Eggplant Involtini with Lemon Thyme Ricotta
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My eggplant involtini is baked, not fried, and rolled around a ricotta filling brightened with lemon and thyme. The tomato sauce simmers for only ten minutes yet tastes like it took an afternoon thanks to a spoonful of balsamic.
Eggplant involtini is essentially eggplant parmesan rolled into neat little bundles, minus the breading and the pan of hot oil. You also hear it called eggplant rollatini. Whatever you call it, it’s the kind of dinner that looks like you worked much harder than you did.
Nearly every version folds basil into the ricotta. I use lemon and thyme instead, and I think it makes the whole dish taste more interesting. Ricotta and eggplant are both soft and rich, and without something sharp against them, the plate gets heavy about four bites in. The juice of a whole lemon is more than most recipes call for, and that’s on purpose. Thyme is woodsy where basil is sweet, so it holds up better next to the tomato. The basil still goes in, whole leaves tucked inside each roll, so you get it in clean, bright bursts instead of blended away.
There’s balsamic in the sauce, too. It’s the reason a ten-minute simmer tastes long and slow.
What to serve with eggplant involtini
I serve this as a main, and I’ll be straight with you about what that means. It’s eggplant and cheese, so it eats on the lighter side. On its own it’s a perfect lunch. For dinner, it wants company.
A Caesar salad is my standard. The Caesar dressing has the anchovy and Parmesan savoriness to stand up to the tomato sauce, and crisp romaine is a good contrast against all that softness.
Garlic bread is the other one, and it’s doing real work. There’s a lot of good sauce left in the dish and you want something to get it off the plate. Between the two, the meal fills out properly.
If you’d rather serve the involtini as a side, it goes well next to almost any simply cooked chicken or pork.
Eggplant Involtini with Lemon Thyme Ricotta
Ingredients
- 2 large globe eggplants
- Olive oil (for drizzling)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup grated parmesan (plus extra to serve)
- ½ cup basil (plus extra to serve)
Tomato Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Ricotta Filling
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- Sea salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the tops and bottoms off the eggplants and then thinly slice them lengthwise into 4-5 slices each. Drizzle them with the olive oil and sprinkle with the sea salt. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until soft.2 large globe eggplants, Olive oil, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- While the eggplants are roasting, prepare the rest of the meal. Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add all the other tomato sauce ingredients and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat to a gently simmer.1 tablespoon olive oil, 3 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon sea salt, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- In a medium-sized bowl, stir all the ricotta filling ingredients together.1 cup whole milk ricotta, ½ cup grated parmesan, Juice from 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, Sea salt and pepper
To assemble the easy eggplant involtini
- When the eggplants come out of the oven, set them aside to cool for a minute. Keep the oven on. Pour the tomato sauce into a baking dish.
- Divide the ricotta filling between the eggplant slices, heaping the filling on the wide end of the eggplant, and top with the basil. Carefully roll the eggplant around the filling and place, seam-side down, in the tomato sauce in the baking dish.½ cup basil
- Sprinkle the parmesan over the top and bake in the oven until bubbly, about 15 minutes. Serve with extra parmesan and some basil sprinkled over the top.½ cup grated parmesan
Video
Nutrition
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Second time I’ve made this and I absolutely will make it again. I love the flavors. The only thing different I did was to add a grate of nutmeg to the cheese and I used red wine in the sauce instead of balsamic. Also sautéed some onion with the garlic for the sauce and put in a drizzle of honey. That’s just how I make my sauce. Thanks for the lovely dinner!
Really enjoyed this recipe yummy!! made slight adjustment and added basil to ricotta mix.
Loved this recipe! I have to eat gluten-free so not having the eggplant breaded is key. I like that the sauce can be made while the eggplant cooks. We served it with the sauce over spaghetti squash. I also used home grown cherry tomatoes to make the sauce (broke down the tomatoes with my immersion blender).