The Cozy Cookbook is here! 
This Eggplant Rollatini is fried to golden perfection, stuffed with an herb ricotta filling, and baked with savory marinara and gooey mozzarella cheese! This is a great meatless meal that you can make days or months ahead of time!
BONUS: You can bake or air fry the eggplant instead of deep frying if preferred!
Eggplant Rollatini
If you’re looking for some delicious Italian indulgence, you can’t do much better than this Eggplant Rollatini.
You’ll love this perfectly golden fried eggplant and the creamy ricotta filling! Top it off with mouth-watering marinara and gooey mozzarella and you have a dish made in heaven!
While this dish is more time consuming to make than others, you can do the work days ahead of time, which is a huge bonus. I like to salt, bread, and fry the eggplant ahead of time and assemble it for baking another day. Much easier than doing it all at once.
Be sure to check out my PRO TIPS below for everything that you need to know to make this dish a success! I can’t wait for you to try it!
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Slice the eggplant into 1/4-inch slices. Sprinkle salt over each side and cover the top and bottom with paper towels. Let sit for one hour. Prepare a breading station with flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs.
Coat the eggplant in the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs. Fry in oil until golden and set aside on a cooling rack. (See notes section of recipe card for air frying and baking instructions.)
Place filling in the middle of each one and roll up.
Place seam-side-down in a baking dish with marinara on the bottom. Top with more marinara along with mozzarella, Parmesan, and parsley.
Bake at 375° F for 20-25 minutes. Broil at 450° for 1-2 minutes for a browner top if desired. Serve with Garlic Bread with Cheese!
Pro Tips
- Salting the Eggplant: Salting the eggplant is necessary to draw out excess moisture so that the end result is nice and crispy! The salt also ensures that the eggplant absorbs less oil, which makes it crispy as well.
- Choosing Ripe Eggplant:Ripe eggplants are dark and glossy on the surface and have a little give when you press on the skin, similar to a tomato. Overripe eggplants have a more wilted, dull appearance and are very soft.
- Slices:You’ll need 10-12 (1/4-inch) slices for this recipe, I like to have 2 eggplants on hand in case all slices don’t come out perfectly, so I can choose the best ones. You can use a madoline or a chef knife. If the eggplent is wider than the mandoline, you’ll need to trim each side so that it’s the same size.
- Marinara:An indulgent dish like this deserves only the best marinara sauce, I highly recommend using Rao’s marinara, it’s truly restaurant worthy!
- Mozzarella: Low Moisture Whole Milk mozzarella shredded from a block is definitely best for this recipe, it melts very well. (Don’t use fresh mozzarella as it’s too wet.) I like using Dragone or Galbani.
- Spinach makes a great addition to the filling as well, I would sauté 1 heaping cup of roughly chopped spinach, let it cool, and mix it into the filling.
- Baking/Air Frying: The notes section of the recipe card has instructions on how to bake or air fry the eggplant instead of deep frying if preferred.
Make Ahead Method
Option 1: Fry the Eggplant Ahead of Time:
- The vast majority of the work in this recipe is salting, breading, and frying the eggplant. This can all be done ahead of time.
- Once fried, let the eggplant cool completely. (Otherwise condensation during storage can make it soggy.) Refrigerate (1-2 days) or freeze (up to 3 months).
- If frozen, thaw in the fridge overnight. Then fill, roll, assemble, and bake as outlined.
Option 2: Assemble Entire Dish Ahead of Time:
- If needed, you can assemble the entire dish ahead of time and refrigerate (1-2 days) or freeze (up to 3 months). Don’t bake until ready to serve.
- If frozen, let thaw overnight before baking. Add 5-7 minutes of baking time if baking from a cold state.
Storage
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Leftovers reheat well.
- To Reheat: Place on a baking sheet or dish and cover with foil. Bake at 325° F for 15 minutes or until heated through. (If frozen, thaw in the fridge overnight.)
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- Mandoline– This one is wide which is great for eggplant. It creates even slices in no time. You can also adjust the thickness of the slices. Be very careful when operating and use every safety precaution, they are super sharp.
- My Favorite Chef Knife
- Casserole Dish– The larger one in this set is what is pictured in this recipe.
- Box Cheese Grater– Definitely shred whole milk, low moisture mozzarella from a block for this recipe as it melts and tastes the best.
- Baking Sheet– A great place to place the breaded eggplant for rolling.
Try These Next
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- Lasagna Roll Ups
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- Garlic Bread with Cheese
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- Baked Ravioli
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- Italian Wedding Soup
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- No Knead Bread
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- Zuppa Toscana Soup
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Tried This Recipe?
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Eggplant Rollatini
Ingredients
Rollatini
- 2 large eggplant, or enough for 10-12 slices
- 1-2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 eggs, whisked well
- 1 cup Italian Breadcrumbs
- ½ cup Panko breadcrumbs, can sub all Italian
- ½ cup vegetable oil, plus more as needed
- 1 ¼ cups marinara sauce
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese
- Parsley, to garnish
Ricotta Filling
- 1 ¼ cups Ricotta cheese
- 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ¾ teaspoon EACH: dried basil, oregano, salt
Instructions
Prepare the Eggplant
- Note: See notes for air frying and baking methods as an alternative to deep frying.
