Italian Stuffed Eggplant with Sausage & Rice
Intensely flavorful, this savory Italian Stuffed Eggplant recipe is made from roasted eggplant filled with a comforting, hearty mixture of spicy sausage, brown rice, diced tomatoes and Parmesan cheese, all topped with a crispy Panko topping.
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Servings: 6 people
Calories: 524kcal
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplants, halved and scored
- olive oil, extra salt & pepper
- 1 pound ground sausage
- ½ medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1.5 cup cooked brown rice
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs, beaten
Panko Topping
- ¾ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
- Cut eggplants in half lengthwise. Use a paring knife to make an incision around the inside of the eggplant (about ¼-1/2 inch in), marking the center portion you will scoop out. Use the knife to make horizontal and vertical slices in the "to-be-scooped" center portion to make the center easier to scoop out after roasting. Do not cut the skin.
- Brush both skin and flesh sides of the eggplants with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place flesh side down on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- While eggplants are roasting, brown sausage and onion in a skillet on the stove top over medium heat. Drain away excess fat. Return to skillet but not to heat. Add in garlic, Italian seasoning, salt & pepper. Stir in drained tomatoes, cooked rice and parmesan cheese. Mix in beaten eggs as a binder and set aside.
- Use a spoon to scoop scored insides out of eggplant halves to create boats. Use a fork to mash up the scooped insides. Stir mashed eggplant into the sausage rice mixture to complete filling. Generously stuff empty boats with filling.
- Mix together panko and parsley. Top each boat generously with bread crumbs. Drizzle with melted butter. Put back into 350° oven and bake for another 30 minutes. Remove from oven when bread crumbs are golden brown. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
You may need to put the boats under a broiler for a few minutes to achieve the golden brown topping desired. Serving size is 1 - ½ boat.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5boat | Calories: 524kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 35g | Sodium: 1183mg | Sugar: 8g