Eggplant Rollatini

Free: Healthy Freezer Meals Recipe Ebook

Get It Now

This post may contain affiliate links, which help keep this content free. (Full disclosure)

This eggplant rollatini recipe is one of my favorite easy, healthy dinners in the summer. It’s an Italian dish featuring rolls of eggplant baked together with a cheesy spinach filling, marinara sauce, and even more cheese. The method is very similar to making zucchini roll ups, and creates a flavor similar to zucchini ravioli (but with eggplant!).

If you love lasagna flavors that are also packed with veggies, then zucchini lasagna, lasagna stuffed peppers, and spaghetti squash lasagna boats should be next on your list.

Ingredients & Substitutions

This section explains how to choose the best ingredients, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.

Eggplant rollatini recipes have 3 components: roasted eggplant to make the “noodles”, cheesy ricotta filling, and marinara and mozzarella for topping.

Manicotti Eggplant Noodles:

• Eggplant – I made this eggplant rollatini using globe eggplant since it’s the most common here in the U.S., but you can also use Italian eggplant, which has a more intense flavor. Look for firm ones, without soft spots.
• Olive Oil – For roasting the eggplant slices. You can use classic extra virgin olive oil, regular olive oil, or even avocado oil.
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper

Filling:

• Ricotta Cheese – Makes up the base of the creamy filling. I recommend whole milk ricotta for the best flavor, but 2% works as well.
• Frozen Spinach – Buy already chopped frozen spinach if you can, or chop it yourself. You’ll need 8 ounces of frozen spinach, or you can saute fresh spinach instead (you’ll need more, 12-13 ounces, if using fresh).
• Parmesan Cheese – Adds a cheesy flavor. I prefer grated parmesan cheese for this eggplant rollatini recipe, but shredded works, too.
• Egg – Helps hold the filling together. You’ll need a large egg. Egg substitutes don’t work well here, but you can probably omit the egg if you really need to.
• Italian Seasoning – Use one from the store or make your own Italian seasoning in 5 minutes.
• Sea Salt & Black Pepper

VARIATION: Add garlic!

Fresh minced garlic goes great inside the filling — about 4 cloves is a good amount. Alternatively, garlic powder to taste also works well.

Assembly:

• Marinara Sauce – Use your favorite marinara, I prefer using a sugar-free version, but any type will work. Make a homemade marinara sauce recipe if you have time or just use store-bought. You can also simply use tomato sauce if that’s what you have on hand.
• Mozzarella Cheese – Buy pre-shredded for convenience or shred it yourself.
• Fresh Basil – Optional, but a delicious and fresh garnish.

How To Make Eggplant Rollatini

This section shows how to make the best eggplant rollatini recipe, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.

1. Make the eggplant sheets. To cut eggplant for rollatini, use a mandoline to slice the eggplant into long, thin sheets.

TIP: Choose the center slices.

You’ll use the larger slices (about half of the total slices) for the rollatini, but can still roast eggplant that you won’t use for this dish.

2. Roast the eggplant. Brush the thin slices of eggplant with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil, and roast until soft and mostly dry. (Roasting gets rid of excess moisture and also brings out the flavor in the eggplant.)
3. Pat dry. Use a paper towel to soak up any extra moisture on the eggplant slices.

4. Mix the filling. In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, (drained) frozen spinach, parmesan cheese, egg, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
5. Assemble the eggplant rollatini with spinach. Spoon the ricotta mixture onto the eggplant sheets (a couple tablespoons in each, depending on the size of your eggplant) and roll up.

6. Assemble. Spread 1/2 cup marinara over bottom of a large baking dish. Place the eggplant rollatini on top of the marinara, seam side down. Spread the rolls with the rest of the marinara and top with mozzarella cheese.

TIP: Transfer the eggplant rolls carefully, so they don’t fall apart.

A flat turner works great for this.

7. Bake. First you’ll bake until the cheese is melted and filling is hot, then broil until golden brown.

Storage Instructions

• Store: Keep leftover rollatini eggplant in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
• Make ahead: This dish is best baked fresh, but you can assemble it in advance.
• Reheat: Warm up in the oven at 350 degrees F, until hot.
• Freeze: You can freeze eggplant rollatini for up to 3 months, either before or after baking. Then, you can cook rollatini right from frozen — simply bake at 350 degrees F. It will take longer to bake, around 30 to 45 minutes. I recommend placing the baking dish into the oven while it preheats, to avoid sudden temperature changes.

