Eggplant Rollatini Recipe (Parmigiana Style)
This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.
This Eggplant Rollatini is basically Eggplant Parmigiana (or as the Italians call it ‘Parmigiana di Melanzane’) but in a rolled-up style. Eggplant slices are first lightly coated in flour and then fried. Following that, they’re smothered in a homemade tomato sauce; then topped with shredded Parmegiano Reggiano cheese, mozzarella, and fresh basil; and then they’re rolled into a rollatini shape. Finally, you place them in a baking dish with more tomato sauce and cheese and baked to perfection -until soft, cheesy and bubbly.
If this dish is up your alley, try this Veal Rollatini next or this Slow Cooker Eggplant Lasagne.
This post may contain affiliate links. I get commissions for purchases made through the affiliate links. You can read my disclosure policy HERE.
Eggplant Rollatini Recipe Made Parmigiana Style
The other day my husband requested Eggplant Parmigiana for dinner. Frankly, for those of you who follow this blog, you know it’s unusual when he wants to have a meatless meal. However, he does say that eggplant is so meaty that he doesn’t even miss the meat. But I wanted to kick the classic Eggplant Parmigiana up a level and created this amazing Eggplant Rollatini. Since that evening, he now refuses to have an eggplant any other way.
I had seen recipes for Eggplant Rollatini stuffed with a ricotta cheese mixture, but I wanted this dish to be simple, real Parmigiana style, with just the homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano and basil.
I made my Rollatini standing up for the presentation, but feel free to lay them flat in your casserole dish.
Ingredients Needed To Make Eggplant Rollatini
For the full recipe with exact messurments please scroll down to the printable recipe. This section is simply meant to help you with your grocery list:
- 2 Large Eggplants;
- Salt;
- Olive Oil;
- Small Vidalia Onion, or half big one;
- Garlic;
- Red Wine;
- 1 bottle of Passata (Tomato Puree);
- Fresh Basil;
- Flour;
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese;
- Shredded Parmesan Cheese;
- Fresh Mozzarella Cheese;
- Black Pepper, and more salt to season.
How to Best Prepare Eggplant for This Dish
There is one very important step to this recipe that should not be avoided. It’s called “sweating the eggplant.” The process is very simple but it requires extra time, so take that into consideration. After you’ve sliced your eggplant you’ll lay them flat and add salt on each slice.
Then you’ll need to wait for about half an hour for your eggplant to “sweat.” The salt will help to release excess water, which in turn will help with eggplant’s texture once fried, and might help with removing some of the bitterness from the eggplant.
So, even though you would need to account for an extra 30 minutes of waiting time, this is a must. Don’t skip it (I’m looking at you).
After your 30 minutes have passed, use a paper towel wipe off the excess moisture from each slice.
Steps to Make Eggplant Rollatini
Step 1: Prepare your eggplant: as described above.
Step 2: Make a sauce. While your eggplant is sweating, start working on the sauce.
- Chop onions and garlic.
- Heat up olive oil in a pan; add onions and cook for 5 minutes, until translucent.
- Add garlic and cook for one minute.
- Add red wine and cook for a few minutes, until reduced by half.
- Add passata, basil, salt, pepper, and pinch of sugar; cover and cook for 20 minutes.
Step 3: Fry the eggplant: this eggplant only requires pepper and flour to coat. There’s no need for a full breading with eggs and breadcrumbs – the eggplant will be lighter and easier to roll. Also, there’s no need for extra salt at this stage as some of it has already set in during the “sweating process.”
Expert tip: Don’t overcrowd your eggplant on the pan. You can use two pans at the same time and place 2 or 3 slices at the time (depending on the size of your pan). Only flour the slices that you are ready to fry. Eggplant can soak up whatever is put on it, so you don’t want to coat your slices in flour until you are able to fry them. Work in batches. And be sure to add a little oil to the pan for every batch.
Step 4: Assemble the dish and bake: Once all your eggplant slices are fried and your sauce is ready, you can preheat your oven to 350F and start assembling the dish:
- Using a stone casserole bake dish (I use a 1.7 oz one from Le Creuset), spread 1/4 cup of tomato sauce at the bottom.
- Add a tablespoon of sauce on each eggplant slice; then 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of shredded mozzarella, and the same amount of shredded parmesan. and roll them up.
- Place the eggplant rollatini in the dish with the sauce (you can put them flat or standing up as I did here for a more dramatic look).
- Top the dish with the remaining sauce and pieces of fresh mozzarella cheese and any remaining shredded cheeses.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes; then remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven; add torn, fresh basil and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
How to Store Eggplant Rollatini
Eggplant Rollatini can be easily stored in a fridge for up to 3 days. The best way to store it is in aluminum foil trays, that you can place directly into the oven to reheat.
If you store it in a casserole dish that you intend to use for reheating, make sure to bring it to room temperature first. The dish could break if taken from a cold fridge into a hot oven.
Can this Eggplant Dish Be Made Ahead of Time
Yes, you can absolutely make this dish ahead of time and then store it in the fridge until you are ready to bake it.