- Cut 2 ends off the eggplant and slice lengthwise into even, ¼-inch slices. You can use a long sharp knife or a mandoline. You’ll want 10-12 slices. (10 fit in my casserole dish but it’s nice to have a few extra in case.)
- Sprinkle each side of the eggplant with a light coating of salt. Layer on paper towels so that the top and bottom are covered. Let sit for 1 hour. Meanwhile, combine the filling ingredients and set aside in the fridge.
- Set up a breading station using 3 wide bowls or trays. Bowl #1 = Flour and Garlic powder. Bowl #2 = Whisked Eggs. Bowl #3 = Italian and Panko breadcrumbs.
- Take the eggplant slices and use dry paper towels to dab away excess moisture/salt. (A little salt left on the surface is fine.)
- Dip each slice into the flour and tap off excess. Transfer to the eggs and coat each side. Use your fingers to slide off excess eggs, too much will cause it to bleed through the breading.
- Transfer to the breading and coat each side generously. I use a spoon to scoop the breading on top, and the back of a spoon to pack it down. Repeat until all slices are breaded.
- Add about ¼-inch of vegetable oil to a wide skillet or Dutch oven. (I use a cast iron skillet.) Heat it over medium-high heat to 350-360° F. Make sure the oil is sufficiently heated before adding the eggplant. Test it by adding some breading to the oil, if it fries right when it hits the oil, it’s ready.
- Fry the eggplant in batches for 3-4 minutes, gently flipping halfway through until each side is golden. Set aside on a cooling rack to keep it crispy. Repeat until all are fried.
Bake
- Preheat oven to 375° F.
- Spread ¼ cup marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
- Scoop a heaping 2 tablespoons of filling onto the middle of each eggplant slice and roll it up. Place it seam-side-down in the baking dish. Repeat for all.
- Spoon up to 1 cup of marinara sauce over the top. Sprinkle with mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, and parsley. (I add the sauce/cheese on the middle of the eggplant and leave the edges exposed so they’re extra crispy.)
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is melted and begins to brown slightly. If desired, broil at 450° F for 1-2 minutes to brown the top more, watch it carefully during this time.
- Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes prior to serving. Serve with Garlic Bread with Cheese!
Notes
Pro Tips:
- Salting the Eggplant: Salting the eggplant is necessary to draw out excess moisture so that the end result is nice and crispy! The salt also ensures that the eggplant absorbs less oil, which makes it crispy as well.
- Choosing Ripe Eggplant: Ripe eggplants are dark and glossy on the surface and have a little give when you press on the skin, similar to a tomato. Overripe eggplants have a more wilted, dull appearance and are very soft.
- Slices: You'll need 10-12 (1/4-inch) slices for this recipe, I like to have 2 eggplants on hand in case all slices don't come out perfectly, so I can choose the best ones.
- Marinara: An indulgent dish like this deserves only the best marinara sauce, I highly recommend using Rao's marinara, it's the best!
- Mozzarella: Low Moisture Whole Milk mozzarella shredded from a block melts very well. (Don't use fresh mozzarella as it's too wet.) I like using Dragone or Galbani.
- Spinach makes a great addition to the filling as well, I would sauté 1 heaping cup of roughly chopped spinach, let it cool, and mix it into the filling.
- Make-Ahead Method: This recipe can be made ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen: See blog post for instructions!
Storage
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Leftovers reheat well.
- To Reheat: Place on a baking sheet or dish and cover with foil. Bake at 325° F for 15 minutes or until heated through. (If frozen, thaw in the fridge overnight.)
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 5 servings in this recipe, (or 2 rollatinis per person).
This was amazing! I didn’t have ricotta so I substituted it with herb infused goat cheese. Tasted better than any eggplant dish I’ve had at a restaurant! Will definitely use this recipe again. Thank you!
I bet it tasted so good with the goat cheese Cheri, yummm! Thanks so much for the great comments and review!💕
This recipe looked too delicious not to try! I made sure I had plenty of time to complete it so it would come out as perfect as yours (or nearly). I’ve never salted eggplant before in order to reduce the moisture and it worked really well. I see how it helped to crisp up the edges when frying. I prepped all the ingredients ahead of time so it would be a simple process once I got going. I love the spice blend for the ricotta filling. So much flavor!! Usually if I go to an Italian restaurant, I always order something with a little meat in it. This recipe was so crispy and flavorful, I didn’t miss it one bit. My husband couldn’t believe how good it was and my daughter has already asked for it to be her birthday meal next year. It was a hit for sure! Thank you so much for sharing.
You’re very welcome Ryanne! I’m so happy it was such a success with the family, thanks so much for the great review💖