This Eggplant Rollatini recipe is the most delicious eggplant recipe for dinner.
Soft tender eggplant layer filled with ricotta basil filling and cooked in oregano tomato sauce.
It’s eggplant season so let’s bake this old-time favorite Italian eggplant recipe for a delicious low-carb vegetarian dinner.
What’s Eggplant Rollatini?
Eggplant rollatini is a typical Italian eggplant recipe called Eggplant Involtini in Italy and Europe.
In this typical Italian recipe, slices of eggplant are cut lengthwise, skin. Then, the slices are filled with ricotta basil cream, rolled, and baked in oregano tomato sauce.
It’s a delicious low-carb eggplant dinner that will make everyone love eggplants.
How To Make Eggplant Rollatini
It’s not difficult to make an eggplant rollatini recipe, but it takes patience and time.
Let me share with you how to make this delicious eggplant recipe for dinner.
Ingredients
- Eggplant – large eggplant with a firm texture and glossy skin.
- Garlic Cloves
- Salt – any salt will do. Sea salt or Himalayan salt.
- Olive Oil – I prefer to use cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil.
- Marinara Sauce
- Basil Leaves – They add a great taste to the sauce.
- Dried Oregano – or fresh oregano.
- Onion – I prefer to use yellow onions for this dish.
- Pepper – black or white ground pepper.
- Ricotta Cheese – Ricotta is a fresh, creamy cheese that is very low in carbs.
- Egg – Opt for organic free-range eggs for a better taste.
- Parmesan Cheese – I love to use real Parmesan that I shred myself, but you can use packaged shredded Parmesan as well.
- Mozzarella Cheese – Use real Mozzarella De Bufala cheese balls. Any size would do here.
Step 1: Preparing The Eggplant
Line two or three baking trays with parchment paper. Set them aside and preheat the oven to 400°F (220°C).
To make the rollatini, trim eggplant ends and discard or compost. Keep eggplant skin on.
Then, slice the eggplant lengthwise into ¼-inch thick slices (6mm).
Tip: Sweat The Eggplant
Some people don’t appreciate eggplant recipes. It’s generally because they don’t sweat the eggplant before baking them.
The trick is to sprinkle each eggplant slice with sea salt on both sides and let them rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
After that time, pat dry eggplant with absorbent paper towels to remove excess water and salt.
Next, brush olive oil on both sides of the eggplant and place them on the baking trays,
Bake the eggplant slices for 30 to 40 minutes flipping them halfway until the eggplants are golden brown and tender.
Let the eggplant cool down for 10 minutes on the tray at room temperature to soften.
Step 2: Preparing Tomato Sauce
While the eggplants are cooking, pour the Marinara sauce, garlic, salt, pepper, and dried oregano into a mixing bowl.
Stir the tomato mixture and set it aside.
Step 3: Preparing The Ricotta Filling
You can prepare the filling while the eggplants are cooling down on the tray.
In a small mixing bowl, beat the egg with ricotta, fresh basil, salt, pepper, and shredded parmesan.
Step 4: Preparing The Baking Dish
Line the bottom of the baking dish or castiron skillet with tomato sauce. Set aside.
Next, fill each baked eggplant slice with two tablespoons of ricotta filling, and roll tightly. Repeat this step with the remaining eggplants.
Arrange eggplant into the baking dish, next to each other in a single layer.
Step 5: Baking And Serving
Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the Involtini and sprinkle some shredded mozzarella all over.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the eggplants are cooked.
Serve with extra fresh basil or 1/2 cup of pine nuts on top of the dish.
Storage
You can store leftover eggplant in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days and rewarm in the microwave or on low-medium heat in a non-stick saucepan.
Leftovers freeze very well in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Thaw the day before in the fridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are the most frequent questions about this eggplant recipe.
Can I Fry The Eggplants
If you don’t have an oven, you can fry eggplant slices in avocado oil or olive oil.
First, sweat eggplant with salt, as explained in the first step.
Next, warm a large skillet with 0.2 inches of oil. When warm, fry the eggplant slices on both sides.
Place the fried eggplant on a plate covered with paper towels to remove the oil and cool down.
What Are Eggplant Rollatini Calories?
Eggplant rollatini contains about 270 kcal per serving of 3 rollatini.
You can decrease the calories by using low-fat cheese including low-fat ricotta cheese, parmesan, and mozzarella.
Can I Make Vegan Eggplant Rollatini?
Yes, you can use vegan ricotta from the store and replace the egg with one tablespoon of flaxseed meal.
