These air fried breaded eggplant rollatini are a tasty summer appetizer or a side dish, or even a main coursefor a vegetarian dinner!
Eggplant, stuffed with cheese, rolled into a roll and breaded.
Nothing more mouthwatering, simple and wholesome: the world’s best eggplant rollatini with a soft cheese filling heart.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Ingredients
- How To Cook Eggplant Rollatini (air fryer or oven) + Tips
- FAQ’s
- Eggplant Rollatini Recipe (Printable)
This recipe is my mom’s, which she has been making for as long as I can remember.
It is are super easy, super fast and you can make them in numerous variations!
Ingredients Needed For This Air Fried Breaded Eggplant Rollatini
These are the main ingredients you need for this recipe.
For the step-by-step directions and measurements, scroll down to our printable recipe card.
Eggplant: Choose long eggplants, as it will be easier to roll them up.
Cream cheese: It gives the roulade a delicious creaminess; you can use ricotta cheese if you prefer.
Fresh Mozzarella cheese: This is the filling of the rollatini. Super cheesy!
Bread crumbs: This is a different version of the usual rollatini with sauce on top, which instead are breaded to give the crunchiness.
Parmesan cheese and Parsley: They are used to flavor the breadcrumbs.
Eggs: They are the element that helps the breadcrumbs to stick to the rollatini.
Salt & black pepper: To flavor.
Olive oil: For cooking.
How To Make This Air Fried Breaded Eggplant Rollatini
To prepare eggplant rollatini we need to start with the eggplant.
Choose eggplants that are fresh and have few seeds inside.
I usually use long eggplant, which lend themselves perfectly to being double-rolled.
Step 1
Remove the end of the eggplant, wash them and cut and slice them for long.
When we cut them, we keep a thickness of ¼-inch, so they will cook in a short time.
Once cut, place the eggplants inside a colander, salt them and let them drain for about an hour.
Step 2
Meanwhile, prepare the filling in a mixing bowl. Dice the mozzarella and add it to the cream cheese.
Season with salt and pepper and add chopped parsley.
Mix everything together well.
Step 3
When the eggplants have released all the water, wash them under running water and dry them well with a paper towel.
Preheat the air fryer for a couple of minutes.
Using a kitchen brush, brush the eggplants with olive oil and place them in the fryer basket or in the oven in a single layer, making sure not to overlap them.
Cook the eggplants.
Step 4
When you have cooked all the eggplant, coat them in the breadcrumbs.
Arrange the thin slices of eggplant on a flat surface and stuff them with the cheese mixture.
Roll the eggplant slices on themselves, hugging the filling until they form a roulade.
At this point dip them in egg and then in breadcrumbs.
To cook these breaded eggplant rolls, secure the rolls with a long toothpick.
Spray some oil on top with a cooking spray.
Cook them in the air fryer for 10 minutes and turn them over halfway through cooking.
When they are golden brown they are ready.
Baking method: To bake the eggplant for the first time, place the eggplant slices in a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper, brush with oil and bake in a preheated oven at 400 F degrees for about 10 minutes.
For the second baking after breading, bake at 375 F degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Tips for Success
To ensure your eggplant rollatini is a success, follow these tips:
Choose the right eggplants: Look for medium-sized eggplants that are firm to the touch and have a smooth, shiny skin.
Slice the eggplant thinly: Thin slices work best for rollatini. Use a mandolin or a sharp knife to slice the eggplant.
Salt the eggplant: After slicing the eggplant, sprinkle salt on both sides and let it sit for at least 30 minutes.
This will help draw out any excess water. and make the eggplant less bitter.
Use fresh ingredients: Use fresh cheese, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese for the filling. Fresh herbs add flavor to the dish.
Roll the eggplant tightly: When rolling the eggplant, make sure to roll it tightly so that the filling doesn’t fall out during baking.
Don’t remove the eggplant skin: This will help maintain the shape.
Recipe Variations:
Use different cheeses: Instead of mozzarella, you can use scamorza or other stringy cheese.
Add more filling: In case you would like to enrich your rolls, you can add about ten pitted black olives or 4-5 slices of cooked ham.
You can also rather add basil pesto or fresh basil instead of parsley.
Add tomato sauce: Instead of being baked in an air fryer or oven, place eggplant rolls in a baking dish and add homemade marinara on top with mozzarella cheese, and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for about 30 minutes.