Can this Eggplant Rollatini be frozen?
Eggplant Rollatini can be frozen after it’s cooked, or it can be frozen before it is baked. I recommend using disposable trays that will allow you take the eggplant from the freezer straight to a hot oven. If you plan on cooking this dish directly from the freezer, then place it in preheated to 350 F oven and cook it for about an hour, until hot and bubbly.
Other Italian Dishes to Try:
- Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola
- Bucatini with Mussels in Spicy Tomato Sauce
- Shrimp Scampi Spaghetti
- Veal Milanese (Italian Breaded Veal Cutlets)
- Italian Style Roasted Fennel with Tomatoes
- Antipasto Pasta Salad with Apple Cider Maple Vinaigrette
Eggplant Rollatini Recipe (Parmigiana Style)
Ingredients
Eggplant
- 2 Large Eggplants
- Salt
- Flour for dusting
- 1/2 cup Cooking Oil for frying (you will need to add a little bit to the pan after each batch)
Homemade Tomato Sauce
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil Extra Virgin
- 1/2 Large Vidalia Onions or one small one; chopped
- 1 clove Garlic chopped
- 1/4 cup Red Wine dry
- 5 Basil leaves julienned
- 1 bottle Passata (Tomato Puree) 24 oz.
- 1 teaspoon Salt + more to taste if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon Pepper + more to taste if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon Sugar + more to taste if needed
Eggplant Rollatini Casserole
- 16 Fried Eggplant Slices approximately
- 4 cups Homemade Tomato Sauce
- 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese shredded
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup Fresh Mozzarella Cheese sliced and cut in halves
- 5 Basil Leaves thorn
Instructions
Prepare your eggplant:
- Slice your eggplant into 1/2 inch slices. Lay them flat and add salt on each slice.
- Wait for about half an hour for your eggplant to "sweat." The salt will help to release excess water, which in turn will help with eggplant's texture once fried, and might help with removing some of the bitterness from the eggplant.
- After 30 minutes have passed, use a paper towel to wipe off the excess moisture from each slice.
Homemade Tomato Sauce
- Chop onions and garlic.
- Heat up olive oil in a pan; add onions and cook for 5 minutes, until translucent.
- Add garlic and cook for one minute.
- Add red wine and cook for 3-4 more minutes, until reduced by half.
- Add passata, basil, salt, pepper, and sugar; cover and cook for 20 minutes on medium heat.
Fry the eggplant
- Season eggplant with pepper and dust it in flour.
- Fry 2-3 slices of eggplant at the time. (Eggplant can soak up whatever is put on it, so you don't want to coat your slices in flour until you are able to fry them)
- Work in batches. Continue frying eggplant until all slices are fried. Be sure to add a little oil to the pan for every batch.
Assemble the dish and bake:
- Once all your eggplant slices are fried and your sauce is ready, you can preheat your oven to 350F and start assembling the dish.
- Using a stone casserole bake dish (I use a 1.7 oz one from Le Creuset), spread 1/4 cup of tomato sauce at the bottom.
- Add a tablespoon of sauce on each eggplant slice; then 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of shredded mozzarella, and the same amount of shredded parmesan and roll them up.
- Place the eggplant rollatini in the dish with the sauce (you can put them flat or standing up as I did here for a more dramatic look).
- Top the dish with the remaining sauce and pieces of fresh mozzarella cheese and any remaining shredded cheeses.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes; then remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven; add torn, fresh basil and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Read about the author Edyta here or follow Eating European on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.
Looking delicious. Keep sharing more recipes.
thank you for your recipe dear. Looks amazing. i have few Questions:
1. Can i skip the Flour completely? HOw will it result? cause i dont wanna have flour.
2. How to do this on the stovetop itself . I dont have oven.
Thank you in advance. dani.
Hi Dani, you can skip the flour but be mindful that your eggplant can soak up more oil. You can try putting it on the stove on low heat covered with foil. I’ve never done this myself so I can’t really tell you how this would work. I’m not sure if the casserole dish can handle the direct heat like this or if it breaks. I’m sorry I can be of much help here.
This looks like juuuuuust my kind of thing! I’ll take a big portion with some garlic bread please 😀
Thank you Becca,
Wow! This looks like a fabulous eggplant dish! Fresh mozzarella and basil take this dish to a level of perfection!!
Thank you Josi.
This was a huge hit at my house! Really delicious!
Thanks Toni
This beautiful, colorful eggplant rollatini looks so flavorful and delicious! I’ll be making this on Friday when we have friends coming over for dinner.
Perfect. I hope your friends would like it.
This dish was such a hit with my whole family! Great recipe that I’ll be making again for sure!
Thank you Kim, I’m so happy to hear this.
Very nice Tip Add 1 more egg for that amount of cheese for a more firm filling.
Do you think this would be ok, made and stored In the fridge, two days ahead of baking/serving?
I think it still will be fine.
I thick in both your descriptions you mean a 1.7 quart baking dish, not 1.7 ounces.