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    Lebanese Stuffed Baby Eggplant

    By Cosette PoskoOct 18, 2021 (updated Oct 24, 2024)1 Comment

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    Stuffed Eggplant is a popular dish in Lebanon and many Middle Eastern countries. Stuffed dishes are called mahshi. This dish combines baby eggplant, spiced ground beef and a delicious tomato sauce using Delallo Foods Crushed Italian Tomatoes. Like many stuffed dishes (kousa mahshi or stuffed grapeleaves) they can take a bit of time to assemble but so full of unique flavors you'll keep making it over and over!

    Stuffed eggplant on a bed of rice on a plate

    Stuffed dishes are popular in the Middle East because it's a wonderful way to incorporate vegetables, grains and a meat in a hearty and economical way. Even my kids who aren't huge fans of eggplant - LOVE this dish. The flavor of the spiced meat and tomato simmering with spices is very aromatic and creates a delicious balanced meal with a side of Lebanese rice. Not to mention this dish is filling and gluten free!

    As we are heading out of tomato season, I rely on products that pack fresh tomatoes to use all year long. I'm thrilled to partner with my friends at DeLallo Foods to share this recipe that is a family staple using their fresh Crushed Italian Tomatoes. I hope you love it just as much as we do!

    Please note that I only work with companies and products that I feel passionately about and that align with Cosette’s Kitchen views and that this post contains sponsored content for Delallo. While I am compensated for the work I do, my opinions are always 100% my own.

    Ingredients to Make Stuffed Baby Eggplant

    Ingredients for this dish are simple and straightforward that most home cooks will find in their pantry.

    Ingredients to make baby stuffed eggplant
    • Eggplant - For this dish, we are using baby eggplants. These dark eggplants are similarly shaped to traditional larger Italian eggplant but will fit in the palm of your hand. They are great to use to create smaller portion sizes as well as avoiding the step of salting to remove moisture as they are not as bitter as larger eggplants.
    • Ground Beef - I'm using ground beef in this recipe which is common for this dish, however you can absolutely substitute ground lamb or ground turkey (dark meat) if you prefer with the same exquisite flavor. I use a lean ground beef for this dish.
    • Tomatoes - I'm using DeLallo Crushed Italian Tomatoes to create our sauce. I love the simplicity of their tomatoes, as close to summer fresh picked tomatoes as you can get.
    • Olive Oil - Olive oil is the base to many dishes I cook, it's no exception here. I'm using DeLallo's Private Reserve Extra Virgin Olive Oil for the best flavor in our dish.
    • Onions - Onions are used in both our ground beef mixture and our sauce, a simple aromatic.
    • Garlic - Garlic is used to flavor our tomato sauce, the more the better!
    • Cinnamon - Cinnamon may seem a bit unusual in a savory dish but the addition of cinnamon to ground beef is something magical, it's the same meat mixture as my fatayer pies.
    • Allspice - Allspice is a warm, earthy spice that is common in Middle Eastern dishes. Adding a bit of all spice to our sauce gives it a distinct flavor and creates a flavor that is more Middle Eastern vs Italian.
    • Pine Nuts - We go nuts for pine nuts around here! I love adding some to our meat mixture and then extra to top our stuffed eggplant when serving. These are definitely delicious but also optional.
    • Sugar - It may seem odd to have sugar in a savory dish but a bit of sugar to your tomato sauce helps to balance the acidity. If you don't have granulated sugar, add honey or balsamic vinegar.
    • Salt & Pepper - Kosher salt is my preferred salt for cooking, specifically Diamond brand. Please ensure you check the notes about salt in the full recipe down below.
    • Rice - I'm making the Lebanese tried and true rice with vermicelli noodles. You can find the full post linked here. But any rice you'd like to make will work just fine!

    See recipe card for quantities.

    Instructions on Making Stuffed Baby Eggplant

    This dish is divided into a few different parts: making the meat filling, the sauce, baking all together and finally a side of rice. Many of these steps can be done ahead of time and assembled the day you want to serve.

    Preparing Meat Mixture

    Sautéed onions in a skillet
    Sautéed onions ground beef
    Ground beef and pine nuts in skillet

    Begin by preparing your ground beef mixture, this step can be done the day before or several days before and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use. This is also a great meat mixture for just about anything - enjoy with pita, stuff to make fatayer, use with eggs or in anything you would add beef.

    Dice 2 medium sized onions and heat 2 tablespoons of DeLallo Private Reserve Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a large skillet on medium heat - I like a high sided, wide 12-14" sauté pan.

    Allow onions to cook for 10-12 minutes until they begin to soften and become a translucent color. Add your lean ground beef or lamb and begin to cook and break apart meat. Add 2 teaspoons of kosher salt (1 teaspoon if using table salt) to your mixture. Continue to cook on medium-high heat and break apart chunks of meat for 30-40 minutes until liquid is fully absorbed and meat is broken into fine crumbles.

