Beef with Eggplant and Brown Rice

Pretty boring name, but my word ... what a tasty dish!

I've gotten in the habit of buying a large eggplant every week specifically for my Whole30 Go-To chili but I'm getting bored with it. So I decided to use the eggplant as inspiration for a new dish.

It's still "chili-like" in the sense that it's lots of stiff just mixed together in one pot but instead of using the chili pepper as inspiration I used eggplant.

I decided to keep this dish super simple and I'm glad I did. It's easy to make and even easier to eat. Definitely one of those dishes I need to portion out or I'll find myself with an empty pot!

Here's what I did...

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large eggplant, cubed (Mine was 500g with the top and bottom cut off. I also kept the skin on but you don't have to)
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 2 pinches of kosher salt
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• Feta for topping (optional)

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant, basil and salt. Immediately start tossing. Eggplant is like a sponge so it will soak up the oil and you'll be left with a dry pan. That's OK, just keep tossing and if some sticks it will get deglazed with the fat from the meat.

Once the eggplant starts to soften add the ground beef and brown. Make sure to scrape all those tasty bits off the bottom of the pot.

Once the meat is cooked through, add the rice and it's good to go!

I immediately scooped out a cup and topped it with a half ounce of feta and a pinch more basil.

I'm going to pat myself on the back here -- it was delicious! Then again, I'm a one-pot girl. Is that weird?

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📖 Recipe

Beef with Eggplant and Brown Rice

Beef and eggplant make the perfect pair in this flavorful and nutritious meal. With brown rice as the base, you'll have a filling and tasty dinner in no time.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 4 people

Calories 326 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large eggplant cubed (Mine was 500g with the top and bottom cut off. I also kept the skin on but you don't have to)
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 2 pinches of kosher salt
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• Feta for topping optional

Instructions

 

• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant, basil and salt. Immediately start tossing. Eggplant is like a sponge so it will soak up the oil and you'll be left with a dry pan. That's OK, just keep tossing and if some sticks it will get deglazed with the fat from the meat.
  1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 large eggplant, 2 pinches of kosher salt
• Once the eggplant starts to soften add the ground beef and brown. Make sure to scrape all those tasty bits off the bottom of the pot.
  1 lb lean ground beef
• Once the meat is cooked through, add the rice and it's good to go!
  2 cups cooked brown rice
• I immediately scooped out a cup and topped it with a half ounce of feta and a pinch more basil.
  Feta for topping, 1 tablespoon dried basil

Nutrition

Calories: 326kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 28gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 273mgPotassium: 758mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 34IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 53mgIron: 4mg

Keyword Beef, Brown Rice, Eggplant

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