I love a good mash-up. These eggplant rollatini combine two of my favorite things: spinach & artichoke dip with eggplant Parmesan! The result is a comforting and cheesy meal packed with plenty of flavor.
This dish is a bit of a project; it will take a bit over an hour between prep and cooking times, but it’s worth it. This recipe will feed a crowd—or feed a couple of people for several days with leftovers that you will looking forward to all week. Because it will take a bit of time to make the eggplant rollatini themselves, I suggest using leftover marinara sauce or your favorite jarred sauce.
♥ Related: “White” Baked Ziti
I love this dish because the eggplant cooks perfectly. Eggplant is one of those foods that if it’s not cooked well, it’s plain awful. But the eggplant here is sliced thin and gets hit with heat twice ensuring that it’s cooked through.
The filling is straight-up craveable: it’s creamy, salty, and multi-textured. In addition to the spinach and artichokes, I added ground turkey and mushrooms to add a bit more umami to the mix.
♥ Related: Crispy Baked Eggplant
Serve this with pasta on the side (I like spaghetti, but your favorite shape will do), and pretend that you’re at your local Italian joint. The only thing you might be missing is the checkered tablecloth!
Spinach and Artichoke Eggplant Rollatini
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz ground turkey
- ½ cup shallots diced fine, ~1 large shallot
- 5 button mushrooms cut into quarters
- 14 oz whole artichoke hearts drained and roughly chopped
- 10 oz frozen chopped spinach thawed and drained well
- 3 scallions chopped
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 4 oz cream cheese
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp granulated garlic
- salt to taste
- 1 egg beaten
- 4 cups marinara sauce home cooked or your favorite jarred sauce
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray two baking sheets with non-stick spray.
Roast Eggplant Slices
- Cut the ends off of the eggplant. Then, cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices. Try to make sure all of the slices are about the same thickness. Aim for 8 slices. Lay the eggplant slices in a single layer on the baking sheets. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Cook in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. You’re looking for the eggplant to get soft and slightly brown. Once they are done, take them out of the oven and set aside.
Make Filling
- To make the filling, add 1/2 tbsp. of olive oil to a skillet and heat for a minute over medium-high heat. Add the turkey and brown. Stir frequently to break the meat up into crumbles. Saute until the turkey is cooked through. This will take about 7-10 minutes. Once it’s done, remove it to a large bowl.
- Add 1/2 tbsp. of olive oil to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Add the shallots and mushrooms. Sauté until the vegetables are soft and the mushrooms get slightly brown. Add to the bowl.
- Add the artichoke hearts, spinach, scallions, ricotta cheese, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, basil, garlic, salt, and egg to the bowl. Stir the mixture until it’s thoroughly combined.
Make Eggplant Rolls
- Prepare a 9×13 baking dish by spooning 1 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the pan.
- Spoon the mixture evenly on each slice of eggplant. You should make a little mountain at the widest part of the eggplant. When all of the mixture is evenly distributed, roll each slice of eggplant starting at the wide end. Some of your eggplant might be a little too soft and slightly holey, but just carefully roll and you’ll see that it won’t matter because that holey part will get layered on the inside once you’re done rolling.
- Lay each roll into the prepared baking dish spread evenly (four to a row works perfectly.) Top with tomato sauce (leave a little sauce for serving with the pasta side dish.) Sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly over the rolls.
- Bake for 30 minutes until the rolls have reached an internal temperature of 165, the sauce is bubbling, and the cheese is melted and slightly golden brown. Serve with pasta. Garnish with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy this little bundle of heaven!
Notes
- Note about tomato sauce. We always have leftover sauce which I used here, but if you don’t have a homemade batch handy, feel free to use your favorite jarred sauce. I won’t tell!
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