These roasted baby eggplants with goat cheese stuffing are topped with honey, balsamic vinegar and parsley. A great party appetizer!
Baby.eggplant.butts.
Can you even handle the cuteness?
I die.
Obviously, some gene went whacko in my 9 month incubation period because I look at this picture and squeal from the cuteness overload.
I look at a real baby and…nothing.
Well actually, I see plenty.
It just so happens to be the sleepless nights, the crying, the spit up, the OMG I HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS CHILD’S EDUCATION and not the cute baby cheeks, but I digress.
Before this, I have never even seen baby eggplants. Leave it to my obscure Asian grocery store though to have them.
There I am on a mission, walking straight back towards my fish guy when I get smacked with cuteness overload from the wooden crate filled with these things.
Want to know my first thought? EEEK, (I squeal in my head only, I promise I don’t actually talk like this) THESE WOULD BE SO FREAKIN CUTE FOR THE BLOG.
Yes, the thought deserved caps and yes, I’ve become that person.
Luckily, they weren’t only cute, they were out of control delicious too.
Normally, I’m not even a huge eggplant fan. It’s not that I don’t like it, I just don’t love it.
It’s kind of a blah vegetable unless of course it’s breaded, fried and coated in cheese and marinara sauce, then my feelings tend to change.
But by itself…boring.
Oh, but not these little mini ones!
1. They’re the perfect size. Two bites and you’re done. No time for the weird mushiness to set in.
2. They have little stems like strawberries. Things with tiny green stems automatically win tasty points. #truth
3. Stuff anything with goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts, drizzle with honey, balsamic vinegar and parsley and tell me it’s not the best thing you ever ate. I feel similarly about this lentil stuffed eggplant recipe too because of the goat cheese!
This is a dish I would make in the land of make believe.
The land where I throw extravagant dinner parties on fine china and silver, dressed in some designer gown and hold real, adult conversations with good friends while sipping expensive wine.
The land where I open my personal catering business and rich clients pay me to create their meals.
The land where I spend my days seeking out farmers markets and the freshest ingredients, making whatever I’ve been inspired by that day for dinner.
Instead, I made these stuffed baby eggplants in real life.
The land where no one can get together for dinner parties because there are 1 million babies involved now.
The land that when I put anything on besides sweats or workout clothes I actually feel proud of myself.
The land where every adult conversation I have somehow turns to babies, the birthing process or why we don’t want them.
The land where I still have a 9-5 “real” job that pays my mortgage.
The land where the Asian grocery store is as close as I get to a farmers market 99% of the year.
Sometimes, it’s way more fun to live in the land of make believe.
Try more eggplant recipes like one of these:
Cheesy Chicken Stuffed Eggplant
Tomato Basil Eggplant Noodles
Italian Spiced Eggplant Fries
Mediterranean Eggplant Chips
Roasted Baby Eggplants with Goat Cheese Stuffing
Ingredients
- 10 baby eggplants
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 ounces goat cheese
- 3 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes, diced
- 1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted
- honey, for garnish
- balsamic vinegar, for garnish
- parsley, chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray.
- Wash eggplants and carefully slice about 3/4 through each one lengthwise, careful not to go all the way through.
- Place eggplants on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt & pepper.
- Roast for 20 minutes at 425 then turn to broil for an additional 3-5 minutes just until skins start to wrinkle.
- Remove eggplants from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, combine goat cheese & sun dried tomatoes in a small bowl and mash together.
- Stuff each eggplant with a small amount of the goat cheese mixture.
- Sprinkle pine nuts on top.
- Finish with a drizzle of honey, balsamic vinegar and chopped parsley.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
OMG, those baby eggplants are soooo cute!!! I am a huge, like HUGE fan of eggplants. I am stunned with the dish you’ve made. Thanks!
You made me laugh :)
All of my eggplant from my garden are tiny like this. Maybe I just grow the baby variety (good excuse for my lack of a green thumb!)
these look amazing, i’ve only cooked with baby eggplants once, and it too was because they are soooo cute. thanks for the inspiration!
Wow – What a great dish idea for a dinner party! I love baby eggplants or Japanese eggplants. YUM
This just made me laugh. Those eggplants are super cute. And I would give anything to have that Asian store near me now.
I love eggplant and I love goat cheese even more. …AKA these look to die for!!! I bet the pine nuts and honey add amazing flavor and tecture too.
Eggplants are my favorite. In fact I cooked some yesterday. It involved garlic, cilantro, some vinegar and walnuts. Old Georgian recipe my grandfather used to cook.
Yours look to die for! That’s what I am making next time my eggplant cravings are out of control.
I had a seriously bad eggplant experience but the cute factor is really tugging at me.
SO CUTE!!! I have never seen these. Your recipe looks beautttiful. If I ever find baby eggplants, I am going to make it! (I may even settle for the same recpie with a regular boring non-cute eggplant, if I must.)