Penne with Eggplant & Ground Beef
Ground beef browns first, then comes out. The eggplant takes its place in the same hot pan, soaking up the drippings and olive oil until every cube is golden. That one-pan handoff is the whole recipe: onion, garlic, and a tablespoon of tomato paste go in next, diced tomatoes and bouillon simmer into a thick sauce, the beef returns, and whole wheat penne catches it all.
45 grams of protein and 14 grams of fiber in a 711-calorie dinner, done in 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- penne, whole wheat 3 ounces
- eggplant 1
- onion 0.25
- garlic 1 clove
- olive oil 1 tablespoon
- 96% lean ground beef 3 ounces
- Italian seasoning 1.5 teaspoon
- tomato paste 1 tablespoon
- diced tomatoes 6 ounces
- water 0.25 cup
- vegetable bouillon 0.5 cube
- Parmesan cheese 1 ounce
Method
-
Cook the penne according to the package directions.
-
Cut the eggplant into cubes. Finely chop the onion and garlic.
-
Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the ground beef and Italian seasoning. Cook until browned and crumbly. Remove the beef from the pan and set aside.
-
In the same pan, cook the eggplant until soft and golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and tomato paste, and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
-
Add the diced tomatoes, water and bouillon cube. Let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
-
Return the ground beef to the pan and stir to combine. Add the cooked penne to the sauce and mix well.
-
Serve the pasta warm, topped with the grated cheese.
Cook the tomato paste for the full 2 to 3 minutes in step 4 before the diced tomatoes go in. That brief fry in olive oil matters: research found that tomato paste delivers roughly 2.5 times more absorbable lycopene than fresh tomatoes, and heating it in fat helps the concentrated lycopene dissolve into the oil where your body can pick it up.
Calcium and lycopene compete for the same absorption pathway. The ounce of Parmesan you grate on this pasta delivers roughly 332 milligrams of calcium. A randomized crossover trial found that 500 milligrams cut lycopene absorption by 83%. Below that threshold, the competition is real but limited.
Why This Works
Behind this recipe
Can I use regular penne instead of whole wheat?
You can, but the switch drops the fiber significantly. Whole wheat penne contributes a large share of this meal's 14 grams of fiber. Regular penne delivers roughly a third of that. Research has linked higher fiber intake to satiety and fat-loss support through multiple mechanisms.
Read the full evidence reviewIs 84 grams of ground beef enough protein for one meal?
The beef is not working alone. The ounce of Parmesan adds another protein source, and the whole wheat penne contributes its share too. Together, the whole plate delivers 45 grams of protein, which lands well within the range most research associates with a strong per-meal dose.
Why does the recipe use both tomato paste and diced tomatoes?
Texture and nutrition both shift. Diced tomatoes give the sauce body and chunks. Tomato paste, because it is industrially concentrated, delivers roughly 2.5 times more absorbable lycopene per gram than fresh or diced tomatoes. The combination means you get both the volume of whole tomatoes and the concentrated lycopene of the paste, especially when simmered in olive oil.
Read the full evidence review
