I’m the type of person who could just eat marinara sauce with a spoon. I love it just that much. BUT that feels kind of weird so I try to find other vehicles to slather with the yummy sauce. Sure, there’s always pasta, but there are so many other options! This week I found eggplant on sale for $1.29 each (instead of per pound, which makes it a great deal!), so I cut them in half, roasted them until they were rich, tender, and caramelized, then piled an awesome homemade meat sauce on top. This Roasted Eggplant with Meat Sauce is SO GOOD.
Red Sauce Short Cut
Roasting eggplant does take some time (about an hour), so I had plenty of time to make my own meat sauce. If you want to make this recipe even easier, you can always sub the homemade meat sauce for your favorite jarred sauce, but I just want to stress how easy the meat sauce is to make yourself. Seriously easy. So easy that I might just be making it like once per week to keep on hand to pour over whatever roasted vegetables I happen to have that week.
Make it Vegetarian
Don’t want to do a meat sauce? Sautéing some minced mushrooms is a really good alternative. It will give your sauce more bulk and keep this more of a main dish than just a side. Just make sure to cook those mushrooms down until the liquid in the pot dries up and you start to see some browning action. The browning is where you’re going to get all the flavor.
Can You Eat the Eggplant Skin?
Yep! The dark skin on eggplant is completely edible, although some people don’t enjoy the texture. The skin does provide a lot of fiber and nutrients, but if you find that you don’t like it, simply scoop the eggplant flesh out of the skin as you eat. The eggplant will be quite soft and easy to separate from the skin.
Roasted Eggplant with Meat Sauce
Servings 4Ingredients
ROASTED EGGPLANT
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.26)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning blend ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 2 eggplant (about 7″-8″ long) ($2.58)
MEAT SAUCE
- 1/2 lb. ground beef ($3.25)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
- 1 small onion ($0.32)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.26)
- 28 oz. crushed tomatoes ($0.89)
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning blend ($0.05)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste) ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan ($0.21)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. In a small bowl combine the olive oil, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt.
- Slice each eggplant in half lengthwise, then use a paring knife to score a crosshatch pattern into the flesh (do not pierce the skin). Drizzle the seasoned olive oil over the cut surfaces of the eggplant and smear it around with the back of a spoon.
- Place the eggplant on a baking sheet, cut sides down, and transfer the baking sheet into the oven. (Coat the baking sheet with non-stick spray for easy cleanup) Roast the eggplant for about 60 minutes, or until they look deflated and the skins appear wrinkly.
- While the eggplant are roasting, prepare the meat sauce. Add the ground beef and olive oil to a sauce pot and cook over medium heat until the meat has browned. If using a higher fat content beef (90% lean or lower), drain the excess fat from the pot.
- Dice the onion and add it to the browned beef along with the butter. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent. Add the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and some freshly cracked pepper. Stir to combine, then allow the sauce to come to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmer, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer until the roasted eggplant are finished, or for a minimum of 30 minutes. Before serving, taste the sauce, and add salt as needed (about 1/2 tsp).
- When the eggplant are finished roasting, carefully flip them with a spatula (they will be quite soft). Top each eggplant half with a generous ladle of the meat sauce and a dusting of grated parmesan. Serve immediately.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Roasted Eggplant with Meat Sauce – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 400ºF. In a small bowl combine 2 Tbsp olive oil, 2 cloves garlic (minced), 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning blend, and 1/4 tsp salt.
Slice two eggplant in half lengthwise, then score a crosshatch pattern into the flesh (avoid piercing the skin). Place the eggplant on a baking sheet, cut side up.
Drizzle the seasoned oil over the cut surface of the eggplant and smear it around with the back of a spoon.
Flip the eggplant over so the cut side is down. This holds in the steam as they roast and helps soften the eggplant. A little non-stick spray on the baking sheet helps keep the eggplant from sticking and makes cleanup a little easier. Transfer the eggplant to the oven and roast for about an hour (total time will depend on the size and width of the eggplant).
While the eggplant are roasting, begin the meat sauce. Add 1/2 lb. ground beef to a sauce pot with 1 Tbsp olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the beef is browned. If you’re using a higher fat content beef, drain off the excess fat, then add 1 small onion (diced) and 2 Tbsp butter. Continue to sauté until the onion is soft and transparent.
Once the onions are soft, add a 28oz. can crushed tomatoes, 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning blend, and some freshly cracked pepper. Stir to combine and allow the sauce to come up to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmer, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer over low for at least a half hour. The longer it simmers, the better it tastes, so I just let it go until the eggplant are done roasting.
After the sauce has simmered and you’re just about to serve it, give it a taste and add salt as needed (I added about 1/2 tsp salt).