Can I Make Eggplant Rollatini With Spinach?
Yes, you can add spinach to the ricotta filling.
To do so, cook two cups of fresh baby spinach leaves in a non-stick skillet with a bit of olive oil until wilted.
Cool down, and chop before stirring into the ricotta mixture.
Is Eggplant Rollatini Keto-Friendly?
Yes, this popular Italian dish is mainly made of keto-friendly ingredients.
To decrease carbs, decrease the amount of tomato sauce in which the eggplants are cooked.
You can replace half of it with heavy cream to reduce carbs from tomatoes.
More Eggplant Recipes
Below I listed some more eggplant recipes for you to try:
Eggplant Pizza Bites
Low-carb Cheesy Pull-Apart Garlic “Bread” Eggplant
Baba Ganoush (Keto, Vegan)
Have you made this baked eggplant rollatini recipe? Share a comment or review below.
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Eggplant Rollatini
This Eggplant Rollatini recipe is the most delicious eggplant recipe for dinner. A soft, tender eggplant layer filled with ricotta basil filling and cooked in oregano tomato sauce.
Author: Carine Claudepierre
Prep: 20 minutes mins
Cook: 1 hour hr
Total: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Yield: 8 servings
Serving Size: 1 serving
5 from 250 votes
Ingredients
- 2 large Eggplants trimmed, sliced length way, skin on, about 6 mm thick (1/4")
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
Tomato sauce
- 2 cups Marinara Sauce
- 3 Garlic Cloves peeled, crushed
- 1 ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
Ricotta filling
- 1 Egg
- 1 pound Ricotta Cheese
- 2 tablespoons Fresh Basil chopped
- 3 Garlic Cloves peeled, crushed
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ⅛ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ½ cup Parmesan shredded
Topping
- 1 ½ cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
This recipe may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 430°F (220°C).
Line two or three baking trays with parchment paper. Slightly oil paper with olive oil.
Prepare eggplant
Trim eggplant ends, keep the skin on, and slice the vegetables lengthways in about a ¼-inch thickness (6 mm). Sprinkle salt on both sides of the eggplant and set aside 10 minutes to let them sweat.
Pat dry on both sides with absorbent paper to remove salt and water that are naturally extracted from the eggplant.
Brush eggplant layers with olive oil on both sides and place in a single layer in the tray.
Bake for 35-45 minutes, flipping them halfway.
Prepare tomato sauce
In a mixing bowl, add crushed garlic Marinara sauce, oregano, salt, and pepper.
Set aside for later.
Cool down eggplant
Now the eggplant should be tender and golden brown remove the tray from the oven and cool down on the tray for 10 minutes. This is important as they get soft and tender cooling down on the tray.
Reduce the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Prepare ricotta filling
Meanwhile, prepare the ricotta filling. In a mixing bowl and beat the egg with ricotta, salt, pepper, fresh basil, crushed, freshly shredded parmesan.
Assemble rollatini dish
Line a cast-iron skillet or baking dish with a layer of tomato sauce. Set aside
Place one baked slice of eggplant in front of you, add 1-2 tablespoons filling on one extremity of the eggplant, and start rolling to form a roll. Watch my step-by-step picture above for visual help.
Place the roll in the dish on top of the first layer of tomato sauce.
Repeat the filling, rolling step until all eggplant slices have been filled, and place the rollatini next to each other in the dish
Cover the rollatini with the remaining tomato sauce and garnish with shredded mozzarella.
Bake dish
Cover the dish with a piece of foil and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 30 minutes until the eggplants are tender.
Serve with extra fresh chopped basil.
Storage
Store leftover in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze and thaw in the fridge the day before.
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Serving Size: 1 serving
Yield: 8 servings
Serving: 1servingCalories: 288.5kcal (14%)Carbohydrates: 13.5g (5%)Fiber: 4.6g (19%)Net Carbs: 8.9gProtein: 16g (32%)Fat: 19.9g (31%)Saturated Fat: 9.5g (59%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 70.2mg (23%)Sodium: 1089.2mg (47%)Potassium: 549.6mg (16%)Sugar: 6.7g (7%)Vitamin A: 797.8IU (16%)Vitamin B12: 0.8µg (13%)Vitamin C: 7.6mg (9%)Vitamin D: 0.3µg (2%)Calcium: 331.1mg (33%)Iron: 1.5mg (8%)Magnesium: 41.1mg (10%)Zinc: 1.9mg (13%)
