Eggplant Rollatini Recipe (Parmigiana Style) (2024)

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.

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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

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