Cheese Stuffed Eggplant Meatballs

Name: Cheese Stuffed Eggplant Meatballs
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 2 globe eggplants; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1 1/2 cup breadcrumbs; 1/2 cup walnuts; 4 cloves garlic; 1 egg; 1 tsp oregano; 1/2 tsp thyme; 1/2 tsp paprika; 1 tsp salt; 1/2 cup Cabot Cheese; 1/2 cup breadcrumbs; 2 cans chopped tomatoes; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion; 3 cloves garlic; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper

User Reviews

5.0

6 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Chilling time
40 mins
Total Time
1 hr 20 mins
Servings
6 servings
Calories
400 kcal
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
American

Cheese Stuffed Eggplant Meatballs

Isaac Lopez

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Eggplant meatballs are perfect for dinner. These vegetarian meatballs are cooked in a chunky tomato sauce and are stuffed with cheese.

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Ingredients

Servings

2 globe eggplants
1/4 cup olive oil divided
1 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup walnuts
4 cloves garlic
1 egg
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup Cabot Cheese cubed
1/2 cup breadcrumbs for coating

Chunky tomato sauce

2 cans chopped tomatoes 15 oz. each
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

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Instructions

Cut each eggplant into four pieces vertically. If the skin is thick (which it usually is), peel it completely.
Sprinkle some salt on both side of each piece and place all eggplant pieces in a colander in a clean sink. Let them sit for 30 minutes so they "sweat".
Heat half of the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Wash the eggplants and dry using a paper towel.
Fry the eggplants in olive oil over medium or medium low heat until they're soft and golden on both sides, about 4 minutes on each side.
Once all the eggplants are cooked, place them in a food processor with breadcrumbs, walnuts, garlic cloves, egg and spices. Mix until fully blended.
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and freeze for 20 minutes.
Wet your hands with water and form meatballs. Place a cube of Cabot cheese in each meatball and form it into a round meatball.
Roll each meatball in bread crumbs and place them on a plate. Refrigerate the meatballs for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the meatballs on the baking sheet and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Meanwhile, make the chunky tomato sauce.

Chunky tomato sauce:

Blend the canned tomatoes in the blender for a few seconds and set it aside.
Heat olive oil in an oven safe pan over medium heat and saute onion until translucent. Add in garlic and cook for a couple of minutes
Add in tomatoes and salt and black pepper. Bring to a low simmer and cook for ten minutes.

Assembling the meatballs

Once the eggplant meatballs have been baked in the oven for 25 minutes, take them out of the oven and place them in the tomato sauce.
Return the pan with the meatballs and tomato sauce to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes.
Serve warm with your favorite side dish.

Notes

You can use regular or panko breadcrumbs for this recipe.
If an oven safe pan is not available, make the tomato sauce in a regular pan and transfer it to a baking dish before adding the meatballs.