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
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
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Fill the scooped-out eggplant halves with this mixture, dividing it evenly among the 2 halves. Place eggplant on prepared pan.
- 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.
- Let cool briefly, slice, and serve.
Udeni says
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!
bakerbynature says
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!
Jen says
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!
Christine says
i absolutely love this receipe! I made it last night!
Mary says
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!
bakerbynature says
Hi Mary. I would say one eggplant is enough for 4 🙂 Enjoy!
Cassandra says
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 🙂
mandy says
This is a fantastic recipe! I’ve made it multiple times, and everyone has loved it!!! Thanks 🙂
bakerbynature says
Mandy, that makes me SO happy! Definitely one of my favorite Summer meals, too 🙂
Jessica says
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.
bakerbynature says
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
Catherine says
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
Maura says
Does anyone know about how many weight watchers points this would be?
Clem Strong says
This looks really good but how does all the sausage and cheese make this “skinny”?
bakerbynature says
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