    Add your cinnamon, black pepper and any additional salt (possibly another teaspoon, adjust to taste) and your pine nuts (if using). Allow to cook on medium-high for another 5 minutes. Set aside.

    Prepare Sauce

    Sautéed onions in a pot
    Pouring DeLallo Crushed Italian Tomatoes in pot with onions
    Pot of tomato sauce

    To prepare your sauce, dice a medium/large onion. Add 1 tablespoon DeLallo Private Reserve Extra Virgin Olive Oil to a sauce pot and heat on medium heat. Add your diced onion and allow to cook for 5 minutes until just beginning to soften. Next, add your minced garlic and cook for just 1 minutes until it becomes fragrant.

    Pro tip: You want your chopped garlic to BARELY cook, it can burn very quickly so be sure to keep an eye on it. You'll know when it's ready when you begin to smell the garlic aroma.

    Quickly add your DeLallo Crushed Italian Tomatoes and water. Allow to come to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Add your allspice, salt, pepper and sugar. Allow to cook for 30 minutes until just thickened.

    Prepare Eggplant

    Peeling eggplant with paring knife
    Pouring DeLallo Olive Oil on eggplants
    Roasted baby eggplant in tray

    Remove the green stem from your eggplants but keep stem in tact, it's easiest to use a small paring knife. The stem will ensure your eggplants will remain in tact and give you that "boat" to stuff them. Once the stem is removed, using a vegetable peeler, make 3 stripes along each eggplant. This is not only visually interesting but also allows the eggplant to cook evenly and not burst.

    Place the prepared eggplant in a large tray - mine is a about 14" round. If you can't fit into one tray - use 2 baking dishes (be sure they are broiler safe, metal/aluminum is best here). Add 2 tablespoons of DeLallo Private Reserve Extra Virgin Olive Oil and coat all the eggplant evenly.

    With your oven rack in the upper third of your oven, place eggplants under broiler on high. Allow to broil for 5 minutes, then rotate. Continue for 15-20 minutes until eggplants are evenly charred and softened. Be sure to keep checking on them so they don't burn. Remove from oven and set temperature to 400 degrees.

    Stuffing Eggplant

    Baby eggplant stuffed with meat
    Tray with eggplant covered in tomato sauce

    Once your eggplants are roasted, allow to cool for 5-10 minutes so you can handle, begin assembling. Make a slit in each eggplant from stem to bottom allowing a center cavity to open and a place to stuff.

    Add a generous amount of ground beef filling, depending on the size of your eggplants, about 2-3 heaping teaspoons. Continue to fill all eggplants. Add your sauce to the tray between eggplants but also on top. This ensures the meat doesn't get dried out or burn.

    Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.

    Serve with rice and enjoy!

    Baby Stuffed Eggplant on a Plate

    Equipment

    There is really no special equipment for this recipes, most home cooks will have pots and skillets to make this dish a success. Here are some of my favorite tools to use:

    Caraway Sauté Pan and Sauce Pot - I use the larger saute pan for the meat mixture and the sauce pot for both the tomato sauce and rice. It's really helpful to have a non-stick pot for rice. Here is another option for rice if you're looking.

    14" Aluminum Baking Pan - This large pan is perfect for this dish or my extremely popular macaroni b'halib dish! You can also use a roasting pan to get the same effect, those are typically stainless steel so you wouldn't have the same worry about acidic sauce + aluminum. They are just hard to find round for some reason.

    DeLallo Food Products - You can find DeLallo products all throughout the United States. Head to their page to find out where you can purchase or purchase directly on their site. Their products are all so incredible and help to create the perfect meals.

    Bottle of Delallo Crushed Italian Tomatoes

    Storage and Reheating

    Store cooled eggplants in the fridge, keep rice separate. To reheat, place rice and eggplant in microwaveable dish and heat for 1-2 minutes until warmed through. You may also reheat in oven or stovetop. Best stored in fridge for up to 5 days.

    You can certainly freeze the meat and/or sauce separately. I would avoid freezing the empty roasted eggplants as they may not hold. My preference would be to make the entire dish, allow to cool and freeze whole stuffed eggplants as a complete meal. Best to use within 3 months.

    Rate and Review

    I adore dishes that simmer and make the house feel warm and cozy! This dish is no exception, perfect as we enter fall. While this dish is a little more complex, any home cook can easily execute! Of course using quality ingredients like those from DeLallo is essential to make the most flavorful dish.

    I hope you enjoy this Lebanese Stuffed Baby Eggplant as much my family does – and feel free to adjust and make your own! If you make Lebanese Stuffed Baby Eggplant, please let me know by leaving a rating and review below!

