Stuffed Baby Eggplant with a savory vegetarian breadcrumb filling can be enjoyed as a side dish, main dish. 
There's no doubt about it, I love eggplant! This definitely would not be a Sicilian food blog without the presence of several eggplant recipes. The eggplant was first introduced to Sicily by the Arabs and has long since become a staple in Sicilian cooking.
This versatile vegetable is delicious stuffed, particularly this baby eggplant variety. The shells bake well and hold their shape yet they are tender enough to eat.
You may notice that this type of vegetarian filling is present time and time again in several of the recipes that I have shared with you such as stuffed sweet mini peppers, grilled eggplant involtini and eggplant meatballs.
These are inspired by my mom's meatball recipe which consist mostly of fresh breadcrumbs and little meat. This is not surprising when you consider the fact that meat was expensive and not always easy to come by when my mother was growing up in Sicily. And so they made do with what they had and were able to stretch a recipe with stale bread soaked in water or milk.
This makes for a filling, or meatball, which is moist and tender and incomparable to others I've tried before!
Ingredient list:
- Baby eggplant
- breadcrumbs
- grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- tomato passata
- parsley
- cubed mozzarella
Please note that the following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Scroll to the end of this post for the detailed, printable recipe card.
Step by Step Instructions
Begin by cutting the eggplant in half, lengthwise, and hollowing them. I use a knife to score the flesh of the eggplant and then a spoon to scoop out the flesh. Set aside the flesh in a bowl.
Drizzle olive oil over the hollowed baby eggplant halves, salt lightly and bake in a 350 degrees F preheated oven for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Heat olive oil in a large skillet and sauté a small finely diced onion. Add a clove of garlic, the reserved eggplant flesh roughly chopped and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes. Pour in tomato passata (tomato purée) or finely diced fresh tomato and cook 5 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Transfer the eggplant mixture to a large bowl and let cool slightly. 
Add fresh breadcrumbs, torn into small pieces, from day old bread; cubed mozzarella; grated Pecorino Romano cheese; chopped parsley; and egg. Combine well.
Fill the baked eggplant shells, sprinkle with additional grated Pecorino Romano cheese and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Tips and suggestions:
- For a non vegetarian version, replace some of the breadcrumbs with ground meat.
- Vary filling ingredients according to your taste by adding capers, chopped olives or different types of cheese such as caciocavallo or provolone.
- If you don't have access to baby eggplant, use regular sized eggplant and increase the amount of filling. Bake the eggplant shells longer as they will not be as tender as baby eggplant.
If you try out this stuffed baby eggplant recipe let me know how much you've enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below. Feel free to Pin it for later. Buon appetito!
Here are more eggplant recipes for you to enjoy!
- Eggplant Caponata
- Grilled Eggplant Involtini
- Pasta alla Norma
- Baked Eggplant and Potatoes with Tomato Sauce
- Mom's Eggplant Parmigiana
- Eggplant Involtini with Maccaruna
- Eggplant Meatball Subs with Smoked Caciocavallo
Ingredients
- 4 baby eggplant (about 600 grams or 1.3 lbs)
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 1 garlic clove finely minced
- ½ cup tomato passata (or fresh finely diced tomato)
- 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs from day old bread
- 1 cup cubed mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoon grated Pecorino Romano cheese plus extra for sprinkling on top
- ¼ cup parsley chopped
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoon olive oil plus extra for greasing pan and drizzling on top
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a baking sheet.
- Begin by cutting the eggplant in half, lengthwise, and hollowing them. I use a knife to score the flesh of the eggplant and then a spoon to scoop out the flesh. Set aside the flesh in a bowl.
- Drizzle olive oil over the hollowed baby eggplant, salt lightly and bake in a 350 degrees F preheated oven for 15 minutes.
Prepare the filling
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet and sauté a small finely diced onion. Add garlic, the reserved eggplant flesh roughly chopped and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes.
- Pour in tomato passata or finely diced fresh tomato and cook 5 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Transfer the eggplant mixture to a large bowl and let cool slightly. Add fresh breadcrumbs, torn into small pieces, from day old bread; grated Pecorino Romano cheese; cubed mozzarella; chopped parsley; and egg. Combine well.
Stuff and bake
- Fill the baked eggplant shells, sprinkle extra grated Pecorino Romano cheese on each half and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Notes
- For a non vegetarian version, replace some of the breadcrumbs with ground meat.
- Vary filling ingredients according to your taste by adding capers, chopped olives or different types of cheese such as caciocavallo or provolone.
- If you don't have access to baby eggplant, use regular sized eggplant and increase the amount of filling. Bake the eggplant shells longer as they will not be as tender as baby eggplant.
- Please note that the nutritional information provided is approximate and may vary according to exact portion size and ingredients used.
Molly
So delicious. Can’t say enough! I added some lamb and it added amazing flavour
Nadia
Thank you Molly, I'm glad you enjoyed them! And good to know they are tasty with some meat added as well!
Kara
Instructions are limited but if you know how to cook you’ll be fine. However, bake the oiled and salted eggplant shells longer than 15 minutes unless you like them chewy.
Nadia
So glad you enjoyed this recipe Kara. Thank you for sharing your tips! The cooking time for the eggplant shells can definitely vary according to the size and how tender your eggplant is. Thanks again!
Ronnie
I used low sodium chicken broth with a little canola oil when sautéing the filling and I added half of a large poblano pepper.I made two baby eggplant instead of four).
For cheese I used shredded mozzarella and Parmesan.
This recipe was delicious and my husband said its a definite keeper and he usually is not an eggplant fan. We loved it!
Nadia
Hello Ronnie, I'm so glad to hear that you and your husband enjoyed this dish. And I love that you made it to suit your taste, thanks for sharing!
Joanna
Loved it! Followed the recipe given. I found it lighter than topping it with tomato sauce and mozzarella. Thank you!
Nadia
Hello Joanna, so glad you enjoyed it. I enjoy this recipe because it is not too heavy as well. Thanks for your comment!
Ellen
I cooked the baby eggplant with fresh tomatoes and added veal meatballs the filling was delicious but skins were very tough I had added olive oil to skins also could that have made The skins tough?
Nadia
Hi Ellen, in my experience the smaller eggplants have a skin that's more tender. However, if you find it tough I would recommend boiling the hollowed out eggplant shells for a few minutes. This is what my mom does with her peppers for stuffing as she likes them softer. Then pat them dry before filling. I hope this helps!
Ellen
Thank you I’ll try boiling next time as skins were really not edible! The eggplant said product of Spain when I purchased them.
Nadia
Hi Ellen, my mom swears by this technique. It definitely makes the skin a lot softer. Hope you enjoy them!
Frank Fariello
Sounds light but very satisfying!
Nadia
Exactly that Frank, thank you!
Anna Bucciarelli
Wonderful recipe Nadia. Just he way mama made it. I make it when I see little eggplants in the market, which is thankfully more often these days. One thing from my childhood I so love - I could eat and eat and eat this one nonstop!
Nadia
Dear Anna, that's how my mom makes them as well, nice and simple! Thank you for sharing your memories with me, stay well!
Pat
They look fabulous! I am looking forward to eggplant season.
My mother-in-law was from Calabria, Italy, and in her town they also added cooked mashed potatoes to the stuffing mixture, and then dipped the eggplant in an egg/cheese mixture and fried them.
Nadia
Hello Pat, I always look forward to eggplant season! I have never heard of mashed potatoes added to eggplant but I love anything with potatoes so it's got to be good. Thanks for the suggestion!