Aubergine Meatballs
These aubergine meatballs are packed with Italian flavours! Ready in just 30 min, they make an easy meal for the whole family.
These tasty vegetarian aubergine meatballs are fork tender and have an irresistible texture that flakes off in the mouth.
This is one of those Italian recipes I grew up with, my grandma's popular eggplant meatballs.
Loaded with Italian flavours, they make a great starter, but they would be great served as a main course on their own, or with some homemade Italian tomato sauce.
They're also delicious served as a vegetarian alternative for pasta with meatballs, or stuffed in a sandwich with extra veggies!
How to make aubergine meatballs
Trust me when I say that this aubergine meatballs recipe is really simple!
Once you've roasted the aubergine, it takes less than 30 minutes to put these together.
Best of all, they're totally foolproof. I've made them endless times, and I can guarantee they always get rave reviews!
All you need is 8 simple ingredients:
- Aubergine (eggplant): Opt for firm aubergines, both the long ones and the round ones work well for this recipe.
- Eggs: you will need a medium-large egg white.
- Breadcrumbs: Use store-bought breadcrumbs, homemade Italian breadcrumbs, or gluten-free breadcrumbs.
- Lemon: Adding lemon zest will give your meatballs a nice aromatic note. I recommend using organic lemon.
- Nuts: I like to add pine nuts to the mixture, but these are totally optional.
- fresh basil leaves
- Cheese: Use freshly-grated Parmigiano Reggiano (parmesan) or Grana Padano. For a nice kick of flavor you can also add grated Pecorino cheese.
All you have to do is mixing all the ingredients in a large bowl, divide the mixture into balls, and then cook them in a pan with a splash of olive oil.
You can serve these Italian eggplant meatballs plain or dipped into a fresh marinara sauce or homemade tomato sauce.
Did I mention this recipe is easy-to-follow, totally fuss-free, and will easily feed a large crowd?
It's a great versatile meal for busy week-nights, that works just as perfect for dinner parties or as a game-day appetizer to share.
I served these aubergine meatballs with a classic Italian tomato sauce, but they can also be served as finger food with your favourite spicy dipping sauce.
You can also use them as a filing to make an awesome lunchbox sandwich.
However you serve them, these vegetarian meatballs are guaranteed to be a hit at the dinner table!
Can I bake eggplant meatballs?
If you don't like frying meatballs, you can easily bake them in the oven until crispy and golden-brown.
They might take a little more time (around 15-20 minutes in a pre-heated oven to 360F/180C oven).
More eggplant recipes to try
If you like these meatballs, I would absolutely recommend for you to try this traditional Italian eggplant parmigiana, and this classic Sicilian caponata!
Did you try this recipe?
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Recipe
Aubergine Meatballs
Ingredients
For the roasted aubergine:
- 2 large aubergines
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- sea salt and black pepper
For the meatballs:
- 2 tablespoon pine nuts
- zest of 1 lemon
- 100 g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
- 200 g breadcrumbs, Panko or Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 large free-range egg whites
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 400 g fresh tomato marinara sauce or Italian tomato sauce, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F/ 180°C and arrange a baking rack in the middle shelf.
- Cut the aubergines into small cubes and arrange evenly on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste, and bake for 30 minutes or until tender.
- Remove the aubergine from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- in a large bowl, place the roasted aubergine, pine nuts, lemon zest, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, egg white, basil, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix all ingredients until fully combined, if the mixture is too wet add a little more breadcrumbs until reaching a dense consistency.
- Roll into 10-12 meatballs, about 1-inch diameter, then roll each ball into extra breadcrumbs to seal them evenly.
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-low heat.
- Cook the meatballs for 2 minutes, then using a spoon, flip and cook on the side for an extra 2-3 minutes.
- When the meatballs are nicely crispy and golden-brown, remove from the pan and arrange on a serving plate covered with kitchen paper, to absorb excess oil.
- Serve on their own, with fresh marinara sauce or Italian tomato sauce.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Video
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Just made them and they are delicious!! Thanks so much for the recipe!!
Yummy meatballs!!!
I would absolutely love to sit down to a big plate of this for my dinner, pure heaven.
Wow.. its looking really crunchy but i can't even try because, i am vegetarian.
These vegetarian aubergine meatballs are something I would love to try. I would have to make them without the pine nuts thought because my son is allergic. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Oooh they look delicious! I've pinned this for later 🙂
I'm really interested in getting a DNA test done - I find it fascinating.
What a clever idea. I love that you've included feta cheese, it's my favourite.
We have both vegetarians and meat eaters in the family. Most nights I end up cooking two things. These “meatballs” would appeal to everyone in the family.
I keep hearing about these DNA tests and by now I'm very curious about my heritage. These eggplant balls look amazing - perfect for a vegetarian dinner!
This looks great. I don't think I have had a vegetarian meatball before. Would try my hand sometime.
This looks delicious. I have never even thought about making meatballs like this, but may have to consider trying.
hi Love your recipes! - Unfortunately, the USA isn't using metric measures... is there a way you could include some volumes instead of using grams? Converting and or using metric measures is such a nuisance. I find myself gravitating to posts on fb that are more friendly to our system and sighing and then passing over yours, since it involves taking more time to measure with scales, conversions etc.
Another thing I tend to do is use your idea and google to see if it is available somewhere else in measures I can easily use.
I think you have interesting offerings, but your following would be larger if you could adapt some recipes for us non Europeans. I know this, because my friends have mentioned to me they don't have scales or they don't want to take the time.
Thank you.