You're going to fall in love with this Mediterranean quinoa stuffed eggplant recipe! It's full of flavor, packed with veggies, and takes just 30 minutes to make!
I've been on a serious Mediterranean food kick lately. When I'm thinking about going out to eat, I pretty much only want Mediterranean/Turkish food. It's just so damn good. Just gimme all chickpeas, hummus, parsley, cucumber, and tahini. Like I'm actually it for dinner right now even though I ate these stuffed eggplants for lunch…
Problem? No. Obsession? Perhaps. Healthy? Always.
Thankfully we have a delicious restaurant just two blocks away that makes the most insane hummus and babganoush. It's seriously out of this world.
And ever since we ate there last weekend, eggplant has been on my brain.
So today we're going to make these baked eggplants stuffed with quinoa, tomatoes, and mushrooms. It's a really simple dish to put together, uses just a handful of ingredients (most of which I bet you already have!) and is ready in about 30 minutes. And makes a bomb ass dinner if you ask me!
For the tomatoes, I actually decided to use canned whole plum tomatoes because they're are super juicy and flavorful. By now you know my favorite canned tomatoes are from Tuttorosso and I have to say their whole plum tomatoes are legit.
When you open up the can, you see whole tomatoes. Yes, that's what it says on the packaging, so that's what you'd expect, right? Well, you'd be surprised at some of the other brands.
If you remember when I visited their factory last year, we actually tested their whole tomatoes against 10 of the main competitors and Tuttorosso's were the only ones that were still whole and intact.
Because they're whole, you can actually chop them up just like you would a fresh tomato. And since they're packed at the height of ripeness, they end up being way more flavorful. PLUS! (sheesh, so many good things to say) Canned tomatoes are already cooked, so using them in this recipe majorly speeds up the cooking time.
Our stuffing is a simple blend of quinoa, tomatoes, finely chopped mushrooms (which aren't technically Mediterranean but give a nice meaty texture to the recipe), shallots, garlic, and a few spices, that gets sauteed in some olive oil until it's sizzling hot.
Then just scoop it into the soft eggplant, bake for another few minutes and that's pretty much it!
Oh but wait, there's also the sauce!
One of my favorite things about Mediterranean food is that they use tahini on everything. And if you've been reading the blog for a while, then you know I also like to put tahini on everything.
It's my favorite way to make salad dressings (check out my Tahini Dressing: 4 Ways post for some inspo), I add it to my creamy caesar dressing, make energy balls with it and sometimes just drizzle it on avocado toast!
For our quinoa stuffed eggplants, we're making a quick tahini drizzle with lemon juice, garlic powder and a pinch of salt. You'll want to make sure to also add a little water in there so that it gets nice and creamy!
If you've been on the hunt for a meal that's light, easy to make, and yet still totally satisfying, this stuffed eggplant is for you! It also stores well in the fridge and can be reheated as leftovers the next day!
Your turn…
What's your favorite Mediterranean meal? I'm looking for more recipes to try, so let me know your picks in the comments below! And if you end up making this recipe, I'd love for you to snap a pic and tag @simplyquinoa on Instagram! Absolutely LOVE seeing your creations ????
xx A
More Mediterranean Recipe to Try:
- Baked Grain-Free Falafel Bites
- Saffron Middle Eastern Quinoa Salad
- One-Pot Moroccan Lentils + Quinoa
- Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
- Mediterranean Tostadas
- Vegan Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Mediterranean Quinoa
- One-Pot Mediterranean Quinoa with Spinach + Chickpeas
Quinoa Stuffed Eggplant with Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 medium shallot diced (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 cup chopped button mushrooms about 2 cups whole
- 5 - 6 Tuttorosso whole plum tomatoes chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato juice from the can
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley + more to garnish
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Water to thin
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and scoop out some of the flesh. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil. Sprinkle with salt and bake for 20 minutes.
- While the eggplant is cooking, heat the remaining oil in a large skillet. Once add all the shallots and mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms have softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, quinoa and spices, and cook until the liquid has evaporated.
- Once the eggplant has cooked for 20 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF and stuff each half with the tomato-quinoa mixture. Bake for another 10 minutes.
- When ready to serve, whisk together tahini, lemon, garlic, water and a touch of salt and pepper. Drizzle tahini over eggplants, sprinkle with parsley and enjoy!
Nutrition
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This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Tuttorosso Tomatoes. As always, all opinions are my own. I only share companies I love and trust, so thank you for continuing to support Simply Quinoa!
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