordfish, or your favorite main dish. You can also serve this as the main dish! But we love food so much in my house we always have multiple dishes on the table 😉 But that’s just us! Any way you serve it, you’re destined for an awesome meal! xoxo

Skinny Sausage Parmesan Stuffed Eggplant

5 votes

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Skinny Sausage Parmesan Stuffed Eggplant

Prep 29 mins

Cook 1 hour, 30 mins

Total 1 hour, 59 mins

Author Ashley Manila

Yield 4 servings

Skinny Sausage Parmesan Stuffed Eggplant is such a delicious Summer dinner recipe!!!

Ingredients

  • 1 large eggplant
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1/2 pound ground chicken sausage
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 small red onion, diced
  • 1 roasted red pepper, diced
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley leaves
  • 3/4 cup freshly chopped basil leaves, chopped
  • 3/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano, divided
  • 1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat Italian bread crumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup marinara sauce
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, diced

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
  2. Cut eggplant in half, scoop out the center (leaving just enough meat inside the skin so that it holds its shape when baked). Bring 4 cups of water to a rolling boil. Add the scooped-out center part and boil until very soft, about 12 minutes. Drain, pat dry, roughly chop, and set aside.
  3. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a medium-sized sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chicken sausage to the pan and saute until it browns slightly. Remove from heat, let cool briefly, then chop the cooked sausage with a wooden spatula (or knife…) so that there are no large chunks of meat. Set aside.
  4. In a separate medium-szied sauté pan over medium heat add the remaining olive oil and saute the onions and peppers for 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for another minute. Remove from heat. Set aside.
  5. In a large bowl mix together the cooked eggplant, the sautéed vegetables, cooked sausage, parsley, basil, 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano, bread crumbs, and the egg.
  6. Fill the scooped-out eggplant halves with this mixture, dividing it evenly among the 2 halves. Place eggplant on prepared pan.
  7. Top with marinara, chopped tomatoes, and the remaining 1/4 cup of grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper and bake for 1 hour in a preheated oven. After one hour, reduce heat to 300 degrees (F), remove eggplant from oven, sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly among the two sides, then return back to the oven for another 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese has completely melted.
  8. Let cool briefly, slice, and serve.

Courses Dinner

Cuisine Italian

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Filed Under: Dinner

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says

    September 15, 2014 at 9:26 pm

    I won’t tell you the cuss word that came out of my mouth when I saw this?

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      September 15, 2014 at 10:28 pm

      I good one I hope?! Lol

      Reply
    • Felice says

      April 12, 2016 at 1:56 am

      I just finished making this and it was delicious! ! I shared my picture of the completed meal and everyone wanted the recipe. Will be one of my favs.

      Reply
      • bakerbynature says

        April 13, 2016 at 1:55 pm

        So happy to hear it, Felice!

        Reply
  2. Laura (Tutti Dolci) says

    September 15, 2014 at 10:10 pm

    I love eggplant, your skinny stuffed version looks fab!

    Reply
  3. Liz @ Floating Kitchen says

    September 15, 2014 at 10:22 pm

    Oh this sounds fantastic! Perfect fall recipe!

    Reply
  4. Faith @ Pixie Dust Kitchen says

    September 16, 2014 at 12:18 am

    To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever had eggplant! BUT when it’s stuffed with cheese and chicken sausage, I think I would be on board!

    Reply
  5. Jennie @themessybakerblog says

    September 16, 2014 at 12:35 am

    Pass that stuffed eggplant this way.

    Reply
  6. Nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps says

    September 16, 2014 at 2:08 am

    I have some eggplant in my fridge this very moment…… MMMMMMM

    Reply
  7. Millie l Add A Little says

    September 16, 2014 at 5:21 pm

    Looks amazing! I love eggplant parmesan and the addition of sausage sounds great!

    Reply
  8. Alyssa (Everyday Maven) says

    September 16, 2014 at 6:40 pm

    I need this! I love anything that even remotely resembles eggplant parm. Adding eggplant to my shopping list.

    Reply
  9. Fernando says

    September 21, 2014 at 9:36 pm

    Looks very good. I would, however, roast the eggplant flesh rather than boil it. Maybe even replace the sausage w sautéed mushrooms! Add a little fresh sage to kick up the flavor.

    Reply
    • Deb says

      March 10, 2018 at 4:49 pm

      Me too Fernando. I love your ideas. And I want to make it with Italian sausage.

      Reply
  10. Rita says

    September 28, 2014 at 10:40 pm

    My husbnd came home from work with a box from his co-workers garden. Yes, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, herbs and onions.. I am prepping this tonight for tomorrow’s dinner.

    Reply
  11. Clem Strong says

    October 3, 2014 at 6:49 pm

    This looks really good but how does all the sausage and cheese make this “skinny”?

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      October 3, 2014 at 7:51 pm

      Hi Clem. It’s actually chicken sausage which is very low in fat and healthy and the cheese is scaled back. You can use low-fat cheese to make it even “skinnier”. Best – Ashley

      Reply
  12. Maura says

    January 7, 2015 at 3:33 am

    Does anyone know about how many weight watchers points this would be?

