Stuffed Aubergines with Vegan Béchamel Sauce
These Stuffed Aubergines with vegan béchamel sauce were inspired by Greek cuisine. It’s a rich dish packed full of flavour. Get the recipe below.
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Traditional Greek cuisine with a twist
I am lucky enough to have visited Greece a number of times and my local area is packed with Greek restaurants and shops. The food I eat is therefore often influenced by Greek cuisine. This recipe was developed in the early days of the blog and, despite not knowing it at the time, I now know that this dish is called Melitzanes Papoutsakia. My recipe might not be as authentic given that it’s vegan but I promise it is just as delicious.
Stuffed aubergines with vegan béchamel sauce (or vegan Melitzanes Papoutsakia) is a simple dish. To make it you roast the aubergine, top it with a meat sauce (or mushroom sauce in our case) followed by béchamel. It’s then baked again.
How to roast aubergines
Roasting aubergines is easy. All you need is a hot oven, aubergines and a good olive oil (though not extra virgin!)
You cut the aubergines in half then cut a criss-cross pattern into the flesh. A drizzle of olive oil over the top is all they need before going into the oven.
They roast for roughly 40 minutes. This gives them time to get lovely and soft.
How to make a vegan mince sauce
The mince based sauce is a tomato sauce that is usually made with ground beef, fresh vegetables, herbs and spices. Instead of beef I use a mix of finely diced mushrooms and chopped walnuts.
First you fry the onion in olive oil, closely followed by the garlic, mushrooms and walnuts. This gets cooked until all of the moisture has evaporated from the mushrooms. Next passata is added along with the seasonings to make a rich sauce. This is simmered until thick.
It is then ready for pouring over the aubergines.
How to make vegan béchamel
If you’re familiar with making a traditional béchamel sauce then you will find making vegan béchamel easy. It is made the exact same way but we use vegan butter, soy milk (or any other unsweetened plant milk), and a vegan cheddar cheese alternative. (I like to use a cheddar flavoured vegan cheese for the flavour but you can use any vegan cheese you like.)
If you’re not familiar with the recipe, to make the vegan bechamel you:
- Melt the butter in a pan
- Add flour and stir until you have a thick paste
- Slowly add the milk, stirring frequently until you have a smooth, thin sauce with no lumps.
- Cook the sauce until it begins to thicken
- Add the cheese and cook until it has melted into a thick sauce.
Its really easy to make and perfect for using on dishes such as this.
The recipe
Stuffed aubergines with vegan béchamel sauce
Ingredients
- 1 aubergine
- 2 tbsp olive oil
For the sauce:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion
- 200 g chestnut mushrooms finely diced
- 100 g walnuts finely chopped
- 200 g passata
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 0.5 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 handful fresh parsley chopped
For the béchamel:
- 25 g vegan butter e.g. Flora or Naturli
- 15 g flour
- 250 ml soy milk
- 75 g vegan cheese grated
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 0.5 tsp mustard
- 0.5 tsp garlic powder
- 0.5 tsp onion powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 C / 400 F / gas mark 6.
- Slice the aubergines in half, lengthwise and cut a criss-cross pattern into the flesh being careful not to cut all the way down to the bottom.
- Place the aubergines into a baking tray and brush with a little olive oil before seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Roast the aubergines in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until the flesh is soft
Make the sauce:
- Heat the olive oil in a pan then add the onion and a pinch of salt.
- Cook over medium heat for 8 – 10 minutes until soft.
- Add the garlic and cook until it releases its aroma.
- Add the mushrooms and walnuts and cook until the water from the mushrooms has evaporated (roughly 15 minutes).
- Add the passata and cook the sauce over medium-high heat until thickened.
- Season with the herbs and spices.
Make the béchamel:
- Place the vegan butter in a saucepan and warm gently until melted.
- Add in the flour to create a roux and cook on a medium heat for 1 minute, stirring well to make sure it forms a smooth paste.
- Add the soy milk slowly making sure there are no lumps.
- Once the roux begins to get thin you can begin adding the milk faster.
- Once all the milk has been added bring to a simmer.
- Let it cook for another 5 minutes until thickened.
- When the sauce has thickened take the pan off the heat again and add in the grated vegan cheese.
- Keep stirring until the cheese has melted completely (add it back on to the heat if you need to).
- Finally, add in the remaining ingredients and stir until they are distributed throughout the sauce.
To assemble:
- Mash the aubergine flesh.
- Spoon over the mushroom sauce followed by the béchamel.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Nutrition
More aubergine recipes
I love aubergines, they’re such a versatile vegetable. If you like this recipe then perhaps you’ll enjoy one of these other recipes where aubergine is the star of the show:
Enjoy!