August in Türkiye means eggplant, and this Turkish eggplant dish, with a rather funny-sounding name, is one of the most popular recipes made in kitchens across the region during eggplant season.
The name comes from “karın,” meaning belly, and “yarık,” meaning split. Together, karniyarik roughly translates to “with the belly split.” It is an ode to slicing open the eggplant’s belly and stuffing it with meat.
It is part of a much older tradition, the Ottoman era of stuffing seasonal vegetables with meat.
Don’t confuse it with its vegetarian version, Imam Bayildi, which is stuffed with an onion and tomato mixture instead of meat.
I have been making this eggplant dish as long as I can remember. In the post, I cover everything you need to know, from choosing the right eggplant to time-saving tips to pairings, so you can succeed on your first try.
A Few Ingredient Notes
This Turkish stuffed eggplant recipe comes together with a short ingredient list, mostly pantry essentials. Refer to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and measurements.
Below are helpful tips for a few ingredients that are important to the recipe’s success.
Eggplant (aubergine): You will need 5 medium-sized eggplants. Because I live in the US and most supermarkets only sell globe eggplants, I am using those.
That said, if you are lucky enough to get your hands on them, Italian eggplants (slightly shorter with fewer seeds) would also be great for this recipe.
If you are not familiar with all the eggplant varieties you see in stores (or farmers markets), check out my guide on types of eggplants for a full breakdown.
What to look for when buying eggplants to make karniyarik?
- Select ones that are heavy for their size, firm to the touch, and not bruised.
- If you can, choose ones that are similar in size for even cooking.
Ground meat: I use 80/20 ground beef, which has the perfect fat ratio for a flavorful and juicy meat mixture. Less fatty varieties like 85/25 or even 95/5 work too, though the filling will be less juicy and lean.
Ground lamb can also be used for a richer flavor.
A few readers asked whether or not they can use ground turkey or ground chicken. It is not traditional, but you can certainly use them if you are looking for a milder flavor.
Tomato: Since this is more of an end-of-summer recipe, I used fresh tomatoes, but you can substitute a cup of canned tomatoes if needed.
Seasoning: I keep it basic with ground cumin, salt, and pepper. If you like some heat and have it on hand, add a small amount of Urfa or Aleppo chili for a slightly spicy taste. Otherwise, any red pepper flakes you have on hand would work.
Start with about half a tablespoon in the meat filling, taste and adjust from there.
How to Make Karniyarik
While this karniyarik recipe has several steps, most of it is quite hands-off. Start by roasting the eggplants, then make the filling while they are in the oven to make the best use of your time.
Below are all the steps, along with my tips for success.
Step 1 – Preheat the oven: Heat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set it aside.
I use foil to make cleanup easier. I do not recommend skipping this step, as the eggplant releases a lot of juices as it roasts. If you do not like your food touching aluminum foil, you can place a sheet of parchment paper on top.
Step 2 – Prepare the eggplant: Rinse the eggplants under cold water and dry them with paper towels. Poke 7 to 10 holes in each one with a fork.
Do not skip poking the eggplants. This lets steam escape as they roast and keeps them from splitting (or even exploding) and creating a mess in the oven.
Step 3 – Roast the eggplant: Transfer the eggplants to the baking sheet. It is okay if they are snuggly (but not touching each other) as they get slightly smaller as they roast.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, turning them over once or twice to ensure even roasting. The eggplants should be ready when the skin looks wrinkled and feels soft when pressed.
Remove them from the oven and let them cool for a couple of minutes on the counter.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (176°C).
New to roasting eggplants? For more details on my oven method, my full guide on Whole Roasted Eggplant in Oven walks through it step by step.
Step 4 – Prepare the ground beef filling: While the eggplant roasts, make the ground meat filling.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Then add the onion, ground cumin, pepper, and ground beef, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and the meat is mostly cooked. Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds, stirring constantly.
Step 5 – Cook the stuffing: Add in the tomatoes, salt, and black pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to medium-low.
Let the stuffing simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the meat is fully cooked and the sauce is slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Remove from heat and add chopped parsley.
Step 6 – Assemble: In a measuring cup, mix the hot water and tomato paste, then set it aside.
Place the now-roasted eggplants in a large casserole dish. Using a sharp knife, cut a split belly down the center of each one, then fill each with a generous portion of the ground beef stuffing.
Do your best to divide the meat amongst the five eggplants as equally as possible so they cook evenly.
Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the tomato sauce mixture over each eggplant, then pour the remaining sauce into the bottom of the baking dish. Garnish each eggplant with a few tomato slices.
