I grew up in the Midwest so that means I grew up eating casseroles. Casseroles are traditionally one-pot meals: meat, vegetables, and starches, baked all together. And what holds all that stuff together is usually the starch – noodles or mashed potatoes are probably the most common.
For more easy and comforting casseroles, try this cauliflower sausage casserole and this mexican ground beef casserole.
Casseroles are generally pretty easy to make, they are usually pretty hearty and filling, and more often than not, easy on the budget. So I was on the search for a Paleo-friendly casserole recipe that ticks all those boxes (without the starch!) when I stumbled upon this one.
One of the reasons I love this eggplant ground beef casserole recipe is that I love eggplant and I’m always looking for new ways to incorporate eggplant into dishes. Eggplants are pretty fascinating berries – yup, I said “berries” – because that’s what they are.
Related: Eggplant Bolognese
They are in the nightshade family and that means they are related to tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, and most kinds of spicy peppers. (And yes, that means that, technically speaking, all those things are berries too!)
Of course, eggplants don’t taste a thing like what you might expect a berry or even a pepper to taste like. Their skin and white fleshy insides can be bland or even a bit bitter, but seeking out smaller eggplants and /or adding a bit of salt can temper that bitterness.
Not to worry, though – when cooked in a sauce like this recipe, you won’t catch even a hint of bitter because eggplant tends to take on the flavor of what’s around it so, in this dish, the eggplant will have a rich, tomatoey-beef flavor. Yum. And the good thing about a slightly bitter eggplant? That means it has more antioxidant phenolics in it. More cancer killers!
But back to one of my new favorite fall recipes…remember I mentioned starches holding it all together? Well, as a Paleo eater, I don’t want all those potatoes or noodles in there so instead we’re using a bit of egg. Not only does this do the trick of acting as a binder for the other ingredients, it adds even more protein to our dish. Double win!
So if you’re a Midwesterner like me, or you’re just in the mood for a simple and not expensive, but still really hearty meal, I highly recommend this recipe. And now when you serve it to your friends and family, you can tell them all the stories about the mighty eggplant!
P.S. If you’re looking for more hearty and no-hassle casseroles, you also need to try this tasty ground beef broccoli casserole: https://paleogrubs.com/broccoli-ground-beef-casserole
Ingredients
- 2 pounds eggplant
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 pound minced beef
- 1 pound tomatoes , chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dry parsley
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon almond milk
Directions
- To make sauce, heat olive oil in a pan over high heat.
- Add meat and onion and cook until well browned and all the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add tomato and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove lid, add parsley, salt and black pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Simmer for 10 more minutes and then set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut the unpeeled eggplants into ½ inch slices. Line a baking tray with parchment paper, arrange eggplant slices in a single layer, sprinkle with salt and bake for 15 minutes. Divide the eggplant slices into 3 equal parts. Place a layer of eggplant slices on the bottom of the ovenproof dish.
- Spread half of the meat sauce, add second layer of eggplant slices then the rest of the meat sauce and finish it with the last layer of eggplant slices. Bake for 35 minutes. Lightly beat eggs, pinch of salt and almond milk and pour over eggplants. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
I made it and the family loved it!! Thank you! A new favorite for us
Hi Alex,
Thank you so much for the comment 🙂 I’m glad you and your family enjoyed it.
Delicious recipe, I was looking for something to do besides the old eggplant parmesan and this is so much easier!
I do think that the “bake eggplant slices” part should be its own step in the recipe, as it’s kind of buried in there and I almost missed it (I had just gotten them ready to be layered). Maybe it’s common sense, but I didn’t know. I also think the final “bake another 10-15 minutes” should be its own step as well. This is just for ease of understanding. I admit, though, that I’m a notorious recipe skimmer and so based on that I chose this recipe expecting a certain time and process.
I only used 1.25 lb eggplant and kept the rest of the recipe the same. My wife doesn’t like eggplant as much as me so I wanted more beef to eggplant. Worked pretty well! This will definitely be made again. Thanks!
I agree Leslie! I missed it at first as well.
This happened to me too. Please also add the preheat oven earlier.
I’ve made this twice now. It’s brilliant to make a the start of the week as part of a cook up.
Add a few more spices to the minced meat and the eggy topping.
A lovely recipe
Thank you so much Charlotte. I’m glad you like it.
I made this and my boyfriend really liked it. He asked me to make it twice in one week. Great option for eggplant.
I’ve had this twice and it’s one of my favorites!! I’m not typically a huge fan of ground meat but this has changed all of that!! I used water instead of almond milk in the eggs, worked just as well. It does take a total of 1.5-2 hours to make but a good 45 of that is just waiting for it to do it’s scrumptious thing in the oven. So worth it!! Amazing blend of flavors. Thanks for this recipe. 🙂
Toss in some sweet potato and you’d have a paleo moussaka 😉
So easy, I thought, how can this be good? Was simple and fantastic! Plan on making this one again and again!
So-o-o delicious! Make this! Get some red wine & some nice bread. You’ll be very happy!
My family, especially my husband, loves this recipe! It’s so delicious! Thank you for sharing it. I’ve cooked it about four times before remembering to rate it.
I made it for the first time tonight . It was easy to make . I added some garlic and spices to meat mixture. I also used canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh . It turned out great
I try different recipes. I had white eggplants. Out of my garden. Did the recipe like you said. Came out good. The only thing I did different. Was put shredded cheese on top. After I poured the eggs on top. Came out good.
This was delicious. All the flavors complimented each other. I definitely will cook this again. I added a little cheese on top for the last ten minutes of baking. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
So i made this recipe tonight for dinner. I added a few extra ingredients to the meat. Like some fresh green beans, fresh broccoli from my garden that i recently picked. I even make my own herbs and spices from my garden. I seasoned the pan with those fresh dry seasoning and herbs, added the onion, then added the ground beef. Cooked that all together and layered it to the eggplant.
When i added the eggs sauce to bake for the last 15 to 20 mins. I even added some fresh graded 3 cheese to the top. Let it back for the last 15-20 mins. It was a big success.
I was having a dinner party for some family and friends. So i made 2 huge pans of this. It was so good that their was no leftovers of it. Everyone was talking about how good it was.
I only added the extra veggies and cheese just to have it more filling for my dinner party. Everything else was following the recipe. 3 people that were at the party informed me they never had eggplant before. They really enjoyed it.
It definitely a recipe i have saved and even printed out for future meals.
I will give this recipe 5 stars for sure.
This recipe is a hit! I’ve never had eggplant before and I’m glad i found something that’s not as complicated as moussaka. It’s definitely something I’ll make often.
I didn’t like the idea of baking the eggplant slices since i have a small oven and it took too long. Instead, i grilled them on my electric grill. Did the trick nicely.
Thank you for this recipe. Looking forward to trying more.
OMG loved this recipe! I had some Japanese eggplant in my garden, so I used those instead, as well as adding extra spices. The recipe goes together quicker because you don’t need to prebake these eggplant. They cook fast, and the 35 min bake in the sauce is perfect. The eggs and non dairy milk to keep it together is genius! Thank you! 😊
Cooking this tonight. I put in the oven and who comes wandering in but my husband asking what smells so good! My first time making Bechamel sauce so I’m looking forward to this hearty dish
YUM but I feel like it needs a little more flavor, maybe rosemary or paprika I’ll try next?