Eggplant Rollatini is such a delicious and comforting Italian meal. In my version, breaded slices of eggplant are air fried, then stuffed with a delicious mixture of ricotta, mozzarella, and pecorino Romano cheeses. Layered with fresh homemade marinara sauce and baked to perfection, Air Fried Eggplant Rollatini is a lightened-up version of this classic meal.
Course dinner, main course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword eggplant, eggplant rollatini, vegetarian
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 1 hourhour5 minutesminutes
Servings 12rolls
Calories 145kcal
Author Steph
Equipment
air fryer
frying pan
9 x 13 baking dish
Ingredients
Marinara Sauce
2clovesgarlicminced
28ozcrushed tomatoes
1/4cupbasilfresh
kosher saltto taste
Filling
7ozpart-skim ricotta
1cuppart-skim mozzarella1/4 cup reserved
1/4cupgrated pecorino romano1 tsp reserved
1egg
2tbspbasilfresh, chopped
2tbspparsleyfresh, chopped
fresh cracked pepper
Air Fried Eggplant
2eggplants
1/2cupegg whites
1cupItalian seasoned breadcrumbs
olive oil spray
Instructions
Marinara Sauce
Add the minced garlic to a sauce pan with olive oil spray.
Turn the heat on to medium.
Cook the garlic for 1-2 minutes or until it becomes to sizzle and become fragrant.
Add the can of crushed tomatoes.
Season with salt to taste. Stir in the fresh basil.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes while preparing the other ingredients.
Filling
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Air Fried Eggplant
Slice the eggplants lengthwise into 12 slices, 1/4" thick.
Lay the eggplant slices flat on a baking sheet and sprinkle with kosher salt.
The salt will draw out the liquid from the eggplant. Let the eggplant rest for 15 minutes.
Rinse the salt off, and then pat the eggplant slices dry with a paper towel.
Pour the egg whites and breadcrumbs into two shallow bowls.
Dip the eggplant slices into the egg whites, followed by the breadcrumbs.
Spray your airfryer basket with olive oil spray, lay 4 slices of eggplant in the basket and spray the tops with more olive oil spray.
Airfry at 375 for 10 minutes, flipping halfway and spraying again.
Set aside and repeat this process until all the eggplant is cooked.
Rollatini
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Spread a layer of marinara on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Place a heaping 1 tablespoon of the cheese filling at the base of each air fried eggplant slice.
Roll the eggplant slice up and place it in the baking dish, seam side down.
Repeat this process for all 12 rollups.
Cover with the remaining marinara. Sprinkle with the 1/4 cup reserved mozzarella and 1 tsp reserved pecorino Romano.
Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes,
Remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes for the cheese to melt.