Step 7 – Bake and serve: Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes, or until the tomatoes on top look lightly roasted.
Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
How To Serve Turkish Stuffed Eggplant
You can certainly serve karniyarik on its own, but if you want to do it as we do in Türkiye, then you can try one (or more) of the traditional side dishes below to turn it into a feast:
Salad: If you have some end-of-summer tomatoes lying around, use my Piyaz Salad or Shepherd Salad recipes for a quick summer salad on the side.
Yogurt: Most Turkish dishes are served with yogurt, and this one is no different. You can drizzle tzatziki sauce over the top or serve it on the side. Or go all out and make Ayran, the traditional Turkish yogurt drink, to cut through the richness of the meat filling.
Pilaf: If you prefer a more substantial and filling pairing, serve it with Turkish Bulgur Pilaf or Vermicelli Rice.
More Turkish Eggplant Recipes
My love for eggplant knows no bounds, which explains why I have over 20 eggplant recipes on this website. Below are a few more you might want to try next:
- Vegetarian version: Try my Vegetarian Stuffed Eggplant recipe for a meat-free version of it stuffed with cooked bulgur.
- Dip-style: Baba Ghanouj turns roasted eggplant into a smoky, creamy spread. Or try my Eggplant Yogurt Dip for a tangy flavor profile with garlic, za’atar, and fresh herbs.
- Stew-style: For a warming, filling meal, try my Eggplant Beef Stew.
Karniyarik Turkish Stuffed Eggplant Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 medium sized eggplants, preferably similar in size
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion , chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 medium-size bell pepper , seeded and chopped
- 1/2 lb ground beef 80/20, (see note)
- 4 cloves garlic , thinly chopped
- 1 cup diced tomatoes, plus more as garnish on top (or use 1 cup canned tomatoes)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning the belly of eggplants
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup Italian Parsley chopped, more as a garnish
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
Instructions
To Roast The Eggplants:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Using a fork, poke 7-10 holes in each eggplant.
- Place them on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour making sure to turn once or twice for even roasting.
- Take it out of the oven and let it cool on the counter.
- Turn the heat down to 350 degrees F.
To Make The Meat Sauce:
- Meanwhile, make the meat sauce. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add onion, ground cumin, pepper, and ground beef and cook, stirring frequently, for 10-12 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add in the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Bring it to a boil over medium heat, turn down the heat to medium-low, and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the meat is fully cooked. Taste for seasoning and add more if necessary.
- Off the heat, stir in a cup of chopped parsley.
To Assemble:
- Mix together the water and tomato paste in a measuring cup.
- Place roasted eggplant in a large casserole dish. It might be tight and that is okay.
- Using a knife, gently cut a small opening in the "belly" of each eggplant. Lightly season the belly of each eggplant with salt (use 1/2 teaspoon salt in total.)
- Fill the opening of each eggplant with the meat mixture letting it mound through the slit.
- Spoon the tomato sauce & water mixture over the stuffed eggplant. You should use 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture for each eggplant. Pour the remaining mixture at the bottom of the casserole dish.
- To garnish, slice a large tomato (or two small ones) into 6 thin slices and place a few slices on top of each eggplant, like you see in the photos.
- Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
Video
Notes
- *Amount of meat used: You would have to adjust the amount of meat sauce based on the size of your eggplants. Mine were 1/2 to 2/3 pounds each. However, if yours are larger, I recommend using 2/3 pounds of ground beef.
- Make Ahead: You can roast the eggplant, let it cool, and store it in the fridge a day ahead. Similarly, you can make the filling a day or two ahead and store it in the fridge. Assemble the whole thing as written in the recipe on the day you plan to serve and warm it in the oven.
- Storage: When stored in an airtight container, leftovers can stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and bake in a casserole dish for 15-20 minutes.
- Freezing: Let the stuffed eggplants come to room temperature and place them in an airtight container. Freeze them for up to two months.
- Thawing: Thaw in the fridge overnight. When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the stuffed eggplant on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until fully warmed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Very good recipe. It came out very well. I think next time I will add more spices like paprika and more pepper.
Thanks for your honest review John.
Can I use lamb meat instead of Beef?
🙂 thank you
You sure can 😉
Hi Aysegul
I love stuffed eggplant and was looking forward to give your recipe a try. I roasted three eggplants in the stove during one hour, as per recipe, but the meat was not tender enough. Should I increase the cooking time?
