Simple Roasted Eggplant Involtini
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Eggplant involtini — tender slices of eggplant rolled into ricotta-stuffed parcels baked with homemade tomato sauce — never tastes better than this time of year, when the eggplant and tomatoes begin arriving in full force. Until last week, however, the dish, which requires salting and frying the eggplant, felt SO fussy, the thought of standing at the stovetop always deterring me from making it.
But last Friday after roasting eggplant slices for a sandwich, I felt inspired to use the same technique for the involtini, which, as several commenters had noted already, works like a charm. By simply brushing the eggplant slices with oil, seasoning them with salt and pepper, and roasting them, 20 minutes of standing at the stovetop was saved. The process proved so painless, I made the involtini again on Sunday — eggplant involtini twice in three days is a first, a feat never realized in the past five years.
Two caveats: homemade sauce, fresh ricotta. With these two components of the dish prepared (or purchased) ahead of time, eggplant involtini demands little effort. For the first time in a long time I made the ricotta from scratch, which reminded me how easy and delicious it is: line a sieve with cheesecloth, boil milk and cream, add salt and vinegar, strain. It takes about 25 minutes total.
Final discovery: The adorable eggplant bundles can be assembled ahead of time, nestled in their tomato sauce-slicked dish, and stashed in the fridge until needed: in 25 minutes, the pan emerges from the oven, tomato sauce thick and bubbly, ricotta rolls bronzed and oozing. It’s a beautiful thing. Do it.
Components: roasted eggplant, tomato sauce, ricotta seasoned with lemon zest, salt, and breadcrumbs:
Simple Roasted Eggplant Involtini
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2 to 4
Description
Original, fussier recipe can be found here.
Homemade ricotta is easy and delicious.
Updates to the original recipe include skipping the salting and, in place of frying, roasting the eggplant for 10 minutes on one side, 8 minutes on the other, brushed with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper. I’ve also simplified the filling by omitting the thyme and lemon juice—I just use lemon zest, salt, and breadcrumbs.
The recipe is easily doubled: Use two sheet pans to roast the eggplant, rotating as necessary to ensure even cooking. Double the filling. Use a 9 x 13-inch baking vessel or two 9-inch vessels. Definitely double the recipe if making for more than 2 people … I can nearly eat a single recipe on my own.
Regarding the breadcrumbs: I think they are only really necessary if your ricotta is particularly wet. I rarely use them anymore.
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 eggplants
- kosher salt and pepper
- olive oil for brushing
- homemade tomato sauce (such as this one or this one)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream or half and half, optional
- freshly Parmigiano Reggiano for serving
for the filling:
- 1/2 cup fresh or panko breadcrumbs, optional (see notes)
- 1 cup whole milk, fresh ricotta or homemade
- grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a sheetpan with parchment paper, a Silpat, or rub lightly with olive oil.Trim the stem end of each eggplant. Stand the eggplant vertically, and make 1/4-inch thick cuts down to create long slices. Arrange on sheetpan. Pour about 3 tablespoons of oil into a small dish for convenience. Brush each eggplant slice with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes. Flip. Brush other side with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 5 to 8 minutes more or until beginning to turn golden. Remove pan from the oven and set aside.
- Meanwhile, make the filling. In a bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, ricotta, lemon zest, and salt. Taste. Adjust with a pinch more salt if necessary.
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Ladle tomato sauce (about 3/4 cup) into a 9-inch round baking dish or similar-sized vessel till bottom of dish is covered in a thin layer. Place a spoonful (about 2 teaspoons) of filling at one end of each of the eggplant slices. Roll the slice around the filling and place it seam-side down in the dish on top of the tomato sauce. Drizzle or brush the cream over the rolls to moisten. Bake until the edges of sauce around the sides of the dish are dark and the rolls are nicely caramelized, 20 to 25 minutes. Garnish with the parmesan before serving.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian, American
Keywords: eggplant, involtini, ricotta, tomato, sauce, vegetarian
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44 Comments on “Simple Roasted Eggplant Involtini”
This looks fantastic! It’s going on my menu for next week.
So great to hear this, Sara! And to hear from you 🙂
So delicious! Going into the regular rotation. Only change I made was peeling the eggplant.
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Nice! So happy to hear this, Michelle!
This was the first recipe I ever made of yours, way back when I was at BGSK! I love it so so much. excited to try the simplified version. xoxo
No way?! This makes me so happy, Phoebe 🙂 🙂 🙂 xoxo
We had eggplant involtini at a fancy Italian restaurant and although I was in love, I never thought to make it at home. This looks FABULOUS!
You should! Erin, it’s really easy! And soooo good.
Do you have a suggestion for replacing the breadcrumbs with something else? To make it gluten free and/or sorta paleo-ish?
Hi Dina,
I think you just need something to thicken the ricotta a bit, so that it doesn’t completely ooze everywhere. You could certainly try just leaving it out, though it may be too oozy. Or you could use gluten-free breadcrumbs. Or you could try an egg? I’ve seen that in another involtini recipe. Or, you could use a mix of cheeses, such as ricotta, parm, and mozzarella, which might make it less oozy (ricotta is so soft on its own). Ummm, let me think, maybe some chopped nuts? Or almond flour?
Another option is to strain the ricotta so it is less wet to start with. That should work.
That is a great idea, Dee!
Was so jazzed by this post I instantly went out to get the milk needed to make the ricotta. I had a jug of cream that was left over from a family gathering and this was the perfect solution to using it up. Then I found tomato sauces in my freezer. Voila. Actually ventured out in the heat to buy the eggplant. Now I have a lovely pan of them ready to cook later. Tonight I had to address the tons of cabbage, potatoes and a chicken leg…but tomorrow – Involtini! One evening’s work for several meals. Love it! May link to this on our CSA site.
