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This Blimp Eggplant blog post is sponsored past Lundberg, although the content represents my own personal opinion/experience

Stuffed Eggplant (besides known as mahshi) is one of my favorite family unit recipes that I learned from my parents. It's a popular Lebanese recipe using eggplant stuffed with a rice and meat mixture and cooked in a tomato broth (similar to kousa). The flavor is rich and unique, but the ingredients are unproblematic and accessible. You just need to go your easily on some small eggplants.

Final cooked stuffed eggplant cut in half to show the rice and beef stuffing

This recipe is one that I grew upwardly eating and ane that serves a big family. Information technology'due south a labor of love, but the outcome is e'er so cherished by everyone that it's iconic on our family tabular array. Plus information technology makes for lots of leftovers!! Information technology's healthy, hearty and well-balanced while bursting with bang-up Mediterranean flavor.

We're all spending more time at home and with family these days, and it can be hard to observe inspiration when cooking. That'due south why Lundberg is creating an online recipe database for y'all to share your classic family meals and find new favorites!

Share your family unit recipe using #LundbergFamilyTable hashtag or submit through world wide web.lundbergfamilytable.com. The best part? Information technology doesn't even have to be a rice recipe or include Lundberg products. They are only creating a resource for inspiration effectually daily meals for the family, in whatever form that may exist.

Ingredients to make stuffed eggplant

  • Eggplant: Expect for infant eggplant that are about the size of your palm, which volition be all-time for stuffing. Larger eggplants tin also be used, just the smaller ones are more practical for serving and more flavorful for stuffing.
  • Short Grain Rice: Rice is crucial in the eggplant stuffing and it's best to utilise short grain rice since information technology expands a lot when cooked. My brand of preference is e'er Lundberg Family Farms because their rice is loftier quality, organic and not-GMO. For this recipe I used their Organic Brusk Grain Brown Rice. Information technology gives me peace of heed in the consistency of cooking time and quality, specially when information technology comes to cooking with brown rice, which takes longer than white rice.
  • Ground beef: The ground beef along with the rice makes up most of the stuffing. Expect for lean basis beef for best results. You can also utilize lamb or ground turkey, or a combination of 2 meats.
  • Onions: I use them in the stuffing along with brusque grain rice, basis beef and 7 spice.
  • Tomatoes and lycopersicon esculentum paste: This is for the tomato plant goop that I cook the stuffed eggplant in. You tin can use crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes or a combination of fresh tomatoes and tomato paste.
  • Garlic: This is combined with the tomatoes and love apple paste to flavour the tomato broth. Don't substitute with garlic powder.
Ingredients to make the recipe

RECIPE VIDEO TUTORIAL

How to make stuffed eggplant

Brand the stuffing (hashweh)

The stuffing is a very simple recipe that I use in a lot of Lebanese recipes, so it may expect familiar to you lot. Cook the basis beef and onions with olive oil and 7 Spice, then add uncooked rice and stir to combine. Transfer the stuffing (with the uncooked rice) to a bowl.

Process shots to show how to make the tomato broth in a large deep pot

Core and stuff the eggplant

Using a sharp pocketknife, cut off the stalks of the eggplant. And then use an apple corer or other coring tool to remove the flesh from inside the eggplant. You lot want to be conscientious not to remove too much of the eggplant while doing this, so you don't puncture through its tender skin. Save the flesh to stir fry subsequently or add to soup.

Utilise a pocket-sized spoon or your easily to stuff the rice and beef mixture into the eggplant. You can then add a tomato wedge to help seal the eggplant. In one case all the eggplant is stuffed, transfer the eggplant to the lycopersicon esculentum broth to cook.

Make the love apple goop and cook the eggplant

I make the tomato plant broth in the same pot used to cook the beef mixture, which helps to flavor the goop. You simply need olive oil, garlic, love apple paste and fresh tomatoes along with salt and pepper. And so add nigh 6 cups of h2o or chicken broth and cook the broth while stuffing the eggplant.

After 45 minutes of cooking, you'll notice the eggplant will shrink and shrivel, the goop will be reduced and the brown rice on the inside of the eggplant will be tender and fluffy. You can so turn off the heat and let it remainder for 15 minutes.

Process shots to show how to make the stuffing in a large deep pot

Tips for making blimp eggplant

  1. Use the smallest eggplant you lot tin can find. Baby eggplant is platonic for this recipe along with Italian eggplant which is small simply wide enough for coring.
  2. Don't toss the flesh that you remove from the eggplant. While it's not used for this recipe, the flesh is then good in an omelette, in stir fry with bell peppers and onions, or in a soup.
  3. Seal the stuffed eggplant with pocket-sized wedges of tomatoes. This is non necessary, and many cooks don't take the time to do this step. Nevertheless, information technology is useful for keeping the stuffing inside the eggplant instead of spilling into the broth.
  4. Apply a small round plate to set over the eggplant while cooking. This prevents the eggplant from moving around too much and then their tender skin doesn't get hobbling while cooking.
  5. Remove chapeau when cooking if the tomato plant broth looks watery. The broth volition reduce while cooking only removing the chapeau will help to thicken the sauce more if you find that information technology's sparse.
Two stuffed eggplant (mahshi) in a bowl cut open with stuffing showing

Frequently asked questions

What'due south the best tool for coring the eggplant?