Hi Luis,
You certainly can. You do want your meat to be cooked, but remember it will continue to cook in the oven.
So, yes, feel free to cook it until it reaches to your desired tenderness level.
I am here if you need further assistance as you are cooking. Hope this helps.
Thanks for your kind response to my reply. I will try the recipe again.
You are welcome.
This is a delicious and beautiful dish. The recipe was easy to follow and the measurements were perfect for 5 aubergines. I also made the Tzatziki and that was perfect. Thanks again for a wonderful recipe to keep.
So happy to hear that you liked this karniyarik recipe Susan. It is one that I make often during the summer months during the aubergine season. And tzatziki makes the best side dish, no? 😉
Thanks for coming by and taking the time to leave a review.
Cheers!
So excited to make these + your tzatziki. Love the helpful step-by-step photos. <3
YAY! Happy to hear that. Thanks Alanna!
HI i be the flavours described but wondering if it could be made with beans or even chicken as I don’t eat red meat.
Thanks so much 🙏🏽
Hi Joyce,
I am getting a similar question from everyone so I am in the process of creating a vegetarian stuffed eggplant recipe. However, you can certainly make this with ground chicken or ground turkey. It wouldn’t be traditional but I am sure that the flavors would still be good and would work with the eggplant.
Beans, on the other hand, I am not so sure of. In the vegetarian version, I am planning to use garbanzo beans, but I probably wouldn’t use any other kind as I feel like the flavor profiles wouldn’t work as well.
I hope this helps. I plan on publishing the recipe next week. I hope you give it a go.
Meanwhile, if I can answer any other questions please let me know.
Cheers,
Aysegul
This looks fabulous! Can’t wait to try it.
Thanks Janet. I hope you like it as much as we do.
This recipe is gorgeous, Aysegul! I love the flavors in Turkish food and we’ve got a ton of eggplant to use so am looking forward to giving this a try!
Hi Carol,
Thanks for your sweet note. I hope you give it a try and like it as much as we do.
Cheers!
Merhaba dear Aysegul, as so many people around the world I am also the one who loves, enjoys and adores turkish cuisine. i am from Prague, Czech republic. I visited Turkey many times for longer period of times, I lived there for 6 months…. and I cannot get enough of its delicious, so flavorful dishes and food as well as all the beauty of this country with its seas, mountains, valleys, beaches, woods, rivers, all history and historical ancient sites, kind hearted lovely hardworking people who would share the last peace of bread with the unexpected and unknown by-walker or visitor, etc. etc. Its so much to admire and enjoy there, What a shame and pitty what is happening there lately, undermining and ruining all the benefits which Attaturk gave to the nation. Its so sad, that that great progress is getting backward direction. I hope and wish its just a dark shadow covering the sun and that the fresh healthy wind will clean it all away and Attaturk”s legacy and the sun will be shining againEvery time I can find some good turkish recipe I get so exited. I am very happy I found your blog. And I wish you will put as many recipes for turkish food as possible. My favorite is bulgur as a side dish but I love to eat it just as it is, enjoying the flavor and texture. Turkish cousine uses so many different vegetables, fruits, fantaswtic spices, variety of rice and bulgur, all what the nature can offer, etc. so the cousine is extremely rich, flavorful, has many varieties of each meal that you can never get enough. And on the top of all this comes that its extremely healthy ….. I always ate more food than usual, all the fresh and cooked vegetables and fruits, different types of delicious sweet deserts….. and I always lost quite some weight.Thank you so much, dear Aysegul, for all your effort and sharing your knowledge and art of cooking. Every time I am sincerely looking forward to what is coming next, for any delicacy from beautiful Turkey. You do absolutly great job which many people enjoy.Cok Teşekkür ederim and friendly regards Monika
OH WOW! Hi Monika.. It is so nice to meet you too. I am so glad that you found me. There is nothing that makes me happier to hear that a recipe I shared made someone happy or brought back good memories for them.
As you said, I think that the direction that Turkey is going is the opposite of where it should go. It worries me and my close circle a lot. However, the Turkey that Kemal Ataturk built is strong and my only wish is that it is strong enough to stand what is currently happening. Time will tell..
I do plan on sharing more Turkish recipes in the near future. Please let me know if there is a particular one that you might need a recipe for and I’ll see what I can do.
Thanks again! Your note made my day.
Rica ederim. Tanistigimiza cok memnun oldum. 🙂
Aysegul
You’re absolutely right in saying that char-grilled eggplants deliver more flavours than frying. I’ve eaten this version in a restaurant in Istanbul and that’s how I remember it. I just came across your blog and it’s fantastic. Your blog will be one of the main sources for my inspirations for Turkish cooking from now on…Thank you!
