Cheesy Eggplant Roll-Ups Recipe

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Silvana Nava

Cheesy Eggplant Roll-Ups, known in Italy as Involtini di Melanzane, is a delightful dish that combines thin slices of eggplant with creamy mozzarella cheese, wrapped up and baked in a rich tomato sauce.

Perfect as an appetizer, side dish, or even a main course, these roll-ups are sure to become a favorite at your table.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Servings

Calories 428 kcal

Ingredients

1 big eggplant
250 g mozzarella - 8 oz
60 g grated parmigiano reggiano cheese - ½ cup
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
225 g tomato pulp, canned or made from fresh tomatoes - 1 cup
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (+ more to season)
salt - to taste
10 basil leaves + more for decoration

Instructions

In a frying pan pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and add the tomato pulp. You can use canned peeled tomatoes. Or use fresh, ripe tomatoes, peeled and seedless. Cook for about ten minutes, then add the basil leaves and season with salt. Keep aside.
Meanwhile, wash and dry the eggplant. Remove the stem. Then cut it into very thin slices (about 3-4 millimeters or ⅛ inch thick). The thickness of the slices is important. The thinner they are, the easier it's to roll them up to make the involtini. Arrange the eggplant slices on a baking sheet covered with baking paper. With a brush, grease the eggplant slices with extra virgin olive oil. Finally salt lightly.
Bake at 180°C (356°F) for about 10 minutes. After this time, remove the eggplant slices from the oven and allow to cool. This step is very important. It's a precooking to make the slices softer to roll. It also helps to dry out the vegetable water that can make the eggplant bitter.
Cut the mozzarella into thin slices. If the mozzarella releases a lot of liquid during cutting, let it drain and dry as much as possible. Finally start making the eggplant rolls.
On each eggplant slice place a spoonful of tomato pulp. Then add one or two slices of mozzarella cheese.
Finally roll the eggplant slice on itself to form the involtini. Prepare all the rolls and set aside. Now you need to get the baking dish ready to bake the eggplant roll-ups.
In a baking dish, pour a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Then add 3-4 tablespoons of tomato sauce and cover the entire bottom. Lastly lay the rolls on top next to each other and sprinkle with plenty of grated Parmigiano cheese.
Add a few basil leaves. Finally, add a drizzle of oil and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C (390°F) for about 10 minutes. Turn on the grill function for the last 2-3 minutes to get a crispy crust on the surface of the rolls. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Before serving the eggplant mozzarella rolls, add a few leaves of fresh basil.

Notes

PLEASE NOTE: These are the servings for 10-12 involtini. It depends on the size of the eggplant and how big you want to make them. We used a large, round eggplant. If you use smaller, elongated eggplant, cut it lengthwise to make larger slices that are easier for roll-ups.

Nutrition

Serving: 100gCalories: 428kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 22gFat: 31gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 719mgPotassium: 495mgFiber: 4gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 1043IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 638mgIron: 1mg

Keyword eggplant roll-ups, eggplant rollatini, eggplant rolls, involtini di melanzane

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