Made with just 6 ingredients, these eggplant meatballs are roasted not fried, making the process wonderfully hands-off. Simmered in sweet, fresh tomato sauce and served alongside ricotta and toasty bread, these meatless balls make a delicious and summery vegetarian meal.

A plate of eggplant meatballs aside bread and ricottta.

A few weeks ago, my daughter and I dined at a local restaurant whose menu featured eggplant meatballs with Hazan tomato sauce and housemade ricotta. I ordered them, loved them, and began experimenting with various recipes in the days that followed.

One method called for sautéing diced eggplant, skin and all, before puréing the flesh with seasonings and binders; another called for roasting the eggplant whole before doing the same. One method called for pan-frying the shaped meatballs, another called for roasting.

Ultimately, I preferred the roasting method at both phases, which makes the process more hands-off overall. To make these meatballs, in sum, you’ll roast a few eggplants whole, drain the flesh briefly, then purée it with garlic, Parmigiano Reggiano, and an egg, before folding in breadcrumbs. Then you’ll form the purée into balls and roast them, before simmering them briefly in tomato sauce.

To be clear: there is no meat in these meatballs! They taste like little bombs of eggplant parm and make a nice little side dish or a great vegetarian meal on their own aside healthy dollops of fresh ricotta and good, olive oil-toasted bread. I hope you love them, Friends! 🍆🍅🎉

Roasted Eggplant Meatballs, Step by Step

First, gather your ingredients: eggplants, egg, salt, bread crumbs, parmesan, and garlic powder or fresh garlic.

The ingredients to make eggplant meatballs on a countertop.

To start, make some slits in the eggplant and roast for 45 minutes, flipping halfway, until the eggplant is charred all around:

Two roasted eggplants on a sheet pan.

When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, peel away the skin …

Roasted eggplant on a sheet pan, their skin split open to reveal their flesh.

… then transfer the flesh to a colander to drain for at least 30 minutes.

Roasted eggplant flesh in a large bowl.

Transfer the eggplant flesh to a food processor with the egg, salt, garlic, and parmesan:

The ingredients to make eggplant meatballs in a food processor.

Purée until smooth:

Eggplant purée in a food processor.

Transfer the flesh to a large bowl and stir in the bread crumbs:

Adding the bread crumbs to the eggplant purée.

You should have a wet but workable paste.

Eggplant purée with the bread crumbs added.

Using a small scoop, portion the mixture onto a sheet pan:

Portioned eggplant meatballs on a sheet pan, unbaked.

Then, using lightly oiled hands, rub each into a smooth ball:

Shaped eggplant meatballs unbaked on a sheet pan.

Roast for 10 to 12 minutes or until the meatballs are evenly browned:

Roasted eggplant meatballs on a sheet pan.

When ready to serve, heat some tomato sauce on the stove top, transfer your meatballs to the sauce, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Eggplant meatballs simmering in tomato sauce on the stovetop.

Garnish with fresh basil and parmesan

Eggplant meatballs in a skillet topped with fresh basil and parmesan.
A skillet filled with tomato sauce, eggplant meatballs and fresh basil.
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A plate of eggplant meatballs aside bread and ricottta.

Roasted Eggplant Meatballs

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5 from 8 reviews

  • Author: Alexandra Stafford
  • Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
  • Yield: 20 to 22 meatballs 1x
  • Diet: Vegetarian
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Description

Made with just 6 ingredients, these eggplant meatballs are roasted not fried, making the process wonderfully hands-off. Simmered in sweet, fresh tomato sauce and served alongside ricotta and toasty bread, these meatless balls make a delicious and summery vegetarian meal.

I used two recipes as inspiration: this one from Skinny Taste and this one from Memorie di Angelina.

Notes:

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

  • 2 to 3 eggplants, roughly 2.5 lbs. total
  • 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or half as much if using Morton or fine sea salt)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 finely minced clove of garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano (about 2.5 ounces | 70 grams), plus more for garnish
  • 1 cup (1.75 ounces | 50 grams) panko breadcrumbs, plus more as needed

For serving:

Instructions

  1. Heat your oven to 425ºF. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Make 6 to 8 small slits in each eggplant, and place the eggplant on the prepared sheet pan. Transfer the pan to the oven, and roast for 45 minutes, flipping the eggplants halfway.
  2. Remove the pan from the oven, and let the eggplant rest until cool enough to handle. Using a knife, peel away the skin and scoop the flesh into a colander or sieve to drain for at least 30 minutes. (For reference, the weight of the eggplant flesh post-draining should be roughly 480-500 grams. If it isn’t, don’t worry, you’ll just possibly need fewer breadcrumbs in step 4.)
  3. Transfer the eggplant flesh to a food processor. Add the salt, egg, garlic, and parmesan. Purée until smooth.
  4. Transfer the eggplant purée to a large bowl and stir in the breadcrumbs. The mixture should be wet but workable: if you scoop or spoon a small portion into your palm, you should be able to squeeze it into a ball, with minimal sticking. If the mixture is too wet, stir in more breadcrumbs. Note: The goal is to use as few breadcrumbs as possible to prevent the baked meatballs from tasting too bready/mushy.
  5. Preheat the oven to 550ºF convection roast or as hot as it will go. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
  6. Using a small scoop (I use a #50 scoop) or spoon, portion the mixture into 20 to 22 small balls evenly spaced on the sheet pan. Using lightly oiled hands, rub each portion into a smooth ball. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 10 to 12 minutes or until the meatballs are evenly browned.
  7. Meanwhile, heat the tomato sauce in a large skillet on the stovetop over low heat, just until it begins to simmer. When the meatballs finish roasting, transfer them to the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil and shave parmesan over the meatballs to taste.
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 55 minutes
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: oven, stovetop
  • Cuisine: American, Italian