After about an hour, the eggplant should be soft and the skins should appear wrinkly.
Carefully flip the eggplant (they’ll be quite soft and wobbly). Look at that beautiful caramelization!
Top each piece of eggplant with a generous amount of meat sauce…
And then sprinkle with some grated Parmesan and serve! (I added a little chopped parsley, but only to give the photographs some color).
So yummy!! Pair the Roasted Eggplant with Meat sauce with a simple green salad and you’re all set! (Okay, maybe some garlic bread, too.)
Absolutely delicious! I did a more complex version of the meat sauce adding some vegetables and balsamic vinegar and I finished the dish under the grill after sprinkling the parmigiano. I had never cooked the eggplant this way (cutting the flesh and then turning it upside down) and I must say it was cooked to perfection! Great recipe, Beth.
Yum! This sauce is really good – I think the butter really kicks it up a notch. I considered making it with sausage (have it in the freezer) but ground beef was on sale so I used the beef as written. I sprinkled shredded Italian cheese mix on top instead of just parmesan because I wanted to use it up. This reminded me of a different, easier version of your Italian sausage stuffed zucchini, which I love. I do think I like zucchini better than eggplant though, so I might try this with zucchini in the future – but I’m guessing they’ll take way less time in the oven.
Dear Beth, I found a nice recipe article on “ROASTED EGGPLANT WITH MEAT SAUCE” on your website. Surely I will love to try this recipe but I wish you could add a recipe video. by the way can you assist me about the food calories measurement of this recipe?
Do you think this would freeze well?
My guess is that the marinara sauce will definitely freeze well, but I don’t find that roasted veggies (like the eggplant) freeze well – they get watery and loose their texture when defrosted.
Thanks Sarah! I’ll just make half a recipe then.
I agree with Sarah. The sauce freezes great, but the roasted eggplant will not hold up. :)
Thank you. Since it’s just me, I’ll make the sauce and freeze part of it and then only roast one eggplant for two meals during the week.
This dish was absolutely delicious. I made it as written for my husband who loved it. I made a vegan version for me adding sautéed mushrooms to some leftover marinara sauce. My husband said the meat sauce would be wonderful on just about anything.
I’m getting hungry just looking at this recipe, and it’s only 8 am. You’re killing me here, lol. I’m definitely going to have to stop at the store after work and pick up the ingredients for this!
These look delicious!
Do you think you could freeze them? how would you reheat them?
Thanks!
I don’t think these would freeze so well. The sauce alone will freeze nicely, but the eggplant probably won’t hold up. I can say that they stay nice in the refrigerator, though! I’ve been reheating mine all week. :)
This looks great! But since I’m cooking for 2, can this be frozen? Would you freeze the roasted eggplant and the sauce separately and put the dish together after reheating? Thanks!
I wouldn’t suggest freezing the roasted eggplant, but the sauce freezes great!
Do you have a favorite Italian seasoning? I’m having trouble finding one I like.
I used Kroger’s brand this time and found it to be just fine. I don’t think I’m very picky when it comes to Italian seasoning blend, though. :)
Sounds great – when would I add mushrooms to the sauce?
Sauté them in the beginning in place of the beef. :)
Beth, how much mushrooms should I use in place of the ground beef? And other than the substitution, is everything else the same?
You could use an 8oz. container. It’s flexible, though, so if you want more you can use more. :)
I am drooling! I love your baking sheet/pan too…where did you find that?
It’s made by Crow Canyon Home and I got it from an online store called Rove and Swig, but they have their site shut down right now. Here is the Crow Canyon page listing online retailers.
Looks delicious! Would love to know where to get the pan you roasted your eggplant in. On a side note, we eat your recipes almost every night!
The online store where I bought it is currently closed (Rove and Swig), but here is the manufacturer’s website listing their online retailers. :)
One of the times I made Marinara from scratch it turned out so amazingly delicious that I dubbed it Tomato Soup. No longer weird, lol!
Hahah! Yes!
I’m confused about this sentence: “Slice two eggplant in half lengthwise, then score a crosshatch pattern into the flesh (avoid piercing the flesh)” Aren’t you piercing the flesh by scoring it?
I found that weird too, but assumed she must have meant “avoid piercing the skin”?
I believe she means not to cut too deep that you pierce the flesh on the other side.
She writes “do not pierce the skin” in first set of directions, so I think it’s just a typo in the picture section. I was confused too!
It should say skin instead of flesh
I think she means to avoid piercing the skin.
On the top half she says to avoid piercing the flesh. On the bottom, I think it is a typo. When you look at the picture, she’s cross hatched the flesh built all the skin is intact to create a little steam pot for each half.
Does that help?
Typo. :) I meant skin. All fixed now!