What To Serve With Eggplant Rollatini

This dish makes a great vegetarian meal on its own, with a salad on the side, or it can be a side dish itself with an Italian entree. Try it with:

• Salads – Pair with a simple arugula salad, Italian artichoke salad, or summery Caprese salad. For a heartier dish, try antipasto salad.
• Chicken – Try simple lemon garlic chicken or saucy slow cooker chicken cacciatore. If it’s warm outside, fire up the grill and make grilled chicken legs!
• Pork – Baked pork chops cook at the same oven temperature, so you can cook them at the same time and rotate the pans.
• Seafood – Serve eggplant rollatini with flaky baked cod, simple broiled salmon, or quick pan seared scallops.

More Healthy Eggplant Recipes

If you like this eggplant rollatini recipe, you’ll like these other tasty ways to enjoy this summer staple:

Eggplant Lasagna

Roasted Eggplant

Eggplant Pizza

Sauteed Eggplant

4.91 from 22 votes

Eggplant Rollatini (Easy & Healthy!)

You'll love this eggplant rollatini recipe with roasted eggplant, creamy spinach filling, sweet marinara, and melty cheese on top.

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 33 minutes

Total: 48 minutes

Author: Maya Krampf from WholesomeYum.com

Servings: 6 (adjust to scale recipe)

Un-save Recipe Save Recipe Go Ad-Free

Recipe Video

Tap on the image below to watch the video.

Like this video? Subscribe to my YouTube cooking channel for healthy recipes weekly! (Click the bell icon to be notified when I post a new video.)

Review Print

Pin

US Customary – Metric

Ingredients

Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.

Manicotti noodles:

• 1.5 lbs Eggplant ▢
• 2 tbsp Olive oil ▢
• 1/2 tsp Sea salt ▢
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper ▢

Filling:

• 10 oz Whole milk ricotta cheese ▢
• 8 oz Frozen spinach ▢
• 1/3 cup Grated parmesan cheese ▢
• 1 large Egg ▢
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning ▢
• 1/8 tsp Sea salt ▢
• 1/8 tsp Black pepper ▢

Assembly:

• 1 cup Marinara sauce ▢
• 1 cup Mozzarella cheese (shredded) ▢
• Fresh basil (optional, for garnish) ▢

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Use a mandoline to slice the eggplant lengthwise into long, thin sheets, 1/4 inch (.64 cm) thick. Choose 12 center slices, totaling about 12 ounces. (You won't use the rest for the rollatini, but can roast those separately with olive oil, salt, and pepper.)

3. Arrange eggplant in a single layer on the baking sheet. Brush the eggplant with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Roast the eggplant in the oven for 15 minutes, until soft and mostly dry.

5. Pat the eggplant with paper towels to soak up any extra moisture.

6. In a medium bowl, stir together the filling ingredients.

7. Spread 1/2 cup (118 ml) marinara sauce over the bottom of a 9×13 stoneware baking dish.

8. Divide the filling evenly between all 12 eggplant sheets, then roll up and use a flat turner to carefully place into the baking dish.

9. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup (118 ml) of marinara sauce and 1 cup of mozzarella (112 grams) over the rolled eggplant.

10. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees F (204 degrees C), until the cheese is melted and the filling is hot, then broil for 3-4 additional minutes, until browned on top. Garnish with fresh basil ribbons, if desired.

Last Step: Leave A Rating!

Rate this recipe

Share your recipe picture by tagging @wholesomeyum and hashtag it #wholesomeyum on Instagram – I’d love to see it!

Related Easy Recipes

• 
  Healthy Keto Eggplant Parmesan Recipe
• 
  Eggplant Lasagna
• 
  Zucchini Roll Ups Recipe
• 
  Roasted Eggplant Recipe

Recipe Notes

Serving size: 2 rollatini

Nutrition info includes half of the eggplant amount, because only the center slices are used for the rollatini.

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 256

Fat 17.6g

Protein 15.8g

Total Carbs 10.4g

Net Carbs 6.7g

Fiber 3.7g

Sugar 4.3g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: eggplant rollatini, eggplant rollatini recipe

Calories: 256 kcal

Want to save this recipe?

Create a free account to save your favorite recipes!

Sign Up To Save Recipes

© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. Please DO NOT SCREENSHOT OR COPY/PASTE recipes to social media or websites. We’d LOVE for you to share a link with photo instead. 🙂