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My tasty Roasted Eggplant Recipe is roasted eggplant slices stuffed with mozzarella, tomato, and pesto! I’ll show you how to easily roast eggplant in the oven for the best texture and flavor.
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Best Stuffed Eggplant
If you love Italian dishes like Caprese, this is a perfect recipe for you!
This stuffed and roasted eggplant gets all of its delicious flavors from the basil pesto, mozzarella, and tomato slices. It is so easy to prepare and an amazing meal! I love how light and flavorful it is.
I like to top mine off with toasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and fresh basil after baking, too. Every bite is worth savoring. I promise you’ve never had a stuffed eggplant recipe like this one. It is by far one of my favorite Sunday dinner ideas!
Amazing recipe. Turned out beautiful!
Adrienn
Stuffed Eggplant Ingredients
- large eggplant
- beefsteak tomatoes
- mozzarella cheese slices
- pesto
- olive oil
Optional for serving
- toasted pine nuts
- fresh basil leaves
- grated Parmesan cheese
How to Cut Eggplant
For stuffed eggplant recipes, it’s important to get those perfect slices. You want them cut to the right thickness and you don’t want to cut all of the way through the bottom.
- Set your eggplant on a cutting board. To each side of the eggplant, place a guide: this could be a wooden spoon handle, chopstick, or thick wooden skewer.
- Slice your eggplant without cutting all of the way through – you want it to connect at the bottom of each slice. When your knife hits the guide, that’s when you know to stop cutting.
- Cut the eggplant into slices that are about ¼ inch thick.
TIP—Preheat your oven to 350°F while slicing the eggplant so it will be ready once you’re done preparing it to bake.
How to Stuff Eggplant
Next, you’ll stuff the eggplant with cheese, tomato, and pesto.
- Place pesto in between each slice of eggplant, followed by a slice of beefsteak tomato and a slice of mozzarella cheese.
- Continue stuffing the eggplant slices until each slice is filled with pesto, tomato, and mozzarella.
It was sooo easy and my roommates loved it!
Munira
How to Roast Eggplant
Time to bake! Follow this guide for how to cook eggplant in the oven for the most perfect, delicious, and tender dish:
- Place the stuffed eggplant in a 9 by 13 inch baking dish greased lightly with olive oil. Let it lay almost flat in the dish.
- Drizzle olive oil over the eggplant, and roast at 350°F for 1 hour, until it cooks through and is nicely browned.
- Cut through the bottom of the slices to serve. Sprinkle with pine nuts, fresh basil, and grated Parmesan, if desired.
This was spectacular!
Deborah
Roasted Eggplant Recipe Tips
Oven-roasting is one of the best ways to cook eggplant, but if you’ve never cooked it before, there are a few details to look out for!
- Use the right eggplant: Look for a large eggplant to use in this recipe. The most common variety of American eggplant is generally the perfect kind to use!
- Pick a ripe eggplant: When ripe, this vegetable will be firm and shiny, without any wrinkles or squishy spots.
Stuffed Eggplant Recipes FAQs
The #1 secret to cooking the perfect eggplant is it must be completely cooked through until it’s soft, smooth, and creamy. Always check with a fork and make sure it’s soft and cooked perfectly.
You do not need to peel an eggplant. Especially when slicing the eggplant. The skin adds a nice bite.
What to Serve with Eggplant
Easy Vegetarian Recipes
📋 Recipe
Stuffed Roasted Eggplant Recipe
Equipment
- 9×13" baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant or 2 smaller eggplants
- 2 large beefsteak tomatoes halved and sliced
- 4 ¾ oz. mozzarella cheese not soft burrata, but mozzarella slices
- ¾ cup pesto
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Optional for serving
- toasted pine nuts
- fresh basil leaves
- grated Parmesan cheese
See our Cooking Conversions Chart for help converting measurements!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice 1 large eggplant almost all of the way through into slices that are about ¼-inch thick, leaving them connected near the bottom.Halve and slice 2 large beefsteak tomatoes.
- Place a heaping 1 tsp. or so of pesto in between each slice, followed by a slice of beefsteak tomato and a slice of mozzarella cheese.
- Continue stuffing the eggplant slices until each slice is filled with pesto, tomato, and mozzarella.
- Place the stuffed eggplant in a 9 by 13 inch baking dish greased with olive oil. Let it lay almost flat in the dish.Drizzle olive oil over the eggplant. Roast at 350°F for 1 hour, until it cooks through and is nicely browned.
- Cut through the bottom of the slices to serve. Sprinkle with pine nuts, fresh basil, and Parmesan.
jo_jo_ba says
Now I REALLY wish our eggplants had grown this summer!
Cindy Kerschner says
So elegant looking!
Wendy Klik says
What a gorgeous dish!
Eileen Gray says
Wow, that is an impressive dish!
Nettie Moore says
A real show stopper! Nettie
David Crowley says
What a beautiful vegetable dish!
Alix P Lindstrom says
Do you think I could make this with marinara sauce instead of pesto?
Isabel Laessig says
We don’t see why not. Let us know how it turns out.
Sheena says
Really tasty but i will make slimmer hasselback slices next time as the middle was less cooked and also put a bit more pesto on both sides of the slices. 😋😋😋
Amand says
Made this for dinner tonight. It was very good but needed a little something. A splash of balsamic vinegar did the trick.
Em Beitel says
Thank you so much, Amand! We’re glad you enjoyed it – and that sounds like an amazing addition!