This plant-based Mediterranean dish is filled with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants! Tangy and vibrant sun-dried tomatoes pair perfectly with lentils and artichokes in this stuffed eggplant dish. Topped with salty feta and toasted walnuts, this meal is sure to wow everyone! This beautiful dish serves 2 and makes for the perfect date-night dinner or can be doubled to make for the whole family. You’re gonna love it!!
The Inspiration
The inspiration for a lot of my dishes comes from the Mediterranean meals I grew up with while living in Spain and vacationing every summer in Mallorca. Sip and Scone is all about plant-forward dishes that pack in all of the flavor and plenty of nutrients. One of my favorite things to do during my summers in Mallorca, Spain is visiting the farmer’s market and picking out fresh produce and specialty food products grown locally.
Last summer, I remember coming across the most plump and vibrant sun-dried tomatoes I had ever seen and I just knew I had to buy them and create a dish featuring these gorgeous tomatoes. I came back that day with sun-dried tomatoes, eggplants, and walnuts and got to work experimenting on this recipe for stuffed eggplant boats!
The recipe ended up being a hit among my friends and family, so when I got back to the states I knew I had to recreate this dish and write it all down to make a recipe!
This is one of my all-time favorite plant-based dishes, perfect for making a relatively simple dish look high-end and fancy. Make this recipe for your next date night or double it to share with a larger crowd! Either way, this is a recipe you’re gonna want to go back to again and again.
Plant Powered
As a nutrition and dietetics major and lover of plant-forward dishes, I bring out my culinary creativity in the kitchen with different combinations of fresh produce, healthy fats, and plant-based proteins while varying the textures of my dishes to create meals that are satisfying and nourishing.
Lentils provide the plant-based protein and kick of fiber in this dish. 1 cup of cooked lentils in this dish provides 18 grams of protein and 15 grams of fiber!!
But that’s not all. This dish is made with 5 different veggies! Talk about all the vitamins and minerals you’re gonna get from this meal 🙂
The Veggies
- Eggplant
- Onion
- Garlic
- Artichoke hearts
- Sun-dried tomato
Antioxidant Boost
Eggplant and artichoke hearts are some of the foods highest in antioxidants, with artichoke hearts reigning supreme! Antioxidants help to protect cells against the damage caused by free radicals and are extremely important to include in our diets.
One artichoke provides 25% of the daily recommended intake of Vitamin C and is rich in many other antioxidants including polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins. Eggplant is rich in anthocyanins, giving it its deep purple color!
Fiber Filled
With 5 different vegetables in addition to cooked lentils in this dish, you’ll be sure to get a ton of fiber per serving.
Why is fiber so good for us?
Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that our bodies cannot digest. The vegetables along with the lentils in this dish are particularly high in soluble fiber, which dissolves in water and helps move things along in our digestive tract. Soluble fiber binds to cholesterol and reduces the absorption of cholesterol into the bloodstream. When soluble fiber reaches our colon, it is fermented by bacteria in the colon to produce short-chain fatty acids. These SCFA act as an energy source for our intestinal microbiota and support a healthy gut lining.
According to the Dietary Reference Intake for Americans, women should aim for about 25 grams of fiber daily while men should be consuming 38 grams. The truth is, most Americans fall short of the recommended intake of fiber, so including meals like this one in your diet are key to increasing your fiber intake.
The Flavors
Sundried tomatoes and artichokes add the tang and brine to this dish and help to flavor the lentils. I used garlic and lentils along with dried oregano, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and fresh basil to elevate the flavors of this dish and add dimension, as the eggplant and lentils alone have more of a soft and mild taste.
Crumbled feta adds the saltiness to these eggplant boats, and let’s not forget the toasted walnuts to add some earthy tones and a much-needed crunch to this dish!
The Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- 1 cup cooked lentils
- 1/2 red onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- dash of dried oregano, salt, pepper, garlic powder
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup canned artichoke hearts
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tsp fresh basil
- 1 1/2 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
Stuffed Eggplant- TIPS
Once you chop your eggplant in half lengthwise, use a sharp knife to cut a rectangle out to form a well. Using a spoon (or the knife) scoop out as much of the eggplant filling as you can, but making sure that the bottom of your eggplant boat stays in-tact.
The filling has to be able to fit inside the well you make, so be sure to leave room.
Once you take out the filling, chop the filling up into small, 1-inch squares. This will be sautéed along with the rest of the veggies.
To make sure your eggplant boats get soft enough, drizzle them with plenty of olive oil and place them face-up on a baking sheet. The eggplant boats will bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees F initially to get them softer and then again in the oven for another 15 minutes once the filling is added.
The Final Touch
Once the eggplant boats are out of the oven, sprinkle feta over top and add the toasted walnuts and minced basil! Place each eggplant half on a plate and serve with a spoon for a beautiful presentation!
I hope you get to give this recipe a try!! If you do, please by sure to leave a comment and rating on my site 🙂 and tag me on Instagram with your recipe creations @sipandcone!
Lentil Artichoke Sun-dried Tomato Stuffed Eggplant Boats
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- 1 cup cooked lentils
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil
- 1/4 cup canned artichoke hearts
- dash of dried oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tsp fresh basil minced
- 1 1/2 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and scoop out a large well with a knife or spoon in each half. Scoop out as much as you can while leaving the eggplant boat in tact. Save the filling and set it aside.
- Place each eggplant half face-up on a baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper. Bake for 20 min and remove from oven. Leave the oven on.
- In the meantime cook the lentils according to the package.
- Chop the leftover eggplant that you scooped out into small, 1-inch squares. Dice the red onion, garlic cloves, sun-dried tomatoes, and canned artichokes hearts.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once shimmering, add the diced onion and minced garlic along with the cubed eggplant. Add a dash of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano along with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook for 6-8 min or until the onion and eggplant begin to soften.
- Add the cooked lentils, sun-dried tomatoes, and artichokes to the pan. Cook for another 5 min.
- In a separate small pan add the walnuts and heat on medium heat until slightly toasted. Set aside.
- Once the eggplant boats are out of the oven, divide the filling evenly between the eggplant boats (there may be some leftover).
- Sprinkle with feta and top with toasted walnuts and minced basil.
- Place back in the oven at the same temperature to bake for another 15 min. Serve warm!
Liked this recipe? Be sure to check out some of my other dinner recipes!
- Butternut Squash Carrot Soup with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
- Sausage, Kale, Butternut Squash Pasta
- Mushroom, Sun-dried Tomato, and Jamón Serrano Pasta
- Roasted Red Pepper Pumpkin Pasta
- Lentil Artichoke Sun-dried Tomato Stuffed Eggplant Boats!
Sip & Scone
Looks deliciously healthy
This was absolutely delicious (and beautiful too!)