This Cheesy Stuffed Eggplant in a Zesty Garlic Tomato Sauce is Sooo Unique in Flavor! If you love Italian style foods this one’s for you. It definitely has all those flavors you’re looking for! You have that breaded, crispy-fried eggplant stuffed with mozzarella cheese and a flavorful tomato sauce to accent that eggplant flavor. The combination is phenomenal!
Yum
This vegetarian dish is so comforting, you’ll be craving this every day of the week! Basically, this recipe is for those who love eggplants. Generally, if you love the taste of Italian food or a classic eggplant parmesan recipe, this recipe is for you!
The best eggplant to use for this dish is a smaller eggplant. I chose these eggplants that are called the “Indian Eggplants,” also known as Ratna and Brinjal. I have used a few different types of eggplants, but these work the best! They have a creamy texture with a taste of sweetness, which works perfectly with the mixture of cheese and tomato sauce.
These eggplants are usually two to three inches in length and the skin has a medium thickness, so when you fry them they have an extra crispy texture and the seeds inside are very tiny.
Over the years, I have fallen in love using eggplant in my recipes, such as Salmon Stuffed w/ Eggplant. But, today I created one of my favorite recipes. I combined eggplant parmesan and Eggplant Rollatini to create this fun and inspiring recipe!
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IN THIS POST: STEPS TO MAKE THIS CHEESY STUFFED EGGPLANT IN A ZESTY GARLIC TOMATO SAUCE
- PREFER TO WATCH STEP-BY-STEP RECIPE VIDEO INSTEAD OF READING?
- WHAT TO SERVE WITH CHEESY STUFFED EGGPLANT IN A ZESTY GARLIC TOMATO SAUCE?
- 🍴INGREDIENTS LIST
- STEPS TO MAKE THE PERFECT CHEESY STUFFED EGGPLANT IN A ZESTY GARLIC TOMATO SAUCE
- JUMP TO RECIPE CARD
- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: CHEESY STUFFED EGGPLANT
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PREFER TO WATCH STEP-BY-STEP RECIPE VIDEO INSTEAD OF READING?
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CHEESY STUFFED EGGPLANT IN A ZESTY GARLIC TOMATO SAUCE?
Usually, when you go to a restaurant and order eggplant parmesan you’ll notice they put pasta with marinara sauce. Well, these breaded eggplants filled with cheese are so filling by themselves that you won’t need pasta or rice to fill you up! We found that this dish is not only delicious by itself, it goes well with a fresh salad. Here are a few salad ideas to pair with this recipe:
If you like, keep scrolling down to the printable recipe card for a list of full ingredients and instructions. You can also click on the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the page! 😀
🍴INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE THESE STUFFED EGGPLANTS WITH A ZESTY GARLIC TOMATO SAUCE
Here is a preview of the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe! You can find these at your local grocery store or you can shop online. (Detailed Ingredients in Recipe Card down below.) down below.)
- Ricotta Cheese
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Italian Seasoning
- Parmesan Cheese — shredded
- Salt
- Garlic Powder
- Flour — All Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Milk
- Buttermilk
- Sugar
- Egg
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Garlic
- Onion
- Basil
- Paprika
- Cumin
- Olive Oil — extra virgin
- Canola Oil — for deep frying
STEPS TO MAKE THE PERFECT CHEESY STUFFED EGGPLANT IN A ZESTY GARLIC TOMATO SAUCE
💡Here are a few things to know before you start creating this recipe:
- Don’t cut your eggplants all the way through, leave about 1/2 inch from the top.
- Pre-heat your oil before placing your eggplants to fry and don’t over-cook your them. Ideally, the oil should be about 365° – 375° F.
- Make sure your ricotta and mozzarella cheeses are cold and chilled before stuffing your eggplant. This helps the frying process.
- The batter should look thinned out like a crepe or pancake mix.
Here are the basics on how to put this meal together:
- Cut the eggplant from the base vertically and horizontally.
- Deep Fry the eggplant halfway for about 5 minutes.
- Mix together cheese filling.
- Stuff the eggplant at the base opening with the cheese mixture.
- Coat eggplant with batter and place back into the oil to deep fry.
- Prepare the tomato sauce.
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RECIPE CARD
Print
Cheesy Stuffed Eggplant in a Zesty Garlic Tomato Sauce
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Makes 6 eggplants 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Cheesy Stuffed Eggplant in a Zesty Garlic Tomato Sauce
This Cheesy Stuffed Eggplant in a Zesty Garlic Tomato Sauce is Sooo Unique in Flavor! If you love Italian style foods this one’s for you. It definitely has all those flavors you’re looking for! You have that breaded, crispy-fried eggplant stuffed with mozzarella cheese and a flavorful tomato sauce to accent that eggplant flavor. The combination is phenomenal!
Ingredients
Filling:
- 1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
- 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Batter:
- 1 cup Flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tsp sugar
- 1 egg
Sauce:
- 1 lb of cherry tomatoes
- 1 whole head of garlic
- 1 large onion
- 1/2 tsp dry basil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- Pinch of cumin and salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Canola Oil or any vegetable Oil for Deep Frying
Instructions
- Cut eggplants horizontally and vertically at the base but do not cut all the way through and then add salt. Preheat oil to 375° F. and deep fry eggplants for 3-5 minutes. Add filling ingredients into a bowl, mix and stuff the eggplants with filling.
- Mix batter ingredients in a separate bowl. The batter should look like crepe or pancake mix. Then, coat stuffed eggplants into the batter mix and fry it in hot oil until golden brown.
- In a separate saucepan, saute garlic in olive oil for one minute. After one minute add the rest of the sauce ingredients to the pan and cover. Allow it to simmer for five minutes on medium heat.
- Crush the tomatoes until they form into a sauce and allow it to simmer for a few more minutes. Add the eggplant to the sauce on a serving plate and enjoy this vegetarian meal.
Notes
*** Our Nutrition information is estimated, so please make sure to check your own calculation to fit your diet.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: Vegetarian
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: vegetarian meals, stuffed eggplants, cheese stuffed eggplants, tomato sauce
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: CHEESY STUFFED EGGPLANT
The eggplants should be stored away from direct sun in a cool temperature room. This will prolong the freshness up to 4 days. You can also store them in the refrigerator for 5-7 days as long as the skin has not been removed.
Yes, you can prep them ahead of time. However, to enjoy the freshness of the eggplant it is preferred to fry and stuff them when you are ready to serve the dish.
Yes, you should. But you have to make sure to completely dry them before placing them in deep frying oil. This will prevent water from sinking into the hot oil and erupting which can lead to fire. Be careful!
They’re usually in your local international market and sometimes in your local market and they call them “baby eggplants.”
Indian eggplants are available all year round, with a peak season in the spring.
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