Eggplant Rollatini And Beef | With An Easy Tomato Sauce
Thinly sliced eggplant filled with Italian spiced ground beef and topped with an easy homemade tomato sauce, melty and brown mozzarella, and parmesan cheese.
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These colder months of the year are coming to an end, and spring and summer seem near. But it’s not quite time for fresh berries, grilled meats, and salads for dinner around here. We still want something warm and filling to eat. Something full of flavor and healthy that doesn’t feel light…perhaps? How about thin slices of eggplant, lean ground beef, fresh tomato sauce, and creamy cheese baked to a golden brown? Give this wonderful eggplant Italian dish a try
What is Eggplant Rollatini with Beef?
Often Eggplant Rollatini is a vegetarian dish sometimes seen as eggplant rollatine or eggplant involtini, it is simply eggplant rolled with a ricotta cheese mixture topped with tomato sauce and more cheese. This recipe has a meat filling instead of a ricotta filling and consists of grilled eggplant slices that are rolled around a ground beef, tomato, and egg mixture seasoned with Italian spices. Then the rolls are placed in the bottom of a baking dish in a single layer and topped with a quick and delicious tomato sauce made from simple ingredients, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese.
How to Make Eggplant Rollatini
Thinly slice eggplant longways about 1/4″ thick and drizzle with a little olive oil and season with a pinch of salt.
Preheat a cast-iron skillet on high and lightly grill the eggplant pieces
Then sautee the beef and garlic in the same cast-iron skillet until they are fully cooked. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.
For the Simple Tomato Sauce:
In the same pan, add more olive oil and the rest of the garlic. Cook for one minute and then add the canned tomatoes and the basil. Simmer over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until the tomatoes break down and the sauce begins to thicken, about 10-15 minutes, then remove from the heat.
For the Filling:
In a mixing bowl combine the ground beef with chili flakes, egg, and parmesan cheese.
Roll the eggplant around about 1/4 cup of the beef mixture and lay the eggplant rolls in a prepared baking dish which will have a little of the homemade marinara on the bottom of the baking dish. You can add a little more to the bigger pieces if you want to!
Top with the homemade tomato sauce that you can make right in the same cast-iron skillet to add the Italian flavor. Yum!! You could use store-bought tomato sauce, but I encourage you not to. This sauce is so fast, easy, and fresh tasting, it really is a rich tomato sauce even though it only takes a few simple steps to make.
Then top the whole dish with mozzarella cheese.
Bake until it’s brown and bubbly.
We like to serve this recipe with a side salad but for a heartier meal, you can add a side of pasta. Here’s a great marinara recipe if you’re interested.
How to store leftover eggplant rollatini
If you do have any left-overs, for best results store in an airtight container for 5-6 days, and reheat in the microwave or a low oven.
RECIPE CARD
Eggplant Rollatini And Beef | With An Easy Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 small or medium-sized eggplants
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1-3 tablespoons olive oil for drizzling
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
For the Sauce
- 2 16oz. cans diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil
- salt and pepper to taste
For the topping
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- About 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese to put on top of the rollatini
Instructions
- Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 or 9×9 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Slice each eggplant long ways into slices about 1/4" thick.
- Drizzle both sides of each slice with a little olive oil.
- Grill the eggplant pieces in batches in the skillet. Toast each side until they just brown, but the eggplant should still hold together firmly. Set grilled pieces aside on a plate.
- In the same skillet brown the beef with 1/4 of the minced garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Once the meat has started to brown, add 1" of water to the skillet until the meat is fully cooked. Drain the meat and set it aside in a separate container and stir in the red pepper flakes.
- In the same skillet add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the remaining minced garlic.
- Cook for one minute and then add the canned tomatoes and the basil. Simmer over medium-low heat. Stir occasionally until the tomatoes break down and the sauce begins to thicken, about 10-15 minutes, then remove from the heat.
- Mix the egg and the parmesan cheese, then mix it with the beef mixture. Add a little more salt and pepper.
- Place a spoonful of the beef mixture on one slice of eggplant, roll it up and place in the greased baking dish. Repeat this until the eggplant and beef mixture are all used.
- Spoon the tomato sauce over the top, coating as much of the eggplant as possible.
- Top the rollatini with the mozzarella cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees until warm and bubbly. Then switch the oven to broil and brown the cheese for 1-2 minutes.