Gluten Free Eggplant Rollatini

Gluten free eggplant rollatini is a fun appetizer that you can make at home.

Eggplant rollatini bundled with cheese and marinara sauce has always been a favorite appetizer of ours.

Rollatini is a fantastic way to cook eggplant so that it turns out rich and creamy oozing with cheese and sweet basil.

However, you can’t be sure when ordering in a restaurant that it’s gluten free. To be on the safe side, you can make it at home.

How to choose eggplant

Look for eggplant with smooth, shiny skin and one that is heavy for its size. Go with a smaller eggplant (about one pound) as they tend to have thinner skin and less seeds.

Here’s my recipe and a peek into my kitchen so you can see how to make it. 

Instructions

*Free printable recipe card is available at the end of the post. 

First, preheat your oven to 350℉.

Cut off the stem and blossom ends. Peel and slice your eggplant lengthwise into 1/8 inch thick slices. You don’t have to peel the skin, but I like to because sometimes the skin can be tough.

To help remove excess moisture and any bitterness, sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and let stand for about 10 minutes.

Okay. Now we need to bread the eggplant slices.

What is the order of breading eggplant?

First, rinse and pat the eggplant dry. Patting the eggplant dry is important because your flour cannot stick to damp eggplant. 

Arrange three wide shallow bowls on the counter.

Add gluten free flour to the first bowl. Then whisk together egg, salt, and milk in the second bowl. Combine your gluten free bread crumbs, parsley, salt, and pepper in the third wide, shallow bowl.

Now follow three steps to bread your eggplant. First, dredge in the flour and shake off excess. (Shaking off the excess flour is key to getting your breading to stick.)  

Next, run the eggplant through the egg mixture to coat it lightly and hold the eggplant over the liquid to let any excess fall back into the bowl.

Then coat with the breadcrumb mixture and fry in batches for 2 minutes on each side. Then drain on paper towels. 

Next for our delicious filling, combine ricotta, egg, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add mozzarella and parmesan. 

I shredded fresh mozzarella in the food processor and grated Parmigiano Reggiano through the slightly smaller holes of my box grater for a fine powder.

And we’ll use a special cut to make thin strips of basil.

How do you do a chiffonade cut on basil?

Chiffonade the basil by simply rolling up about eight leaves at a time and slicing the roll with a sharp knife to make thin ribbons of basil.

Then fold into ricotta mixture.

Now spoon one tablespoon of the mixture on the end of each fried eggplant slice and roll up.

Then place in a greased baking dish, seam side down.

Next spoon marinara sauce on top and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. This time, I shaved the parmesan on the larger holes of the box grater for shreds of cheese.

Finally, bake uncovered for twenty – thirty minutes. Serve with crusty garlic bread and extra sauce. Yum.

Pro tips and recipe notes

A quick recap of several of the tips I mentioned above:

• If you’re making homemade sauce, I recommend starting it an hour before you begin the rollatini and simmer it on the back burner.
• You can use this mandoline slicer to cut your eggplant. I love this simple tool for cutting up thin strips.  The food holder protects your hand from the blade while you slice.
• Sprinkling your eggplant slices with salt helps to remove excess moisture and any bitterness. Let stand for about 10 minutes. Then rinse off the salt and pat dry with a paper towel.
• Chiffonade the basil by simply rolling up about eight leaves at a time and slicing the roll with a sharp knife to make thin ribbons of basil.
• If you prefer to bake your eggplant slices instead of frying, pour a small amount of oil in a large jelly-roll pan and place in a 425℉ oven until oil is hot, but not smoking. Then, place your eggplant slices in a single layer on the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn over and bake for an additional 5 minutes until golden.
• Leftovers will keep covered in the fridge for 4-5 days. 

And there they are! This is the most beautiful and delicious vegetable dish you’ll eat all week. Bon Appétit!

More fun appetizers

Low Carb Eggplant Rollatini Bolognese: This is my low carb version of rollatini. I have included bolognese meat sauce in the mix so you can serve this as an appetizer or main dish.

Zucchini Roll Ups: Rolling up zucchini with bolognese sauce and fresh parmesan really takes zucchini to the next level. Wow!

Baked Zucchini Sticks: A beautiful mixture of spices give these baked zucchini sticks a wonderful flavor. Enjoy!

Irish Nachos: These are a fun twist on traditional nachos and one of the most popular recipes on my blog. Crispy, seasoned potato slices are drowned in cheese, bacon, green onions and cilantro.

10 Minute Cucumber Bites: Crisp cucumber bites with three delicious cream cheese spreads make a refreshing appetizer. They’re an easy yet indulgent keto low carb treat.

Bacon and sausage stuffed mushrooms: These are a classic hors d’oeuvres recipe. They’re so good.

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5 from 2 votes

Gluten Free Eggplant Rollatini

Gluten free eggplant rollatini bundled with cheese and marinara sauce is a fun recipe you can make at home.

Course Appetizer Side Dish

Cuisine gluten free, Italian-American

Keyword eggplant roallatini

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 303kcal

Author Barbara Bianchi

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant about 1 pound
• salt
• pepper
• 1 cup gluten free breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup gluten free all purpose baking flour
• 1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons. parmesan
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup Ricotta cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 16 fresh basil leaves
• olive oil for frying and greasing baking dish
• 1 cup gluten free marinara sauce store bought or homemade

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350℉
• Peel and slice eggplant legnthwise into 1/8 inch thick slices
• Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt to help remove excess moisture and any bitterness and let stand for about 10 minutes. Then rinse off the salt and pat dry with a paper towel.
• Arrange three wide shallow bowls on the counter.

  Add flour to the first bowl. Then whisk together egg, salt, and milk in the second bowl. Combine your gluten free bread crumbs, parsley, salt, and pepper in the third wide, shallow bowl.

  Now follow three steps to bread your eggplant. First, dredge in the flour and shake off excess. (Shaking off the excess flour is key to getting your breading to stick.)  

  Next, run the eggplant through the egg mixture to coat it lightly and hold the eggplant over the liquid to let any excess fall back into the bowl.

  Then coat with the breadcrumb mixture.

  Fry in batches for 2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. 
• Next combine ricotta, egg, salt and pepper, to taste. Add mozzarella and 3 tablespoons of parmesan.
• Chiffonade the basil by simply rolling up about eight leaves at a time and slicing the roll with a sharp knife to make thin ribbons of basil. Then fold into ricotta mixture.
• Spoon 1 tablespoon of the mixture on the end of each fried eggplant slice and roll up. Place in greased baking dish, seam side down.
• Spoon marinara sauce on top and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
• Bake uncovered for 20 - 30 minutes.

Notes

• If you’re making homemade sauce, I recommend starting it an hour before you begin the rollatini and simmer it on the back burner.
• You can use this mandoline slicer to cut your eggplant. I love this simple tool for cutting up thin strips.  The food holder protects your hand from the blade while you slice.
• Sprinkling your eggplant slices with salt helps to remove excess moisture and any bitterness. Let stand for about 10 minutes. Then rinse off the salt and pat dry with a paper towel.
• Chiffonade the basil by simply rolling up about eight leaves at a time and slicing the roll with a sharp knife to make thin ribbons of basil.
• If you prefer to bake your eggplant slices instead of frying, pour a small amount of oil in a large jelly-roll pan and place in a 425℉ oven until oil is hot, but not smoking. Then, place your eggplant slices in a single layer on the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn over and bake for an additional 5 minutes until golden. 
• Leftovers will keep covered in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcal

did you make this recipe? We want to see! Take a pic, and tag @glutenfreehomestead on Instagram.