It’s Vegetarian, Low Carb, Keto Friendly and the perfect dish to celebrate meatless Monday! This recipe for Eggplant Rollatini is fun to make, full of cheesy goodness and a dish your entire family is guaranteed to love!
Sliced tender eggplant, herby ricotta cheese and delicious Italian flavours make up this family favourite Vegetarian dish you’ll want to keep making over and over again. You’ll love how fun it is to make and how comforting it is to eat, this recipe for Eggplant Rollatini is always a hit with the entire crowd. It’s hearty, satisfying and will have everyone begging for seconds! There’s no flour or frying in this lightened up version making it suitable for all kinds of diets. And trust me, it’s so tasty that I promise you won’t even miss the flour at all!
I always forget how good eggplant is! And, quite honestly, how much it can do! Of course, you have your classic eggplant dishes such as Eggplant Parmesan or Greek Eggplant Moussaka that I can never pass up. But then, like these Lasagna Stuffed Eggplant Boats, I’m always impressed at how you can really just turn it into something else. And this recipe for Eggplant Rollatini really proves no different.
Although this classic Italian meal is deliciously satisfying all on it’s own, it’s also great served up with so many side dishes to really make it a family feast. Soups, salads, mashed potatoes, rapini, garlic bread or even pasta are all great options. Because after one taste of this dish, you’ll quickly see that ricotta, tomato sauce and eggplant truly go good with just about anything.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE THESE CHEESY RICOTTA EGGPLANT ROLLS
It’s like an Italian fiesta! When combined, these ingredients make up a savoury, delicious dish that is (quite literally) bursting with flavour!
- Eggplant: Ah, the star of the dish. I mean, you couldn’t have eggplant rollatini without eggplant, now could you?! When lightly baked, the eggplant will become soft and tender and easy enough to stuff and roll.
- Ricotta Cheese: Makes these eggplant rolls light and airy. An easy to work with classic Italian cheese, ricotta is the perfect stuffing for these Vegetarian eggplant rolls.
- Mozzarella Cheese: What makes the eggplant rolls ooey, gooey and cheesy. Just how they should be!
- Parmesan Cheese: The more cheese the better….am I right? Adds flavour and keeps up with our strong Italian theme 😉
- Tomato Sauce: Adds flavour and gives this dish that Italian vibe. You can use homemade tomato sauce or store bought.
- Italian Seasoning: The best of all worlds! A perfect dried spice blend mainly consisting of basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary which adds the perfect Italian flavour to this dish.
- Parsley: Adds a nice herby freshness to the dish.
- Egg: Adds flavour, structure and acts as a binder for the ricotta filling.
- Garlic: Cause I’m not sure we can call this an Italian dish without adding a little bit of garlic…you know what I’m saying?! Fresh is best in this recipe.
- Basil: Adds flavour and freshness. Nothing beats fresh basil…especially in Italian dishes!
- Salt/Pepper: Because IMHO, these two ingredients (if you even wanna call ’em that) are just MANDATORY…ok?!
HOW TO MAKE EGGPLANT ROLLATINI (KEY TIPS)
- Try your best to slice the eggplant into as even slices as you can. About 1/2-inch thick is going to give you the best results.
- Do not (and I repeat…DO NOT) skip the salting process! I know it sounds like a tedious and pointless process but it’s not. Trust me. Salting the eggplant slices on both sides then allowing them to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding with the recipe will rid the eggplant of it’s excess moisture which in turn avoids soggy eggplant! EXTRA TIP: Lay the eggplant slices out on paper towels or a clean cloth after salting. That way, they can easily absorb the moisture.
- Pat the excess water/moisture off of the eggplant slices with paper towel or a clean cloth. There will be quite a bit of it and absorbing as much as you can before proceeding will give you the best results.
- Pre-bake the eggplant slices for 15 minutes (after the salting process is complete) before attempting to roll and stuff. This makes them tender and soft enough to work with. Aka WAY easier to roll and stuff!
- Don’t overstuff! Yes, use all the filling but be careful not to overstuff the eggplant slices or the filling will just fall out as you roll it. EXTRA TIP: Don’t roll the eggplant slices tooooo tight. Again, going back to the filling…we want it inside the eggplant, not outside!
- Spread a spoonful of tomato sauce at the bottom of the baking dish to prevent sticking.
- Don’t skimp out on the cheese! We want it to be cheesy, oeey, gooey and bubbling!
- To prevent the cheese from burning, bake the eggplant rollatini topped with aluminum foil for the first 15 minutes. To get the cheese nice and bubbly, remove the foil for the final 10 minutes of baking.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
While both are incredibly delicious Italian dishes, the main difference is that Eggplant Parm is normally sliced into rounds then layered while eggplant rollatini is cut into long slices then stuffed. Both are loaded with cheese and tomato sauce and sometimes are breaded and fried first and then baked.
Any leftover eggplant rolls should be stored in an airtight container and kept in the fridge. They’ll be good for up to 5 days. Although keep in mind that they will lose some of their freshness and become more soft as they sit. When ready to eat again, simply reheat in a hot oven or airfryer. Alternatively, you can use a microwave.
Yes! That’s the beauty of this eggplant rollatini recipe. Simply follow the recipe directions in the card down below up until step number 11. Then, arrange them in a freezer/oven safe container. i like using these so I can just pop them in the oven straight from the freezer when ready to eat. They’ll be good frozen for up to 3 months.
No need to thaw before cooking. However, they will take about an hour to cook from frozen (possibly even a little bit more) as opposed to the normal 40 minutes.
EGGPLANT ROLLATINI
This recipe for Eggplant Rollatini is fun to make, full of cheesy goodness and a dish your entire family is guaranteed to love!
Ingredients
- 2 Eggplants
- 1 pound (454g) tub Ricotta
- 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, grated
- 1 cup Tomato Sauce*
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- Chili Flakes, to taste, optional
- Chopped Fresh Basil or Parsley, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Slice the eggplant, lengthwise, into 1/2-inch thick slices. Do you best to get them as even size to each other as possible.
- Generously salt the eggplant slices on both sides. Lay them out on a single layer on a paper towel lined baking sheet or on clean dish cloths. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, you'll see the eggplant slices have "sweat" and released a bunch of water and moisture. Dab it away with clean paper towel or a dish cloth.
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Pepper the eggplant slices and lay them out on a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes and allow to cool slightly before handling.
- Meanwhile, make the ricotta filling. In a bowl, add the ricotta, garlic, italian seasoning, parsley, the egg, parmesan cheese and salt and pepper, to taste. Stir to combine.
- Spoon enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom of a glass baking dish.
- Spoon some of the ricotta mixture on each eggplant slice, leaving a little room around the edges so too much of the filling doesn't fall out as you roll them.
- Carefully roll each eggplant slice one by one until they're all rolled.
- Place them in the baking dish with the tomato sauce, seam side down.
- Top with more tomato sauce and the grated mozzarella cheese.
- Cover with foil and return to the oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 until the cheese is nice and bubbly. Garnish with fresh chopped basil or parsley, if desired.
Notes
Try using your own homemade tomato sauce by following THIS easy recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 161Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 398mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 10g
Nutrition is only an estimate and calculated using Nutritionix.
LOVE ITALIAN FOOD? YOU’LL DEFINITELY LOVE THESE FAVOURITES
CHICKEN AND BOCCONCINI SKILLET
ITALIAN STUFFED ARTICHOKES (AKA CARCIOFOLI)
CHEESY ITALIAN RICE BALLS (ARANCINI)