I institute that an apple corer (Amazon Chapter) works actually well to remove the mankind within the eggplant. To become information technology actress hallowed, you lot can likewise use an electric veggie corer drill (Amazon Affiliate link).

Can you freeze the stuffed eggplant recipe?

You lot can freeze the hallowed out eggplant if you purchase it in bulk when it's seasonal. It makes it tender when cooked. You tin can also freeze the stuffing on its own. Or alternatively, you tin can freeze the cooked stuffed eggplant after it's been cooled. Any option you choose, relish it inside 3 months of freezing for best results.

How can I brand this recipe vegetarian?

It's very popular to make this recipe vegetarian (and vegan actually) past omitting the ground beef. Instead of the basis beefiness, you tin apply a mixture of parsley, tomatoes and green onions, like to the stuffing I apply when I brand  vegetarian blimp grape leaves.

Final completed recipe in a bowl next to bag of Lundberg short grain rice

Thank you Lundberg for sponsoring this Stuffed Eggplant recipe post and for helping to reduce food insecurity during these difficult times with their ongoing donations to food pantries to make sure that all families can nevertheless have the comfort of domicile-cooked meals.

For more Mediterranean food:

  • Ful Medames
  • Stuffed Squash
  • Peas and Carrots Stew
  • Crispy Falafel
  • Mujadara
  • Bulgar Pilaf

If y'all've tried this healthy-ish feelgoodStuffed Eggplant recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don't forget torate the recipe and go out me a annotate below! I would dearest to hear nigh your feel making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!

Prep Time 45 mins

Cook Time 1 hr

Total Time two hrs

  • 12 small eggplants
  • one tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 minor onion chopped
  • one pound ground beef
  • one teaspoon vii Spice
  • 2 teaspoons salt divided
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 ½ cups Lundberg Brusque Grain Brown Rice
  • 1 big tomato cut into 12 chunks

Lycopersicon esculentum Broth

  • two tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 ounces tomato paste
  • 1 tomato chopped
  • ane teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 6 garlic cloves pressed
  • 4 cups h2o

  • Cut off the stalks of the eggplant. Using a pocketknife, apple corer or veggie drill, advisedly hallow out the eggplant and remove the mankind without puncturing the outside of the eggplant. You can reserve the mankind for another recipe.

  • Heat the olive oil in a large deep pot on medium heat large. Add the onions and ground beef and season with 7 Spice, 1 teaspoon common salt and pepper. Cook until the beefiness is browned, virtually 7-10 minutes. Add together the uncooked rice, the remaining table salt and stir to combine the ingredients. Transfer the rice mixture to a bowl.

  • To make the tomato broth, estrus the olive oil in the pot used to cook the beefiness over medium. Add together the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and pressed garlic and season with table salt and pepper. Cook until the mixture becomes fragrant, nigh 1 minute. Add the water and bring mixture to a boil. Lower estrus to a simmer, while stuffing the eggplant.

  • Using a minor spoon or your easily, fill up the hallowed out inside of each eggplant with the rice stuffing. Exist sure to leave nigh ¼ inch of empty space at the top since the rice volition expand when cooked. And so stuff a lycopersicon esculentum chunk on tiptop to seal the eggplant and prevent the stuffing from coming out when cooked. Echo with the remaining eggplant. If you have any leftover stuffing, yous can cook it with water.

  • Transfer the stuffed eggplant to the deep pot and bring mixture to a boil, then simmer over low oestrus for 45 minutes, allowing the sauce to reduce and the rice to fully melt.

  • Serve the stuffed eggplant warm with the sauce on top.

Substitutes: For all-time results, follow the recipe as is. However here are some common substitutes that would work well in this recipe.

  • Instead of basis beef, y'all can use lamb or a combination of the two.
  • Instead of brown rice, y'all tin use short grain white rice, which is more common.
  • Instead of vii Spice, yous tin utilize All Spice or cinnamon.

Storage: Store any leftovers in an closed container. They will last about three-4 days in the fridge.

Freezing Instructions: Freeze the hallowed out eggplant and store in freezer safe containers. Freeze the hashweh without cooking the rice. Or alternatively, you tin freeze the cooked stuffed eggplant after it's been cooked and cooled. Bask it within 3 months of freezing for best results. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Make Ahead Tips: Y'all can make the stuffing upwardly to 2 days in advance. You can too core the eggplant a few days in advance and store information technology in the fridge until ready to stuff.

Equipment: I apply an apple corer (Amazon Chapter link) to cadre the eggplant. It works really well with one movement. Just you may need to core a couple times depending on the thickness of the squash. To become it actress hallowed, you can also apply an electric veggie corer drill (Amazon Affiliate link).

Calories: 617 kcal , Carbohydrates: 76 g , Poly peptide: 27 g , Fatty: 25 g , Saturated Fat: 7 grand , Cholesterol: 54 mg , Sodium: 1528 mg , Potassium: 1925 mg , Fiber: 16 one thousand , Sugar: 22 grand , Vitamin A: 977 IU , Vitamin C: 24 mg , Calcium: 101 mg , Iron: 4 mg

Nutrition data provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.