Make low carb: Instead of crumbs you can use some crushed almonds for breading.
What To Serve With Eggplant Rollatini
You can serve these air fried breaded eggplant rollatini either as an appetizer or as a main dish accompanied by a simple salad on the side can balance out the richness of the rollatini like this orange salad or this Italian potato salad.
If you’re looking to add more vegetables to the meal, roasted or sautéed veggies such as zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms and yellow beans or air fryer green beans can complement the eggplant nicely.
You can even serve up some smoked sweet potatoes for a heartier meal.
To finish off, don’t forget about dessert. Serve this easy lemon jello cake or this blackberry tart.
Frequently Asked Questions
Eggplant rollatini are an Italian dish, which consists of slices of eggplant with creamy cheese filling rolled up to form a roll.
No, in Italian we call them eggplant involtini. Rollatini is an American word.
They are the same thing.
To prepare the rollatini, we need to cut the eggplant lengthwise.
Wash and dry the eggplant and remove the end.
I lay the eggplant in a flat plane lengthwise and cut. You can also use a mandoline slicer.
I learned to purge eggplant from my grandmother .
If the eggplant is very fresh, this operation can be omitted, but I do not find it counterproductive, on the contrary.
It is not easy to know beforehand whether the eggplant will be sweet or bitter- you only find out when it is cooked, with the risk of having a bad result.
I therefore always purge them.
Yes! You can make the dish up to one day ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to cook. Just make sure to cover it tightly with plastic wrap or foil.
How To Store Leftovers
Fridge: You can store them in the refrigerator for 2-3 days in a airtight container.
Freezer: I recommend freezing uncooked after the breading.
When you want to eat them, cook them in the air fryer for 8-10 minutes.
Eggplant Rollatini Recipe
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Air Fried Breaded Eggplant Rollatini
Air fried breaded eggplant rollatini, a super tasty recipe to prepare!
Ingredients
- 1 Long eggplant
- 1/2 cup of Breadcrumbs
- Olive oil
- 1/2 cup of Cream cheese
- 2 Tablespoons of parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup of Mozzarella
- Chopped parsley
- Salt & black pepper to taste
- 1 beaten egg
Instructions
- Start with the eggplants. Wash and dry them and cut off the ends. Cut the eggplant into thin slices (from the longest end) and as even as possible. If you have it, you can use a slicer for a more even result.
- Place the slices in a colander and salt them and then let them rest with a bowl underneath for about half an hour so that the water they contain is expelled.
- While you wait, prepare the other ingredients.
- Starting with the filling. First, dice the mozzarella cheese. In a In a shallow bowl put the cream cheese, and add the mozzarella. Put salt, black pepper and chopped parsley and mix all the ingredients well with the help of a teaspoon.
- In another bowl prepare the breadcrumbs with the grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
- In another bowl beat the egg.
- When the eggplants have purged the water, wash them under running water and dry them with a cloth.
- Preheat the air fryer to 180 degrees.
- With a kitchen brush, brush the eggplants with olive oil and place them in the basket of the air fryer (do not overlap them) and cook them for 3 minutes.
- Proceed in this way with all the eggplant slices.
Prepare the rollatini:
- Quickly coat the eggplant in breadcrumbs.
- Place the eggplant on a smooth surface. Take a teaspoon of cheese mix, and place them on the end of the eggplant.
- Roll up forming a roulade. Dip the rolled eggplant on the egg and then in the breadcrumbs.
- Proceed in this way for all slices until all ingredients are used up.
- To cook these breaded eggplant rolls, secure the rolls with a long toothpick or kebab stick.
- On each toothpick place four rolls. This will help make it easier when turning the rolls during cooking.
- Cook the rolls at 350°F (180°C) degrees for about 10 minutes in the air fryer.
- Remembering to flip them halfway through cooking.
Breaded rollatini are ready. Serve hot!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 573Total Fat: 36gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 167mgSodium: 899mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 9gSugar: 13gProtein: 18g
Nutrition is automatically calculated by Nutritionix - please verify all nutrition information independently and consult with a doctor or nutritionist for any and all medical and diet advice.
More eggplant recipes:
- Eggplant Parmesan, an Italian classic that no one will be able to resist.
- Pasta alla norma, a taste of Sicilian history and culture.
- Eggplant Caponata, delicious with its sweet and sour flavor and super easy to make!
