Description
A super easy roasted eggplant dish that tastes like pizza, without all the calories! A vegan Parmesan mixture piled on top of marinara sauce and stuffed into eggplant halves makes for an awesome meatless meal.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 Japanese eggplant (7-8″ long)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- Juice of 1/2 small lemon (about 1 1/2 Tbsp)
- 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
- 1 Serrano pepper, chopped
- 1/3 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs, gluten free if necessary
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the eggplant lengthwise in half, straight through the stem. Score the flesh in a diamond pattern, as shown in the picture above.
- Place the eggplant on a baking pan and drizzle with olive oil. I used about 1/4 cup, but the measurement doesn’t have to be exact. It soaks in a lot and very quickly, so don’t be shy. Bake for 30 minutes or so, then remove from the oven.
- While the eggplant bakes, combine the marinara sauce, lemon juice, cherry tomatoes, and Serrano pepper in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the walnuts, nutritional yeast, breadcrumbs, and salt.
- Remove eggplant from the oven. Gently smash the flesh in each half with the back of a fork. Spoon the marinara mixture over the eggplant, dividing it equally between all 8 halves. Top with a generous amount of the walnut mixture, also divided equally between the 8 halves.
- Return to the oven and bake for another 12 minutes, until the topping is a bit crunchy. Serve immediately, with some rice or another grain of your choice on the side.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Vegetables
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: eggplant, marinara, vegan, Italian