This keto sausage and ricotta stuffed eggplant dish is amazingly satisfying comfort food! We combine a homemade marinara sauce with sausage, veggies, and ricotta which then gets topped with a layer of cheese! Yum!
This keto sausage and ricotta stuffed eggplant is an awesomely rich and creamy dish! I recently made a new dish using eggplants, keto pepperoni pizza stuffed eggplant, and was telling my friend Donna about it. She told me she was growing eggplants and wondered how much cheese I used in my recipe. Donna does strict gluten and dairy free and hasn’t found a dairy free cheese she loves. Yes, there’s two cups of cheese in that dish. So, we talked about using ricotta for the filling since she had a dairy free ricotta she likes. I topped my eggplant with a cup of shredded cheese, but the amount can also be decreased. This is the recipe I came up with, and I hope you love it as much as we do!
How do you make the homemade sauce for this keto sausage and ricotta stuffed eggplant?
To keep this dish low carb, we start with making a homemade red sauce. Using just a few ingredients creates a delicious sauce that works perfectly in this dish. We simply combine diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, keto sugar, salt, and pepper. This makes 1½ cups of sauce. Half of the sauce will be spread on the bottom of our baking dish. The other half goes into the mixture we are stuffing our eggplant with. If you would like more sauce to top your cooked eggplant with, you can double the sauce recipe. Then place the extra sauce on the stove and let it simmer during the last 20 minutes or so of baking your eggplant.
Is this keto sausage and ricotta stuffed eggplant difficult to make?
This is not a difficult recipe to make, but there are a few things you can do to ensure yours turns out perfectly every time you make it! First, when scooping out the flesh of your eggplant, leave about ½ inch border around the sides and bottom of the eggplant. This will ensure your eggplant will hold together well when stuffed with the filling. After your eggplant has baked for 30 minutes, you’ll want to brush the edges of your eggplants with olive oil and sprinkle your shredded cheese evenly over the eggplants. This allows time for the cheese to melt and creates an awesome browned top. You’ll know your eggplant is done when the eggplant skin can easily be pierced with a fork.
What can I do with the extra eggplant pulp we’re not using in this dish?
I’m glad you asked!😊I used two medium eggplants for this dish. After removing the pulp, I used one cup in the filling and ended up with about two extra cups of diced eggplant. I decided to make a keto eggplant hash. To a medium skillet, over medium heat, I added 2 tablespoons of butter with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. To this I added 3 tablespoons of diced green peppers, 3 tablespoons of diced onions, the diced eggplant, and ¼ teaspoon of salt and pepper. I cooked this mixture until it was soft. This time will vary between 7-10 minutes. Then each serving of hash was topped with a fried egg. You can also top this hash with a poached egg or even scrambled eggs if you’d like. Additional options would be to top with some shredded cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, or even some salsa!
Need a great keto dessert to perfectly finish off your meal? Here you go!
Berries with Keto Lemon Whipped Cream
Keto No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake Bars
No-Bake Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake
Helpful Hints:
*If you’d like extra sauce to top your baked eggplant with, simply double the sauce and simmer the extra sauce on the stove during the last 20-30 minutes of cooking your eggplant.
*If you’d like, you can substitute any good melting cheese in place of the mozzarella cheese.
Main Kitchen Equipment and Utensils:
- Small mixing bowl
- 13×9 inch baking dish
- Medium skillet
Splash of Encouragement:
***In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul. Psalm 138:3***
Keto Sausage and Ricotta Stuffed Eggplant
This keto sausage and ricotta stuffed eggplant dish is amazingly satisfying comfort food! We combine a homemade marinara sauce with sausage, veggies, and ricotta which then gets topped with a layer of cheese! Yum!
Ingredients
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon granulated sugar substitute (Swerve)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 medium eggplants
- 8 ounces Italian sausage, casings removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ⅓ cup diced green peppers
- ⅓ cup diced onion
- ⅓ cup diced red peppers
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a small mixing bowl, add diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
3. Place ¾ cup diced tomato mixture into a 13x9 inch baking dish and spread evenly overly bottom of dish. Set aside.
4. Cut eggplant in half lengthwise. Scoop out pulp of eggplant, leaving ½ inch border around skin. Dice 1 cup of pulp and set aside. Discard or save remaining pulp for another use. Place eggplant, cut side up, into baking dish.
5. In a medium skillet, over medium high heat, add sausage. Cook until sausage is cooked through, breaking into small pieces as it cooks. Remove sausage to a plate.
6. In the same skillet skillet, over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. When olive oil is hot, add peppers and onion. Saute for 4 minutes.
7. Add diced eggplant to skillet and saute for 4 additional minutes.
8. Add sausage and reserved ¾ cup of diced tomato mixture. Stir to combine.
9. Add ricotta to skillet. Stir to combine. Simmer until ricotta is melted.
10. Fill eggplant with sausage mixture, evenly distributing between eggplants.
9. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Brush remaining tablespoon olive oil over ½ inch outer rim of eggplants. Sprinkle shredded cheese evenly over eggplant.
10. Bake for 10-20 more minutes, or until eggplant skin can be easily pierced with a fork.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Servings Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 230Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 410mgCarbohydrates: 9.5gNet Carbohydrates: 7.5gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 12g
Thanks for stopping by! Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is calculated with the assistance of a third party service. Values are approximate, can’t be guaranteed, and should be considered as estimates only. Values differ according to types and brands of foods used. When used in a recipe, erythritol has been removed from the carb count as it is a sugar alcohol. Please note net carbs are total carbs minus fiber.
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