Oh, Dee, I’m so happy to hear this! I had a similar experience last night addressing the corn, greens, and spring onions before the next delivery of veg arrived. I made fresh corn polenta for the first time in years. So happy you have the involtini tucked away ready for the oven. So great to hear from you, too 🙂
Oh Yum! I totally get it about not serving very many..I’m stuffed but happy having eaten more than half.
Haha, I love it. Good to know we’re in good company 🙂
We are on the hunt for new and outstanding eggplant recipes at the moment, and we think this one might have shot to the top of the list. It looks so delicious!
Yes! We all need outstanding (and ideally) simple eggplant recipes in our lives!
Okay, wow. How amazing is this meal?? I happened to grab a couple of eggplants out of my garden and threw this lovely mess of yum together. I used the red pepper tomato sauce you posted and was not disappointed. I will be making this again as soon as my tomatoes and peppers get red . . . I just hope the eggplants will keep on keeping on in concert. Seriously, this will be a go to meal — thank you, Alexandra!!
So happy to hear this, Brenna! How awesome that you are growing eggplant?! I wish I knew how to garden. I hope your eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers emerge together, too 🙂 So happy to know the red pepper-tomato sauce works well here. Thanks for writing in!
My pleasure, Darcy!! xo
I’ve never heard of this recipe before, but it sounds amazing! My family is not a big fan of egg plant, but I wonder. . . . and I also think I would grill the slices of eggplant instead of roasting it to keep more heat outside.
I agree that homemade ricotta is so darn easy and delicious – the hard part is using up the whey.
So true, Margo! I haven’t been very creative with my uses, which have extended mostly to bread.
Definitely grill the eggplant! I’ve seen that in other recipes. You just need the eggplant to be pliable so that it will roll easily. Good luck!
Woahh….looking at this itself is making me mouthwatering.Its a different way of cooking eggplant.Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Sure thing!
Looks delectable. How well do you think involuting freezes?
I bet well! Go for it!
Lovely. As always. It works just as well with zucchini – a boon for gardeners wondering what the heck to do with all that zucchini…
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So nice to hear this, Dee! And yes, can’t have too many zucchini recipes this time of year 🙂 🙂 🙂
Lovely. I made this last night and it was delicious.
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I first had involtini at a restaurant on Cape Cod and loved them. As the only eggplant lover I know, I don’t make this often. But I’ve always roasted my eggplant – even if I’m making eggplant parmesan. I started doing it after making a stacked casserole of roasted eggplant slices and roasted peppers in tomato sauce from Greens restaurant. Roasting is so easy and the eggplant doesn’t soak up oil. You have inspired me to make these with my garden’s sudden bounty of eggplant. The 15# of tomatoes I picked will be used – some at least – for the sauce. A local market makes amazing ricotta. I’m stoked.
Yay! Hope you love it 🙂 🙂 🙂
I made this lovely recipe for dinner the other night. It was as simple to make as advertised. I loved the elegant hint of lemon in the ricotta filling – gorgeous. I think when I do this again, I might reduce the bread crumbs a bit or maybe switch to egg instead, because I felt like the ricotta filling could be creamier. I will definitely make it again!
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Wonderful to hear this, Sharon! I like your idea of cutting back or omitting the bread crumbs.
I finally got around to making this tonight and it was so delicious! I would love to make a large bAtch for a family dinner. Have you ever tried freezing these?
Hi Jenny! So nice to hear this. I think it would freeze beautifully bc the eggplant is already roasted once and the sauce is a cooked sauce, so I would go for it!
Roasting eggplant slices is the way I make a much easier and calorically lighter eggplant parmesan.
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I do that, too, Allison! Thanks for writing 🙂
Made these tonight after making the ricotta yesterday. I had three Japanese eggplants that needed to be picked and got four slices from each. This turned out perfectly. I roasted two Italian sausages alongside them and sprinkled fresh basil on top. We have just enough left for a yummy lunch tomorrow! Yay! Please give me some idea what to do with the whey from the ricotta. Can I freeze it? How much should I use in place of the 3 cups of water for the two-loaf recipe of your quinoa flax bread which is a staple around here. Thanks so much, Ali.
Hi Leslie! So great to hear all of this. Yes, you can freeze the whey. And you can use it 1:1 in place of water. Keep in mind a few things: consider reducing the amount of salt bc the whey has salt in it. Lower the temperature of the oven by maybe 50ºF — the whey will make the bread brown more quickly. Always cool the whey before using because if it’s hot it could potentially kill the yeast. And if you’re using cold whey (as in from the fridge), it may take longer for the bread to rise … so just be patient and rely on visual cues more than time.
Hope that helps! Let me know if there’s anything else 🙂
We haven’t eaten it yet, but I prepped it this am with your canned tomato sauce recipe made yesterday. One of my eggplants was bad and I only got about 12 rolls out of it. My husband found it so delicious just looking at it, he stopped after skiing to buy more eggplant! sorry i cannot post a pic.
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Oh I love this so much 🙂 🙂 🙂 I hope you and your husband loved eating it as much as you loved looking at it. Thanks so much for writing and sharing!
It was a big hit! We both loved it! Will def make it again and again. I might try slipping in a piece of sliced, roasted carrot and or Swiss chard now and then. There’s a favorite line from the Sorpanos TV show where Tony shows up at his mother’s and she says, “Are you hungry? I’ve got eggplant!” This makes my heart sing! Thank you!
Awww, I love this so much! That’s a great quote. Thanks so much for writing and sharing. I have definitely slipped in sautéed Swiss chard in the filling, and it’s so good.