Baked Aubergine With Red Pesto And Cheese

Baked aubergine with red pesto and cheese makes for a fantastic mid-week vegetarian quick healthy meal. The whole family will love this tasty cheesy budget recipe!

This baked aubergine (egg plant for my American friends) with red pesto and cheese is one of those perfectly simple recipes that's packed full of flavour but also quick and cheap to make!

All you need to do is whizz up a simple pesto topping using sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, pine nuts, lime juice and parsley. Spread that over the surface of your baked aubergines, top with cheese, grill and serve with a simple side salad.

I've used my low fat red pesto dip here, which is perfect for this recipe as it makes plenty for this meal and for dips as well.

Any of that red pesto you don't use is easily freezable for your next batch of this recipe.

Of course, you can also use shop bought red pesto too.

Aubergines haven't really featured here yet, except for having been used within my ratatouille recipes.

So I thought it was about time to change that and debut them as a really great versatile vegetable, one that can feature as the main part of your meal and not just used within recipes themselves.

There's also those nutritional benefits we get from incorporating aubergines into our diets.

They're an excellent source of dietary fibre and store of vitamins (B1 and B6).

As well as being rich in antioxidants, helping to keep our cells healthy.

So, if you haven't tried aubergines before, why not give them a go?

Here's how to get your aubergines perfectly baked for this recipe.......

Baked Aubergine With Red Pesto And Cheese - How To Bake Your Aubergine

Step One - wash the aubergines and cut them in half length-ways. Score the cut side of the aubergine in a chunky cross cross pattern. Insert the garlic pieces into the slits. Pour tomato passata into a baking dish and then place the aubergine halves in, skin side down, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until tender, about 40 to 50 minutes.

Step Two - place a generous tablespoon of red pesto (from my recipe or shop bought) on top of each aubergine half and spread it around.

Step Three - sprinkle some grated cheese on top.

Step Four - grill under a medium heated grill for about 5 to 10 minutes until the cheese has melted

Step Five - serve with a simple side salad such as the spinach salad found in my scallops with chilli and lime recipe.

I have to admit folks that aubergines were once completely alien vegetables to me.

To me they were those strange coloured purpley blue shaped vegetables that I had no idea what to do with.

Fortunately whilst I was a student I spent 6 years working in a hotel kitchen and that's where I learnt how to cook, and how to cook things like this!

Because of that experience I'm lucky enough to know exactly what to do with aubergines. Plus, if you can get them at 70p each too (price in here in the U.K. at the time of writing this) then I think that you'll agree that this is one amazing budget meal!

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Other Popular Baked Recipes With Pesto For You To Try

• Oven baked whole wheat pesto fusilli is just perfect if you’re looking for a quick healthy meal. It’s just a simple pesto sauce combined with healthy whole grains and juicy tomatoes to give you a taste of the Mediterranean.
• Pesto and mozzarella stuffed baked potatoes is a simple and delicious quick healthy meal. This easy recipe is a great weeknight filler!
• Oven baked salmon pesto is ready in just 30 minutes. Topped with a tasty creamy cauliflower mash this is a perfect dinner when you’re limited with time.

Baked aubergine with red pesto and cheese makes for a fantastic mid-week vegetarian quick healthy meal. The whole family will love this tasty cheesy budget recipe! Click to Tweet

Baked Aubergine with Red Pesto and Cheese Recipe

I've served these baked aubergines with a simple salad of chopped baby spinach, chopped tomatoes quartered cucumber.

I’d love to hear what you think of my recipe in the comments below and please do rate my recipe 5* if you like it! 🙂

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5 from 1 vote

Baked Aubergine With Red Pesto And Cheese Recipe

Baked aubergine with red pesto and cheese makes for a fantastic mid-week vegetarian quick healthy meal.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time50 mins

Total Time1 hr

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: International

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 390kcal

Author: Neil

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Equipment

• Pasta dish
• Kitchen scale
• Measuring spoons
• Chopping board
• Kitchen knives

Ingredients

• 500 g carton tomato passata
• 2 large aubergines (eggplant), halved lengthwise
• 2 cloves garlic , peeled & very finely sliced
• Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper
• 4 tablespoon red pesto
• 25 g grated low fat cheese

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200C fan.
• Wash the aubergines and cut them in half lengthways.
• Score the cut side of the aubergine in a chunky cross cross pattern. and insert the garlic pieces into the slits.
• Pour the tomato passata into the base of a baking dish large enough to hold the aubergine halves in a single layer.
• Place the aubergine halves into the baking dish, skin side down. Drizzle aubergines with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Bake until tender, about 40 to 50 minutes.
• Once baked, remove from the oven and turn on the grill.
• Place a tablespoon of pesto on top of each aubergine half, sprinkle the grated cheese over and grill under a medium grill for about 5 to 10 minutes until the cheese has melted.
• Serve with a spinach salad.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Nutrition

Calories: 390kcal | Carbohydrates: 34.7g | Protein: 10.2g | Fat: 26.8g | Saturated Fat: 5.2g | Cholesterol: 11.4mg | Sodium: 1163.7mg | Fiber: 13.8g | Sugar: 18.5g | Vitamin A: 950IU | Vitamin C: 38.8mg | Calcium: 210mg | Iron: 4.9mg