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This harissa beef stuffed eggplant recipe is one you want to try before the eggplant season is over. With beef stuffed eggplant, it combines the vibrancy of the late summer with its ripe eggplants with the warmth and comfort of the autumn that come from cumin and cinnamon. Delish!
Beef stuffed veg? Can’t get enough! You need to give my Italian Stuffed Peppers a try!
My love affair with eggplant started when I was a little girl. My mum would make fried eggplant and tomato stacks flavoured simply with salt, pepper, garlic and mayonnaise.
They always signaled the end of the summer and the beginning of harvest time for me. I don’t think my dad and brother were as keen on those tasty snacks, so eating them together with my mum became our bonding time!
So this harissa beef stuffed eggplant is a slight spin on the classic version made by my mum. I started cooking this recipe shortly after our first child was born as a tasty, lean meal. Delicious, nutritious and low on calories!
What Is Harissa?
I’ve often cooked this beef stuffed eggplant recipe with Italian flavours of basil and oregano. But this version is reminiscent of the flavours of North Africa with aromatic cumin, cinnamon and spicy harissa.
Harissa is a hot chilli paste originally from North Africa but now readily available around the world. Just look in your ethnic aisle, it will be there! It has a deep flavour, but can be made in all sorts of variations, each with a slightly different flavour profile.
Harissa usually comes as a paste, although it is possible to find harissa powder as well. A fairly small amount of harissa will go a long way and will be a unique and savoury to any dish where it is used.
How to Cook Eggplant
If you are not a fan of eggplant you can use butternut squash or zucchini but I do hope you try eggplants. They sometimes have a reputation of being spongy and tasteless but that only happens if they are undercooked.
My go-to eggplant expert, Yotam Ottolenghi, says two things are essential for cooking eggplant to perfection:
- Hot oven
- Lots of oil
Although I feel the ‘lots of oil’ bit is tweakable, a hot oven is a must. For this recipe I brushed each eggplant half with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and cooked them at 220C/440F for 30 minutes. They came out perfectly scoopable!
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Harissa paste comes in a range of types, each with different flavour profiles and levels of spiciness. It doesn’t matter which you use for this recipe, although it will alter the outcome.
- Don’t forget to score the flesh of the eggplant before roasting. This creates more surface area for olive oil and hot air to get to, and allows for more caramelisation.
Serving suggestions
This is a hearty stuffed vegetable that is a fantastic centrepiece of a dinner, and needs little more to be a full meal. My favourite side would be a grain-based salad, especially one made with fresh vegetables and herbs to balance out the savoury flavours of the stuffed eggplant.
A few that I would recommend are:
Before I serve the stuffed eggplant, I like to drizzle a little yogurt over top, as you can see in the photos, as well as a little chopped parsley. If you want to take that to the next level, you can mix some harissa paste into the yogurt to make a tasty sauce!
Storage and leftovers
Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container. It’s best to reheat the stuffed eggplant in an oven preheated to 180C/350F for 15-20 minutes, although a microwave can also work.
If you want something for the future, fully cooled stuffed eggplant can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. Use an airtight container, and let them thaw out overnight in the fridge before enjoying. The texture might change slightly, but not enough to make a significant difference.
More eggplant recipes
- Russian Eggplant Caviar
- Smoky Baba Ganoush with Sumac
- Rustic Three Cheese Eggplant Lasagna
- Healthy Eggplant Parmesan
Harissa Beef Stuffed Eggplant
Ingredients
- 2 eggplant, medium
- 2 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil, divided
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 450g / 1 lb extra lean ground beef
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1-2 tbsp harissa paste
- 125ml / 1/2 cup stock or water
- salt to taste
- 125g / 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220C/440F
- Cut the eggplants lengthways through the stock, score the insides with a sharp knife and brush with 1tsp of olive oil each, salt and arrange on a baking sheet cut side up. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes until golden and the flesh is easily scoopable.
- Meanwhile cook the beef filling. In a large pan heat the olive oil and cook the onion over low heat for 5-7 minutes, add garlic and cook for 1 minute longer without allowing the garlic to colour, otherwise it will taste bitter.
- Add the beef and brown until no longer pink, then add cumin, cinnamon, tomato paste, 1 or 2 tbsp of harissa paste, depending on how spicy you like it. Stir everything together, then add stock or water. Salt the beef mixture last as harissa paste and stock will have various amounts of salt.
- Bring the beef to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes until most of the liquid is cooked away but the mixture is not dry.
- When the eggplants are cooked, let them cool slightly, and then remove the flesh. Cutting alongside the edge of the eggplant while leaving a 2 cm border makes it easier to do. Chop up the eggplant flesh and add it to the beef, stir to combine.
- Stuff the eggplant with the beef mixture and cook in the oven at 180C/350F for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven when piping hot. Drizzle with plain yogurt and sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.
- You can serve with additional yogurt sauce and a harissa paste swirled into. (If your harissa paste is too thick, thin it out with water.)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I needed needed to double the recipe so I used a pound of ground pork with the ground beef, which was very tasty. I also used Harissa spice (dried) and added to taste. Sour cream substitutes well for yogurt, as I was out.
Sounds delicious, Jane!!
I have a Persian friend who gave me a very similar recipe.
The second bake she spreads hummus on top. It’s fabulous!
It does sound delicious, Ted!! I need to try it.
Super easy and very tasty! I think I will also be making this for the next 13 years and more. I added 400g sliced shitake once the meat was browned. When the sauce was cooked I added a can of chickpeas. I also had some more yoghurt on the side mixed with chopped cucumber. Thanks so much for this fabulous recipe!
Sounds amazing, Afra. I love your additions to this recipe!
So yummy!
So glad you enjoyed this stuffed eggplant recipe, Mary!
This was absolutely delicious last night. So easy and yummy. Harrissa from our local deli was amazing. Thank you!
Harissa is a fantastic ingredient! So happy to hear you loved it, Megan!
You just made me miss my oven even more!
I can only imagine, Marta! Hopefully you can be reunited with your oven soon!