Baked Eggplant Meatballs, you won’t miss the meat in these savory vegetarian meatballs! So many ways to enjoy them: as an appetizer, simmered in tomato sauce or stuffed into a meatball sub with lots of melted cheese.
Do you know anyone who doesn’t enjoy a good meatball? Whether it’s my mother’s traditional meatballs simmering in the Sunday sauce or a meatless variation such as these baked eggplant meatballs, I’ll take all of them!
If you have skeptics in your family when it comes to vegetarian meatballs, all I can say is they’ll never miss the meat in these polpette di melanzane. Eggplant gives them a wonderful meaty and satisfying texture .
And best of all, they are baked not fried. I coat them with dry breadcrumbs and drizzle them with a little olive oil before baking to give them a crisp exterior so you can skip the frying.
Meatless meatball variations
Vegetarian meatballs are by no means a recent fad. In fact meatless meatballs, known as polpette di pane, are what my nonna almost always prepared back in Sicily when my mother was growing up.
Unsurprisingly this was often out of necessity since meat was not only expensive but also not always available.
Compared to their meaty counterpart, these are soft, incredibly moist and cheesy. They are made with breadcrumbs from day old bread rather than dried breadcrumbs which I also use in all my meatball recipes.
My mom’s meatless meatballs inspired me to create these zucchini ricotta meatballs which we enjoy as an appetizer.
To serve baked eggplant meatballs
- Before baking, I dredge them in dry breadcrumbs which gives them a nice crisp exterior. After baking serve as is, as an appetizer.
- Another alternative is to simmer them (after baking) for about 20 minutes in a simple tomato sauce. Boil your favorite pasta to toss with the sauce to create a complete meal.
- And here’s one of my favorite ways of enjoying this eggplant meatball recipe. After you simmer them in tomato sauce, make these delicious eggplant meatball subs!
Ingredient List
- Eggplant: I used a globe eggplant
- Breadcrumbs from a loaf of day old Italian bread, crusts removed
- Pecorino Romano cheese: or Parmigiano if you prefer
- Egg
- Garlic clove
- Dry breadcrumbs: unseasoned
- Fresh parsley
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the detailed printable recipe card.
Step by Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove strips of skin from the eggplant with a vegetable peeler. Remove all the skin, if you prefer. Cut into 1 inch cubes.
- Place on the baking sheet, coat generously with olive oil and salt lightly. Bake for 30 minutes, tossing halfway. If eggplant is dry, add additional oil. Set aside to cool.
- Prepare the breadcrumbs: remove the crust from a loaf of Italian day old (or even 2 or 3 days) bread. Make crumbs by using your fingers to tear up the bread into small pieces or place in the bowl of your food processor and pulse a few times until it is broken down into coarse crumbs.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and place a clean sheet of parchment paper on the baking sheet. Grease with 1 tbsp. of olive oil.
- Place the cooled eggplant in a large mixing bowl. Add all remaining ingredients except for the dry breadcrumbs.
- Use your hands to combine the ingredients and break down the chunks of eggplant. You may also opt to further mash the eggplant pieces with a fork for a smoother texture.
- Shape into 16 meatballs and roll in dry breadcrumbs before placing on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle the meatballs with the remaining olive oil.
- Bake for 15 minutes; flip them over and continue baking for another 15 minutes until golden brown.
Recipe Notes
-These meatballs can be prepared with any variety of eggplant.
-Other herbs may be added to the meatballs such as chopped fresh basil or oregano.
-The mixture for these meatballs is soft, this is normal. If it is difficult to handle, stir in a tbsp. or two of dry breadcrumbs for the desired consistency.
-If you opt to simmer the meatballs in tomato sauce, simmer for about 20 minutes. The longer they stay in the tomato sauce the softer they will become as they absorb the sauce.
I freeze them after they are baked. Let cool completely and store in a freezer bag. Let them defrost and reheat in the oven or add directly to your tomato sauce.
Did you try this recipe?
Let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below!
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Check out more delicious eggplant recipes!
- Eggplant Caponata
- Melanzane in Carrozza – eggplant appetizer
- Pasta alla Norma
- Arancini alla Norma
- Mom’s Eggplant Parmigiana
- Crispy Baked Eggplant Cutlets
- Eggplant Involtini with Ricotta Spinach Filling
- Grilled Eggplant Involtini
- Italian Pickled Eggplant
- Stuffed Eggplant and Peppers in Tomato Sauce
- Stuffed Baby Eggplant
- Eggplant Calzone alla Norma
- Eggplant Involtini with Maccaruna
- Anelletti al forno with Eggplant
- Baked Eggplant and Potatoes in Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
For roasting the eggplant:
- 1 large eggplant about 1.5 lbs or 675 grams
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- salt to taste
For the meatballs
- 2 cups crumb from day old bread torn into small pieces by hand or pulsed in a food processor
- ½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese or Parmigiano if you prefer
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup dry, unseasoned bread crumbs
- 2 tbsp. olive oil divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Remove strips of skin from the eggplant with a vegetable peeler. You may remove all the skin, if you prefer.
- Cut into 1 inch cubes. Place on the baking sheet, coat generously with the olive oil and salt lightly.
- Bake for 30 minutes, tossing halfway. If eggplant is dry, add additional oil. Set aside to cool.
- Prepare the breadcrumbs: remove the crust from a loaf of Italian day old (or even 2 or 3 days) bread. Make crumbs by using your fingers to tear up the bread into small pieces or place in the bowl of your food processor and pulse a few times until it is broken down into coarse crumbs.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and place a clean sheet of parchment paper on the baking sheet. Grease with 1 tbsp. of olive oil.
- Place the cooled eggplant in a large mixing bowl. Add all remaining ingredients except for the dry breadcrumbs and oil.
- Use your hands to combine the ingredients and break down the chunks of eggplant. You may also opt to further mash the eggplant pieces with a fork for a smoother texture.
- Shape into 16 meatballs and roll in dry breadcrumbs before placing on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle the meatballs with the remaining olive oil.
- Bake for 15 minutes; flip them over and continue baking for another 15 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
-Other herbs may be added to the meatballs such as chopped fresh basil or oregano. More tips -The mixture for these meatballs is soft, this is normal. If it is difficult to handle, stir in a tbsp. or two of dry breadcrumbs for the desired consistency.
-If you opt to simmer the meatballs in tomato sauce, simmer for about 20 minutes. The longer they stay in the tomato sauce the softer they will become as they absorb the sauce. Can they be frozen? I freeze them after they are baked. Let cool completely and store in a freezer bag. Let them defrost and reheat in the oven or add directly to your tomato sauce.
Grace Bonanno Jones
I love your version of roasting the eggplant. While visiting my Sicilian aunt in Italy, when I was just a young teen, she made these meatballs with boiled eggplant, not roasted. They were delicious and I have never forgotten what a revelation it was to me that one can make ‘meatballs’ with no meat. Thanks for your work in preserving the recipes of Sicily!
Nadia
Hello Grace, thank you very much! I do like the taste of roasted eggplant and it’s so easy to do. Hope you give it a try!
mirella
yummy! can’t wait to make this for my fussy children for Sunday Lunch!
thank you Nadia
please keep these beautiful recipes coming!
Mirella
mangiabedda@gmail.com
Thanks Mirella, so kind of you. I hope they enjoy them!
Anna Bucciarelli
Wonderful Nadia. Inventive use of eggplant and I cannot wait to try this.
mangiabedda@gmail.com
Thanks Anna, I love making vegetarian ‘meatballs’. Hope you enjoy them!
Frank M
Delicious!
mangiabedda@gmail.com
Thanks Frank!