Lentil Stuffed Eggplant

This was so good!

I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’ve never used lentils as a stuffing before! I love lentils! I really like lentil soup; it’s absolutely one of my favorite fall soups – I’ve just never really experimented with lentils.

Well, tonight I decided I’d try. I’m rather familiar with seasoning lentils. I’ve used them in power bowls, soup (as I’ve mentioned), and honestly have eaten them by themselves plenty of times. I’ve learned with lentils, you have to be pretty liberal with your seasoning. Fortunately, they pick up whatever seasoning you add to them fairly well.

I love eggplant parmesan, but today’s #veganthursday. I figured, let’s put lentils in an eggplant, almost mimic a sausage stuffing with them. It worked out perfectly! Super delicious! And as a meat eater myself, this is a great dupe for ground beef!

For this stuffed eggplant, you’ll need:

• 2 Eggplants
• Olive Oil
• 1 can of Lentils (I used Westbrae Natural)
• Half a Yellow Onion
• Brown Sugar
• Paprika (Smoked Paprika works best!)
• Chili Powder
• Dried Thyme
• Cumin
• Onion Powder
• Tomato Paste
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Soy Sauce
• Low Sodium Veggie Broth
• 2 Roma Tomatoes
• Non-Dairy Yogurt Alternative
• Fresh Parsley

My personal opinion, this recipe was rather simple, just a little lengthy. It helps to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go so you don’t make your kitchen a complete mess!

Preheat the oven to 400°.

You’ll want to start with washing your eggplants, cutting them in half, and scooping out the pulp. Be sure to leave about a 1/4 inch of flesh around the eggplant, so it will keep its shape.

Drizzle olive oil on the eggplant, sprinkle sea salt, and set them aside for 15 – 30 minutes.

While the eggplant is resting, start preparing the filing.

Pulse the eggplant pulp you removed in a food processor until it is broken down to a large grain. (See image)

Break the eggplant pulp you removed down in a food processor by pulsing it a few times, it should be broken down into a large grainy paste (see image).

Gather your all of your stuffing ingredients.

Add the brown sugar, paprika, chili powder, dried thyme, cumin, and onion powder to the food processor, and pulse a couple more times to combine. Set aside.

Heat a large pot over medium heat, add a tbsp of olive oil, red pepper flake, and the chopped onions. Cook the onions until they are translucent, about 4 or 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute.

Add the the tomato paste and stir, cooking it for about 90 seconds. Add the balsamic and soy sauce and stir.

Add the seasoned eggplant pulp from the processor, the lentils, and the vegetable broth. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add the diced Roma tomatoes, and cook for another 5 minutes.

Remove the eggplants shells from the oven, and decrease the temperature to 350°.

Stuff the eggplants, and bake for another 10 minutes.

Remove the eggplants from the oven, let them cook for a few minutes, and top with non-dairy yogurt alternative and fresh chopped parsley.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to post a rating and comment!

I’d love to see your pictures on Instagram too! Tag @a_toastedcrumb!