Delicious stuffed eggplant rolls with ground meat, wrapped in bacon, and topped with tomatoes and cheese. A perfect dish to feed a crowd!
Vegetables are a wonderful alternative to bread and pasta. One of my favorite veggies to use are eggplants because I find they are so versatile.
Rather than use pasta for things like lasagna and ravioli, many are now using thinly sliced vegetables. That's why keto eggplant lasagna has become so popular. Another popular thing to do is wrap the slices around a filling similar to stuffed shells.
A few weeks ago, I asked a friend of mine to help me create a recipe for stuffed eggplant rolls. The inspiration for the recipe came from a post at Inside The Rustic Kitchen for eggplant roll-ups with spinach and ricotta.
There were a number of modifications made to the original eggplant rolls recipe. Bacon was added as a wrap and the filling was enhanced with ground meat, basil and other spices. And, rather than using the standard ricotta cheese, cream cheese was used in its place.
The addition of meat really makes the dish a filling meal. In fact, a single roll is really satisfying. So, this dish can serve a number of people.
This recipe yielded a total of 16 rolls. And, all the rolls fit into a single 9x13-inch baking pan. There was even enough room for two more stuffed eggplant rolls.
If you are looking for a more traditional stuffing, you can certainly use ricotta or cottage cheese in place of the cream cheese. However, I think the cream cheese goes well with the beef.
I really like the addition of bacon. Although you could leave it out, I think it really ups the flavor and keeps the eggplant slices moist with added fat during baking.
The stuffed eggplant rolls are topped with canned tomato sauce. No sweetener was added to the sauce, but you could add in a touch of stevia if you'd like.
Most commercial sauces do add a touch of sugar to enhance the flavor. But, I prefer not to add any sweetener. After years of following a low carb diet, I don't care so much for sweetness.
Nothing is better than melted gooey cheese on top. In fact, it could just be the best part of the dish.
Rather than stick to just the traditional mozzarella cheese topping, a bit of cheddar is added. The cheddar adds in a little zing that is very subtle.
If you love Italian style dishes, you are going to love these yummy stuffed eggplant rolls. And, the recipe comes together easily. You can even make it ahead bake just before serving.
And, if you aren't a fan of eggplant, you could sub in another vegetable. Zucchini or summer squash could be used as the wrap instead. I've use both of them in similar recipes.
But, if you are an eggplant lover like me, you'll want to check out some of my other recipes using this fantastic garden veggie. Just take a look at the burger and parmesan recipes.
Low Carb Stuffed Eggplant Rolls Wrapped in Bacon Recipe
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Recipe
Stuffed Eggplant Rolls Wrapped in Bacon
Video
Ingredients
- 3.75 pounds eggplant cut into 16 thin slices
- 16 pieces no sugar bacon pre-cooked
- 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese freshly grated
- ½ cup cheddar cheese
- salt & ground black pepper to taste
- fresh basil or parsley chopped, for garnishing
Tomato Sauce Mixture :
- 1 ¾ cup tomato sauce about 400 grams
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon ground sage
- ⅛ teaspoon ground oregano
- ⅛ teaspoon thyme
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Filling Mixture :
- 8 ounces bar cream cheese (227 Grams)
- ¾ cup fresh basil (chopped)
- 1 pound lean ground beef 500 grams
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon ground sage
Instructions
- Slice Eggplant to about ¼ inch per piece. Season with salt and let it sit for 15 to 30 minutes to drain some moisture. Opt to wash and pat dry the season with salt, pepper and sage. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes until soft in a preheated 400F oven.
- In a slightly greased skillet, brown ground beef and season with onion and garlic powder. Set aside.
- In a bowl, prepare tomato mixture. Combine tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ground sage, ground oregano, thyme and cayenne pepper for some heat.
- In another bowl, mix softened cream cheese and fresh basil. Season with salt and pepper. Add cooked ground beef and mix well. Cream cheese placed at room temperature just before preparing the eggplant.
- Time to assemble the bacon wrapped eggplant roll ups. Lay one slice of eggplant, add a spoonful fo the cream cheese filling, roll the eggplant and wrap in bacon. Do this to the remaining eggplant and bacon slices.
- In a baking pan, spread half of the tomato mixture, arrange bacon wrapped eggplant roll ups side by side. Pour a spoonful of tomato mixture on top of each bacon wrapped eggplant roll ups. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and top generously with freshly grated mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven at 400F for 25 minutes until the cheeses are melted. Add a few more minutes if you prefer for cheddar and mozzarella cheeses to be a little golden.
Notes
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
Notes on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Copyright
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Debbie
I made this a couple of nights ago and it was FANTASTIC! Very flavorful and easy to make. I just finished the leftovers and will make it again next week, since I purchased 2 eggplants. Per some of the feedback, I did cook the bacon about 3/4 of the way I like it, before wrapping the eggplant, so the bacon came out fully cooked and a little crispy in the end. The proportions of everything were perfect, but if you like a lot of red sauce, I suggest doubling it. Thanks for the recipe, Lisa!
Janet koonce
Maybe I missed something but how do you slice eggplant so you can roll?I was thinking lengtheise.
Lisa MarcAurele
It's cut into thin strips lengthwise.
Helen
Can you freeze these stuffed eggplant rolls?
Lisa MarcAurele
Yes. It can be frozen an reheated or prepared and frozen and then baked.
Patches
Using pre-cooked bacon (like you get in the store) is still "rollable", and will give you a more done bacon so this would be my suggestion. I often us Hormel in dishes so that my bacon is not still squealing when I eat it in a backed dish. :<)
Lisa MarcAurele
Great tip. Thanks for sharing.
Aaron Landsberger
Flavors look great but not a fan of soggy bacon
Sharon Hayler
I made this the other night and my husband who is not a real eggplant fan thought it was devine - IT WAS- and I will be making it again and again. It freezes very well too.
Lisa
Yay! Good to know it freezes well too.
Kristina
Do you know the nutritional breakdown of this dish? I'm tracking my food in my fitness pal. It was delicious. I like my bacon crispy, so next time I'll skip the bacon.
Lisa
Added the data!
Carol
I also like my bacon crispy.. So I cooked it the way I like it and sprinkled it over the roll ups before rolling them All the flavor in throughout the roll!!!
Lisa
That's a great idea!