Eggplant Rollatini with Ricotta and Mozzarella
Grilled eggplant slices wrapped around a ricotta mozzarella filling & topped with marinara created a fabulous Eggplant Rollitini, a tasty meatless meal.
There are some foods I just can’t sell around here. Eggplant appears to be high on that list. The boys took their cursory bites, but the picky hubby didn’t budge. I suspected this would be the case, so baked up a small batch and reserved the tasty leftovers for my lunch.
Meatless Meal with Eggplant
My first encounter with eggplant was my mom’s moussaka. She loved testing out new recipes—whether from her New York Times Cookbook or her international friends from the university. A Greek family lived down the street and I’m certain it was their recipe that my sisters and I refused to eat. We were being obstinate and didn’t want to try the new veggie my mom was introducing to the family. So I can’t totally fault my husband’s picky genes for this snub by my children.
At least the boys tried this eggplant rollatini! The hubby did not. I had a teeny ray of hope since he admitted having (and enjoying) octopus and sea bass in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago! But knowing their palates, I had an alternate entree for the meat lovers and I was happy to have the rest of this eggplant rollatini recipe all for myself!
Eggplant Rollatini with Ricotta and Mozzarella
Since I figured I’d be the only taker, I used small Japanese eggplant and made a fraction of my recipe. I’d recommend peeling your vegetable as it was a bit of a challenge to cut (and bite) through the cooked skin. But the filling was lovely as was the marinara topping. Those menfolk don’t know what they’re missing. If you have vegetarian guests for the holidays, this Eggplant Rollatini with ricotta and mozzarella is a marvelous recipe to have up your sleeve! And if this Italian-inspired dish doesn’t fit your needs, check out a few more amazing meatless meals below.
More Vegetarian Entrees You’ll Love:
- Baked Eggplant Parmesan by The Crumby Cupcake
- Butternut Squash Kale Lasagna by Grumpy’s Honeybunch
- Stuffed Pasta Shells
- Rice Stuffed Peppers
- Easy Chiles Rellenos Casserole
- Penne alla Vodka
- More Easy Vegetarian Recipes
Eggplant Rollatini
Grilled eggplant slices wrapped around a ricotta mozzarella filling and baked topped with marinara make for a lovely meatless meal!
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplant (or 2 pounds small eggplant), peeled and sliced 1/4 thick (I recommend peeling even though I did not)
- Salt, to draw out moisture from eggplant
- Extra-virgin olive oil, to coat eggplant
- 1 egg
- 16 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more to sprinkle over top of rollatini
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce (check out my easy marinara sauce)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh basil, to garnish
Instructions
- Lay eggplant slices out on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for about 15 minutes to draw out moisture.
- Rinse off eggplant and pat dry. Heat grill pan or outdoor grill. Brush eggplant with olive oil and grill till tender. Let cool slightly.
- Mix together egg, ricotta, cheeses, basil, salt and pepper.
- Preheat oven to 375º.
- Grease 8 x8 pan. Spoon some marinara over the bottom of the pan, reserving some to top eggplant.
- Spoon about a tablespoon of ricotta filling on small end of each eggplant slice. Roll up and place seam-side down in the pan. Top with remaining marinara and sprinkle with Parmesan.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, or till hot. Sprinkle with chopped basil or garnish with sprigs of basil to serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 497Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 1044mgCarbohydrates: 64gFiber: 16gSugar: 24gProtein: 24g
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23 Comments on “Eggplant Rollatini with Ricotta and Mozzarella”
Contrary to Bill, we both LOVE eggplants and cook with them throughout the summer, when we have an abundance from Panos’ country house in Evia, where his parents have a big organic garden. So glad that you like them too:)
Oh dear Liz, wish you could once visit Greece to taste the Greek cheeses. We make a very similar recipe to this one, adding anthotyro, barrel-aged feta and katiki. Anthotyro is like ricotta and katiki is a fresh soft goat cheese used as a spread (it has a Greek-yogurt consistency).
Thank you for your truly wonderful version, of course we’ll try it and we know we’ll LOVE it:)
Sending you lots of sunshine from Athens!
xoxoxo
Lizzy,
I love eggplant rollatini. I would have eaten a few servings to help you out. Yum!
Annamaria
Most of us enjoy eggplant and I’m sure this would go over well at my house.
Wonderful dish!!
Lucky me – my family loves eggplant 🙂 And they’ loooooooove this eggplant rollatini 🙂
A classic dish. I love eggplant but my toddler is a little more sceptical (fine if it’s chopped up as I serve his moussaka but less so if he can pick it out!). Shame the family didn’t go for it but at least you could enjoy!
I like eggplant and I’d happily eat your rollatini any night of the week!
Yes, I can relate to trying to satisfy picky eaters. Thanks for participating this week.
I’ve never had nor made a rollantini. I need to change that. These look fabulous! I almost always peel the eggplant when I eat it. The skin does get a bit tough.
This is just right up my alley, it looks fantastic!
I can’t imagine anyone not eating that. It’s perfection. GREG
Great idea to peel eggplant. The skin can be bitter sometimes too.
I adore aubergine too Liz and have a family who would probably do the same. Isn’t it wonderful to sneak such yummy leftovers for lunch? Looks delicious. Haven’t seen the little Japanese versions of eggplant so interesting to hear about the skin. Looks rather festive and bright looking too!
I LOVE eggplant!
And this looks scrumptious, Liz! WOWWWWWWW
Your hubs is totally missing out! Oh well, more for you 🙂
I love that these are gluten free…can’t wait to give this recipe a try.
Eggplant, ricotta and mozzarella sounds great! I would love such dish 🙂
Lol, glad to hear Bill is expanding his culinary horizons by eating seafood! Next up, convincing him to eat your gorgeous eggplant rollatini! The silver lining is that you get to eat all the leftovers, Liz 😉
What beautiful photos, and my husband and I love eggplant. I’m going to half this recipe and try it this week! Love the rolling up process.
Love the small batch (since I’ll probably be the only taker in my house), love that it’s a great gluten free alternative to lasagna! I’ll be pinning, making, and sharing this on my page!
I’m sorry the eggplant wasn’t a hit with your family but on a good note…..more for you!! Great minds Liz…luckily my family does like this dish and it makes regular appearances at our house.
Even better thank Lasagna, very nice.
I love to add a little fresh garlic chopped fine as I love garlic it really picks up the flavor
I’d be with Bill on this one, while I enjoy most veggies, unfortunately eggplant is not high on the list. I am fond of cheese and sauce though:@)