Stuffed Aubergines with Goat Cheese & Honey

Dinner

Roasted aubergine halves stuffed with their own flesh mixed with creamy goat cheese, and herbs, then drizzled with honey and baked until golden. The combination of sweet honey, tangy chèvre, and rich aubergine is absolutely brilliant, one of those French flavour pairings that just works.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings 4

Ingredients 

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• 3 aubergines about 900g total
• 200 gr goat cheese
• 4 tsp honey
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 4 sprigs thyme
• salt and black pepper

Equipment

baking tray

knife

baking mat

Instructions

1. Roast the aubergines

• Heat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Halve the aubergines lengthwise and score the flesh in a deep crosshatch pattern, cutting down to about 5mm from the skin, you want lots of surface area. Brush generously with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Place cut-side up on a large baking tray and roast for 35-40 minutes until the flesh is completely soft, golden, and collapsing. They should be properly tender when you prod them with a spoon.

2. Add the goat cheese

• Remove the aubergines from the oven. Break the goat cheese into rough pieces or if you have a small log cut round slices and distribute it over the aubergine halves. You want the cheese sitting on top of the roasted flesh, not mixed in. Season with a bit more salt and pepper, and scatter some fresh thyme leaves over each half.

3. Bake until golden

• Return the aubergines to the oven for 10-15 minutes until the goat cheese has melted, turned creamy, and is starting to go golden in places. You want it soft and warm, not browned all over, just some golden edges.

4. Finish with honey

• Remove from the oven and let them rest for 2-3 minutes. Drizzle each aubergine half with honey, don't be shy, you want that sweet-savoury contrast. Scatter over a few more fresh thyme leaves.

5. Serve

• Serve warm with crusty bread and a simple green salad. The aubergines should be soft enough to scoop with a spoon, with the cheese all melty and the honey glossy on top!

Notes

• Use a good honey, something floral like acacia or wildflower works brilliantly. Lavender or thyme honey adds a Provençal touch. Avoid strong-flavoured honeys like chestnut or heather; they’ll overpower the delicate goat cheese.
• The aubergines must be completely soft and sweet after the first roasting – almost collapsing. If they’re still firm, they won’t be good. Better to roast them too long than not long enough. The flesh should be creamy, not spongy.
• Make ahead: You can roast the aubergines up to a day ahead. Keep them refrigerated, then bring to room temperature, add the cheese, and bake when needed. Add 5 minutes to the baking time if the aubergines are cold.
• Variations: Some people add a few pine nuts or walnuts on top with the cheese. A sprinkle of dried herbes de Provence works nicely too.
• Leftovers are good at room temperature the next day, though the honey won’t be as glossy. If you want to reheat them, cover with foil and warm through in a 180°C oven for 10-15 minutes.

About this recipe

If you’re looking for a recipe that looks impressive, tastes extraordinary and takes less effort than you’d expect, this stuffed aubergines recipe is it. Tangy goat cheese, sweet honey and rich aubergine. It’s a classic French flavour combinations that just works every single time.

Where this recipe for stuffed aubergines comes from

You’ll find stuffed aubergines all over France, but particularly in the South where both goat cheese and aubergines are local staples. Aubergines thrive in the heat of Provence and Languedoc, and French cooks have been finding delicious ways to use them for centuries. Some versions use minced meat, others use ratatouille vegetables. But this version, with goat cheese and honey, is the one that makes the most of what the South does best.

And did you know that the combination of goat cheese and honey is actually as old as the hills? French goatherds have been drizzling honey over fresh goat cheese for centuries, long before anyone thought to write it down as a recipe. Someone clever eventually added aubergine to the mix, and now you have this brilliant trinity of sweet, tangy and savoury. I’m very grateful to that person.

Why aubergines farcies?

“Farci” in French means stuffed, though this version is honestly more topped than properly stuffed. And that’s exactly what I love about it. You roast the aubergines until they’re sweet and soft and then top them with goat cheese, you let it melt, and finally add a drizzle with honey. There’s no complicated techniques, nor lengthy ingredient list. Just three main ingredients that happen to be absolutely perfect together, so do pick the best of these ingredients to really experience this recipe for stuffed aubergine.

The technique

For filled aubergine recipes, you rely entirely on proper roasting, so please don’t rush it. A badly roasted aubergine is spongy, bitter and disappointing. But a well roasted aubergine is creamy, sweet and slightly smoky, completely transformed from what went into the oven. You really wouldn’t believe it’s the same vegetable.

The key is patience. You need to roast the aubergines until they’re almost collapsing, well past the point where you think they might be done. Score the flesh deeply before roasting so the heat gets in properly, drizzle generously with olive oil, and give them time. When the flesh yields completely and the edges are starting to colour, that’s when you add the goat cheese. It melts into the warm aubergine in minutes, and then the honey goes over everything. It’s a beautiful moment actually.

For best results, use a good baking mat and a sturdy baking tray that conducts heat evenly. I use the De Buyer baking mat and De Buyer stainless steel baking tray. The heat distribution is excellent, nothing sticks, and the aubergines roast evenly every time.

Goat cheese in French cooking

France produces more varieties of goat cheese than any other country, literally hundreds of them. For this recipe you can use whatever you like or whatever you can find. A fresh soft goat cheese will melt beautifully into the aubergine flesh and a slightly firmer more aged goat cheese will hold its shape and give you more texture contrast. We’ve made it both ways and honestly both are delicious. It’s really just a matter of preference.

What matters most is the balance between the cheese and the honey. The tanginess of the goat cheese needs the honey to round it out. But the honey is there to complement, not to overpower. You want that lovely layered combination of rich aubergine, tangy cheese and floral sweetness.

Serving it the French way

In France this is typically served as a starter, one half per person with good bread and a small salad alongside. It’s quite rich so you wouldn’t want a heavy main course to follow. A light fish dish or simple garlic butter scallops would be perfect after.

At home we eat it as a vegetarian main course, two halves each with plenty of bread, a big green salad and roasted tomatoes on the side. It’s such a simple and very French way to eat well without much effort at all.

Just make sure you bring it to the table warm rather than straight from the oven. The flavours settle as it cools slightly and the cheese firms up just a little, and that’s honestly when it’s at its very best.