The Best Easy Eggplant Involtini
This Easy Eggplant Involtini recipe is a breeze to make yet keeps all of the original delicious flavors. The eggplant is baked then rolled around creamy ricotta and simmered in a basic tomato sauce. Serve it with a side of garlic bread and a Caesar salad for a simple main course meal.
I made us Eggplant Involtini! Wait, eggplant invol-what in the what?
You heard me, my friends. These soft and cheesy pasta-like rolls smothered in garlic bread dip worthy tomato sauce are called Eggplant Involitini. They are my everything right now.
But let's back it up.
Eggplant Involtini is an Italian dish that is made by wrapping ricotta and parmesan cheeses inside soft cooked eggplant and then baked nestled in a tomato sauce. It reminds me of baked cannelloni, only a gluten-free/ pasta-free version.
Made the traditional way, eggplant involtini takes ages to make, dirties every pot in your kitchen, and is borderline too greasy even for someone like me who has a big soft spot for greasy food.
So what the heck is an eggplant involtini recipe doing on a blog that's supposed to be about easy to make and healthy recipes?
Well, I gave these babies a makeover.
I was thinking, with Valentine's Day coming up next week, that this would be the perfect date night dinner recipe. (Once I made them easier to make and not greasy at all.)
Traditionally, eggplant involtini is made by frying thin strips of eggplant. I've got nothing against the odd crispy, deep fried treat, but have you ever tried to cook eggplant in oil before? It's like a thirsty oil sponge. Honestly, it's kind of disturbing how much oil eggplant can soak up.
I did away with the frying step to partly because I'm too lazy to deep fry on your average weekday night. (Mostly cause I'm too lazy.) The added bonus is that the dish is lightened up considerably without all that extra oil.
What I've done instead, is baked it with a drizzle of oil. The roasted eggplant strips are soft and pliable, just like the fried ones, but are not greasy at all.
Your Easy Eggplant Involtini game plan:
ā” Cut two eggplants into long, thin strips. Bake them in your oven until they are soft.
ā” Mix together some ricotta, parmesan, and a squeeze of lemon.
ā” Simmer a simple tomato sauce.
ā” Roll the lemony ricotta in the eggplant and bake with the sauce poured over top.
ā” Eat!
See how easy that was?
You'll have the ricotta and the tomato sauce made by the time the eggplant strips come out of the oven. All you'll need to do then is quickly roll them, pop them in the oven, and pour yourself a glass of wine.
Pour one for me too and I'll come over to help you eat!
If you make this Easy Eggplant Involtini Recipe make sure you snap a pic and tag #theendlessmeal on Instagram so I can like and comment on your photos. I love seeing TEM recipes you create!
Easy Eggplant Involtini
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 2 round eggplants, about 1 lb.
- olive oil, for drizzling
- a generous pinch of sea salt
- Ā½ cup grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
- Ā½ cup basil, plus extra to serve
Tomato Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- a large pinch of red pepper flakes
- 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Ricotta Filling
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta
- Ā½ 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. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the tops and bottoms off the eggplants and thinly slice them lengthwise. Drizzle them with the olive oil and sprinkle with the sea salt. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until soft.2 round eggplants, olive oil, a generous pinch of 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, a large pinch of 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, Ā½ 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 an oven proof 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.Ā½ 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.Ā½ cup grated parmesan
Second time Iāve 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 sautĆ©ed some onion with the garlic for the sauce and put in a drizzle of honey. Thatās 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! Ā I have to eat gluten-free so not having the eggplant breaded is key. Plus, it is definitely healthier. 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).Ā
Could this be prepped the day before and then cooked in the oven for lunch the next day?Ā
I haven’t tried it but I think that would work!
I never leave reviews but this was too good. Way easier than Eggplant Parmesan, healthier, and just as tasty. Great light meal during the summer. Paired with crusty bread and a salad. My husband and 7 year old loved it.
Why do you not peel eggplant?
Because the peel is edible. And honestly without it I think the eggplant slices would likely fall apart.
Couldn’t find the recipe on the IG page I saw it first. Googled and saw yours, stopped looking! Thank you…ā„ļø
I made this for our grown son, my husband and I. Knowing my son, if I had told him it had eggplant in it, he would not have come for dinner. We all LOVED it! He asked for the recipe.
Just a couple of minor adjustments: I doubled the garlic (we love it) than the recipe called for. I got the sauce cooking first. I forgot to pick up a fresh lemon so used 2 T of Lemon Juice from concentrate, gradually adding more until I got it to the taste I liked. I laid a full leaf of basil on top of each roll and cooked in an oval corning ware casserole pan covered for about 20 minutes.
Easy and absolutely delicious! Definitely adding this to the menu, my picky boys loved it!
I loved this recipe! I made it for my family’s dinner, and it was so good. When I wanted to make a meal for a family friend I made it again, and it was so easy to make some for myself with a separate pan for the family friend. Thanks for such a great recipe!
You’re very welcome!
This was delicious! I wasn’t sure about the thickness of the slices, and I ended up with some a bit thicker than others – half a millimetre seemed to be perfect. I added a spoonful of harissa paste in place of the chilli flakes, and also added oregano leaves to the ricotta mixture. YUM.
That’s so great to hear, Trish! Thank you for the comment!
I had to come back and review this, because I’ll be making this again and again. This was easy, delicious, and healthy. I think this would be great to make as a sympathy meal or for someone who has just had a baby, as it would be easy to re-heat. Thanks for the great recipe.
So happy you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for stopping by to comment!
Loved this recipe! The only thing I did different, is I layered it instead of Rolling. Layering it saved me some time
That’s a great idea!
Can I substitute mars alone cheese rather than ricotta ?
Was that an auto correct for mascarpone? If it is, then yes you can! Mascarpone would be really nice in this recipe. š
I loved this. The flavor was amazing. Such a great meal. I could eat this every day! So delicious.
I could eat it every day, too! You and I clearly have the same taste. š
Made it tonight. Since my teenage boys donāt like eggplant I made chicken crepes for them. I thought hubby and I would have a nice eggplant dinner but the boys kept going after the eggplant. Lucky we got to have a couple each. Totally delish!! Great recipe.
Hahaha that is awesome! Well, maybe not so awesome that you hardly got any, but awesome that your boys loved the recipe so much!
I’m out of town but can’t wait till I get home so I can make thisure for family and friends
I can’t wait for you to get home so you can make this … you’re going to love it!
The eggplant involtini was delicious. I did add a crushed garlic clove and a dash of nutmeg to the ricotta mixture. Very tasty. Looking forward to leftovers.
So happy to hear you liked the recipe!!
This looks mouth-watering-ly good. All those delicious flavors, yum! I can’t wait to make it, probably before Valentines! I’m so glad you didn’t deep fry the eggplant in all that oil, I can just imagine the amount it would soak up, not very appealing.
I hope you like it as much as I do!!
Can you please tell me if your nutrition information is for one serving or the whole recipe. It seems wrong for one serving should read entire recipe/4 servings