    As always, I love seeing your creations. Please leave a review or share your dish with me on social media #cosetteskitchen which lets me know what is working for you! You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter , Tiktok and Pinterest. For more delicious recipes to your inbox, sign up for my newsletter!

    xoxo,
    Cosette

    *This post was sponsored by DeLallo. All opinions are my own. I only support and promote brands that I believe in and use in my own kitchen.

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    Baby Stuffed Eggplant on a Plate

    Lebanese Stuffed Baby Eggplant

    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
    • Author: Cosette's Kitchen
    • Prep Time: 30 minutes
    • Cook Time: 45 minutes
    • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
    • Yield: 6 servings 1x
    • Category: Dinner
    • Method: Baking
    • Cuisine: Lebanese
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    Baby eggplant are stuffed with spiced meat and a flavorful tomato sauce. Serve with rice or enjoy as is.


    Ingredients

    Units Scale

    Meat Mixture

    • 2 pounds lean ground beef, or lamb
    • 2 tablespoons DeLallo Private Reserve Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    • 2 medium onion, diced
    • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, additional to taste (if using table salt HALF your salt)
    • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
    • ¼ cup pine nuts, optional

    Tomato Sauce

    • 1 tablespoon DeLallo Private Reserve Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    • 1 medium onion, diced
    • 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
    • (2) 24 oz. jars of DeLallo Crushed Italian Tomatoes
    • 1 cup (8 oz) water
    • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, additional to taste (if using table salt HALF your salt)
    • 1 teaspoon black pepper
    • 1.5 teaspoons allspice (can sub mixed spice or cinnamon)
    • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

    Baby Eggplant

    • 12 baby eggplants, they should be about the size of your hand 4-5 inches (about 3 pounds)
    • 2 tablespoons DeLallo Private Reserve Extra Virgin Olive Oil

    Rice - use any rice you'd like, you can find my Lebanese Vermicelli Rice recipe linked here.


    Instructions

    Meat Mixture

    1. Begin with a large 12-14" sauté pan or skillet.
    2. Dice your onions and heat 2 tablespoons of DeLallo Extra Virgin Olive Oil in your large skillet or sauté pan.
    3. Allow your onions to cook for 10-12 minutes until they begin to soften and become translucent. Stir every few minutes.
    4. Next, add your lean ground beef and salt, continue to cook on medium-high heat breaking up the meat for 30-40 minutes until liquid is fully absorbed and meat is broken into fine crumbles.
    5. Add your cinnamon, black pepper and any additional salt (adjust to taste, will probably need another teaspoon) and pine nuts (if using). Allow to cook for medium-high for another 5 minutes. Once done, turn off heat and set aside until ready to stuff.

    Tomato Sauce

    1. Begin with a 3 quart (or larger) sauce pot or wide skillet.
    2. Dice your onion and heat 1 tablespoon of DeLallo Extra Virgin Olive Oil into your sauce pot.
    3. Allow onion to cook for 5 minutes until just beginning to soften. 
    4. Next, add your chopped garlic and cook for just 1 minute until it becomes fragrant. **cooking too long will burn the garlic, keep an eye on it!
    5. Immediately add your DeLallo Crushed Italian Tomatoes and water. Allow to come to a boil then reduce to a simmer uncovered. Add your allspice, salt, pepper and sugar. Allow to cook for 30 minutes until just thickened.

    Baby Eggplant

    1. Place your oven rack in the upper third and set to broil.
    2. To prepare your eggplants, remove just the green leaves at the stem. Keep the stem in tact to ensure your eggplants don't fall apart when cooking and stuffing.
    3. After removing the green leaves, with a vegetable peeler or paring knife - peel 3 stripes into the skin of the eggplant.
    4. Arrange on a large baking pan (14-16") with sides that are at least 2" high.
    5. Add 2 tablespoons of DeLallo Extra Virgin Olive Oil and massage to coat all the eggplants evenly.
    6. Place under broiler for 5 minutes, after 5 minutes flip eggplants and continue to broil for another 5, remove again, flip and broil one more time.
    7. The eggplants should be soft and have a slight char to them. Remove from oven and set to 400 degrees.
    8. Once cool enough to handle, make a slit in the center (be sure not to cut through to the bottom) and stuff each eggplant with 2-3 heaping teaspoons of your ground beef mixture.
    9. Repeat with all eggplants then top and surround with your tomato sauce.
    10. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 400 degrees.
    11. Remove from oven and serve immediately with rice. Garnish with chopped parsley and additional pine nuts if desired.

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @cosetteskitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #cosetteskitchen

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    My name is Cosette Posko and I reside in Portland, Oregon with my family of five. Originally from Pennsylvania, I moved to the great Pacific Northwest about 15 years ago and have been here ever since.

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