Hello there,
Karniyarik is by far my favorite dish in the world. I am so glad you liked it.
Thank you so much for your kind words.
Please let me know if I can answer any questions about any of my recipes.
Hugs from the sunny Caribbean…
Aysegul, the soup sounds like I could serve it COLD! as it is not a greasy soup. What do you think?
Hi Cynthia,
I am sorry but I am not sure which soup you are talking about..
Could you please clarify?
Thank you!
Hi Aysegul
I love eggplant and look forward to trying this recipe. I have a (dumb)question..when you say you roast them over open fire on the stove do you literally hold them over the fire or in a skillet over open fire? Thanks
Robin
p.s I’m going to try this with ground chicken, easily available at Sprouts
Hi Robin,
Yup. You literally put it on open fire. If you look at the blog post you will see a picture of 3 egg plants on the stove. I would recommend that you are attending them the whole time as they are cooking.. We do not want your house on fire..:P
I have never made karniyarik with ground chicken but I think it is a great alternative.
Let me know how it turns out and if I can help you along the way with questions you may have.
Cheers!
Ice
Merhaba, Aysegul. I am so happy I found your website. My husband is Turkish and I love surprising him with dishes from his home. Although I do make karniyarik often already, I am going to try your recipe today. It is slightly different than mine. 🙂 Now, I have a great resource in you and your webpage when looking for new recipes to surprise him.
Teşekkür ederim!
Merhaba Kelly,
Rica ederim.
I am glad to hear that you liked my page. I hope that this version of karniyarik worked out well for you.
I am working on more Turkish recipes and will be posting them in the coming weeks. I hope you will get a chance to try them too.
Thanks for your kind words on my website.
Sevgiler.
Aysegul
This recipe looks absolutely delicious. Photographs are stunning! Beautiful work, my friend!
Thank you Ashley.. It tastes delicious too.. 🙂
Nice job Ice. I am totally love your website….. I might try some of those receipes
Teşekkür ederim!! I will make this recipe tonight :-)! I love the idea of grilling the eggplants instead of frying! Good one ;)!
Yasemin, Tesekkurler.
I hope it turned out good.
I really like this as it is not as heavy as the fried version yet still super delicious.
Thanks for stopping by!
Aysegül hanim ellerinize sağlık nefis gözüküyor yeni tariflerinizi dört gözle bekliyoruz…Türkiyeden Sevgiler..
Dilay Hanim Merhaba,
Sitemi ve yemeklerimi begenmenize cok sevindim. Daha cok yeni bir site ama uzerinde devamli calisiyorum..
Guzel dilekleriniz icin cok tesekkur ederim.
Karayiplerden Sevgiler.. 🙂
Aysegul, I discovered your blog thru your aunt, Gulcin, who was my classmate at Robert College. I look forward to your recipes. My problem with karniyarik is the ground meat we get in US is too coarsely ground so the flavor of veggies don’t blend well into it. Next time I will try with having it ground twice or try ground lamb.
Merhaba,
First of all, thank you for your comments about my blog. It is very new but I am diligently working on it. I have never had a chance to meet you in person but heard about you from my aunt Gulcin..
I do agree about the ground beef. Unfortunately, there is a big difference between the taste of ground beef between the two countries. My husband and I eat red meat very rarely. Therefore, whenever I decide to make a dish with any type of red meat in it, I go to a local butcher and ask him to prepare it for me according to the needs of the recipe. Most of the time it is more expensive but I think it is worth it.
I also had some luck with meat from Whole Foods in the past.
As you can imagine, it is really hard to find quality meat in the islands…
I am not sure where you are living but, some of my friends living in the U.S. do go to local farms and sometimes get lucky with good quality meat (especially poultry).
I hope you will have a chance to try my Karniyarik..
Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Cheers… Aysegul
Absolutely magnificient!!!!
sevgili ayşegülüm ANNEN gibi mükemmel bi ahçı olduğuna inanıyorum ve seni tebrik ediyorum sen yaparsan herşeyin iyisini yaparsın AYŞEN nimizin tariflerinden birde kitap çıkartsan süper olur BAŞARILAR ÖPÜYORUM SENİ VE EŞİNİ..:)
Cok tesekkur ederim Seher Ablacigim. Destegin icin cok sagol.. 🙂
Evet birgun umarim oyle birsey olur. Sevgiler