    Reply
  13. Catherine says

    January 7, 2015 at 6:03 pm

    We wanted to let you know we shared your delicious recipe on our 40+ Skinny Recipes To Start Your Year Healthy post! Check it out! Feel free to share on social media! Happy & Healthy New Year!
    http://www.theshoppingmama.com/2015/01/40-skinny-recipes-to-start-your-year-healthy-including-desserts/
    Catherine @ The Shopping Mama

    Reply
  14. Jessica says

    March 6, 2015 at 4:08 am

    I made the not-so-skinny version of this tonight with italian pork sausage and it was AMAZING. My husband and two-year-old really liked it as well. Thank you.

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      March 6, 2015 at 1:55 pm

      Hi Jessica. Ooooh, you’re tempting me to try it with pork sausage myself – sounds so delish! Thank you for making my recipe and taking the time to let me know it was a success 🙂 It really means a lot! xo

      Reply
  15. mandy says

    July 27, 2015 at 9:17 pm

    This is a fantastic recipe! I’ve made it multiple times, and everyone has loved it!!! Thanks 🙂

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      August 1, 2015 at 1:04 pm

      Mandy, that makes me SO happy! Definitely one of my favorite Summer meals, too 🙂

      Reply
  16. Cassandra says

    August 4, 2015 at 8:30 pm

    I made this with eggplant, tomatoes, and pepper from my garden and it was absolutely amazing!! This has become a new favorite dish in our house 🙂

    Reply
  17. Mary says

    August 5, 2015 at 3:10 pm

    This looks delicious! I have some massive eggplants from the Farmer’s Market that I’m going to try this out on. Do you know about how many this serves? I plan on making it the main entree.
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      August 6, 2015 at 3:58 am

      Hi Mary. I would say one eggplant is enough for 4 🙂 Enjoy!

      Reply
  18. Christine says

    August 25, 2015 at 10:11 pm

    i absolutely love this receipe! I made it last night!

    Reply
  19. Jen says

    September 14, 2015 at 9:28 pm

    Has anyone tried prepping the stuffed eggplant ahead and freezing? I’m a busy working mom and would love to have these on hand in the freezer if it will baking well post-freeze! Thanks!

    Reply
  20. Udeni says

    September 17, 2015 at 8:14 am

    This was delicious!!!’ I made this for my family who is a mix of German, American, Sri Lankan and Italian. My step father in law is fully Italian and he LOVED this and so did the rest of the family who are foodies. I live in Berlin. No huge egg plants not Marinera in a jar. Had to make all from scratch! It was perfect. This would be a nice appetizer on a day I entertain people again!

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      September 18, 2015 at 2:10 pm

      Hi Udeni. Thank you so much for sharing your story! I love reading how recipes turn out, and even more, knowing that your family really enjoyed the meal!

      Reply
  21. ashley says

    March 9, 2016 at 5:48 pm

    Loved Loved Loved this. Thanks so much for the recipe! I will make this again. It was my first time cooking with eggplant.

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      March 10, 2016 at 5:45 pm

      YAY!!! So happy to hear this, Ashley! Thank you for letting me know 🙂

      Reply
  22. Tracy says

    August 2, 2017 at 4:58 am

    Hi there,
    I was wondering why you couldn’tjust stuff the add the filling to the eggplant shell
    And bake it❣️❣️

    Reply
  23. Rose says

    December 10, 2017 at 7:22 am

    I made this the other night and I was a little disappointed. I think I may have overcooked the eggplant during the boiling stage (I doubled the time required) and then I strained the eggplant and pressed all the water out. I also used ground chicken sausage, rather than chicken sausage in casings. I also used Italian panko crumbs instead of Italian breadcrumbs. It was somewhat bland and mushy. Can anyone tell me what I really did wrong? No smart-aleck comments please, I need to figure out where I made the biggest mistakes. Thanks for your help.

    Reply
    • Dan says

      June 15, 2018 at 9:25 pm

      Yes. You didn’t follow the recipe….

      Reply
  24. Robin says

    June 21, 2018 at 2:21 am

    I love eggplant and will add this to my Eggplant Recipes board. But I am a vegetarian, so I will simply use a vegetarian sausage-flavored product instead of the chicken sausage #noanimalswillbeharmedinthemakingofthisdish The recipe sounds delish!!

    Reply
  25. Marsha says

    December 3, 2018 at 12:08 am

    Delicious !!! I think I didn’t understand cooking time and temperature. Took much longer to cook. I did cover with foil for first time. Also, used spicey chicken sausage.
    Leftovers were even better with crusty garlic bread. Definitely make this again !

    Reply
  26. Amy says

    October 5, 2019 at 3:22 pm

    Love eggplants! Will give this recipe a shot today!

    Reply
  27. Barbara says

    February 2, 2021 at 6:24 pm

    This looks delicious!
    We are living a long-time vegetarian, short time KETO diet life. So I made this with non-meat sausage (Beyond) and without the bread crumbs. I’m going to reheat 1/2 for dinner tomorrow and put the other 1/2 in the freezer. I also did not bake the tomatoes on top thinking it might freeze better without. I’ll probably serve some cherry tomatoes on the side.
    I can hardly wait to taste it!

    Reply

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Meet Ashley

Hey! I’m Ashley, a creative spirit with a major sweet tooth. Most days you can find me in my happy place: the kitchen. If I’m not there, I’m probably snapping photos of food, planning a party… or dreaming about my next trip to Paris (AKA my favorite place in the entire world). I’m a story teller, recipe developer, and photographer who firmly believes that a homemade life is a happy life. Learn More.

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