If you've been craving meatballs, but want to eat less meat or you just want to try a new meatless dinner, this recipe is for you! Eggplant meatballs are an easy to make vegetarian dinner, they use all the same flavors as your favorite Italian variety, and are delicious swimming in marinara sauce.
We love a good baked eggplant recipe! If you aren’t sure how to use eggplant or are looking for new recipe ideas, there are so many flavorful ways to prepare this nutritious purple veggie, check out our other Eggplant Recipes.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Meatless meatballs make a hearty and satisfying main course.
- Served them on pasta, zucchini noodles, couscous, rice, quinoa, or spaghetti squash.
- We love to tuck into a large bowl of veggie meatballs with flavorful sauce when we're craving a comforting meal.
- Not only is this a super comforting recipe, but it's a great way to get extra veggies into your daily routine.
- This is one of our best and most popular eggplant recipes! We make it as easy as can be with a simple process that will fill your kitchen with delicious savory aromas.
- Has a cool Italian name: polpetter di melanzane
Ingredients in Eggplant Meatballs
- Eggplants. We used Italian eggplants, but you can use any eggplant you prefer. Eggplants should be firm but not hard! They’re high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals while also being low in calories.
- Fesh Garlic. Mince or grate your garlic cloves so it’s in very small pieces and can be evenly distributed throughout the eggplant meatball mixture.
- Eggs. See the recipe card for substitutions to make this recipe vegan
- Panko breadcrumbs. Most grocery stores also sell gluten-free versions, so that’s an easy swap if you want these meatballs to also be gluten-free.
- Herbs. Fresh basil and fresh parsley
- Spices. Oregano, salt, and black pepper
- Pecorino Romano cheese or parmesan cheese. See the recipe card for substitutions to make this recipe vegan
- Marinara Sauce.
- Mozzarella Cheese. Shredded or sliced fresh. See the recipe card for substitutions to make this recipe vegan
How to Make Vegetarian Meatballs with Eggplant
- Step 1: Peel the eggplant and cut into large 2" pieces
- Step 2: Cook the eggplant and garlic in a large Dutch oven, deep skillet until tender.
- Step 3: Drain the eggplant and allow to cool
- Step 4: Roll the eggplant mixture into balls and place on a prepared baking sheet
- Step 1: Bake until done minutes and allow to cool slightly
- Step 2: Pour the marinara sauce into a large skillet or other deep pan.
- Step 3: Add the meatballs to the marinara sauce
- Step 4: Sprinkle the shredded cheese and cook over medium heat until melted and hot
Substitutions to Make Vegan Eggplant Meatballs
- This recipe as written is a meatless vegetarian meatballs recipe. If you want to keep it vegan, there are a few simple swaps you can make:
- Flax Egg - Combine 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds with 5 tablespoons of water. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. This is the equivalent of two large eggs.
- Pecorino Romano and mozzarella cheese - Use your favorite vegan cheese alternatives. Check your local health food or specialty store. You can find mozzarella-style shreds as well as grated parmesan alternatives.
How to Serve Vegan Meatballs
- Serve these veggie meatballs on their own, swimming in their marinara sauce and melted mozzarella cheese crusty bread for dipping into the sauce.
- If you want to go the more traditional pasta route, you can serve these over your spaghetti or other pasta shapes, zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash. Choose a bean-based pasta for added protein such as chickpea pasta or lentil pasta. For a low-calorie alternative serve it with hearts of palm pasta.
- If you're craving carbohydrates but want something other than pasta, try serving meatless meatballs on top of rice, quinoa, cauliflower rice, or mashed potatoes.
- Here are some salads and side dishes that would pair perfectly:
Eggplant Meatballs Storage, Reheating, and Make Ahead Recipe Tips
- These veggie meatballs can be made up to two days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.
- Freeze them by lining them up on a tray, then placing them in a freezer bag once frozen! They can be stored in the freezer for up to three months.
- Meatballs can be frozen cooked or raw without sauce.
- We love to make them ahead of time in the summer when eggplants are abundant, inexpensive, and really fresh! We recommend getting eggplants in the summer at local farms or farmer's markets.
- Simply reheat the meatballs in a saucepan over medium heat until thawed and warmed throughout.
- If you prefer, you can roast the eggplants instead of peeling and dicing. See our cooking directions in our Baba Ganoush recipe.
- Resist the urge to rush through this recipe. It takes a little extra time to let the mixture sit, but it will be well worth the wait. If the mixture is still too wet, add more breadcrumbs and chill a little longer.
- Use a cookie scoop to help portion the mixture and shape into balls.
More Meatless Meatball Recipes
- Vegan Meatballs with Savory Pumpkin Sauce
- Sweet Potato Quinoa Meatballs in Mango Coconut Sauce
- Spinach Vegan Meatballs
- Cauliflower Quinoa Meatballs
- Quinoa Lentil Meatballs
- Sweet Potato Veggie Meatballs
- Eggplant Meatballs with Pomegranate Molasses
- Spaghetti and Meatless Meatballs
More Eggplant Recipes
- Buffalo Eggplant Fries
- Tahini Miso Eggplant Rice Bowl
- Fresh Mozzarella, Mushroom, & Eggplant Shakshuka
- High Protein Skillet Eggplant Lasagna
- Eggplant Chickpea Curry
- Stuffed Eggplant with Fennel and White Beans
- Creamy Tomato & Roasted Eggplant Soup
- Braised Eggplant with Fresh Tomato Sauce
- Hummus & Grilled Vegetable Pizza
- Eggplant Rollatini
We also have more delicious eggplant recipes in our cookbook, Tahini & Turmeric!
If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.
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Eggplant Meatballs
- Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
- Yield: 36 meatballs 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Eggplant meatballs are easy to make, use all the same flavors as your favorite Italian variety, and are delicious swimming in marinara sauce.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 ½ pounds of eggplant
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 eggs - See note 1 for a vegan option
- 2 ½ cups panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dry oregano
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 cup grated pecorino romano cheese and/or parmesan cheese. - See note 2 for a vegan option.
- Cooking oil spray
- 1 24-ounce jar of marinara sauce - See Note 4
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese or 5-6 slices of fresh mozzarella. - See note 2 for a vegan option
Instructions
- Peel the eggplant and cut into large 2" pieces
- In a large deep skillet for which you have a lid, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add garlic and cook on medium-low heat for 3 minutes. Add eggplant and cook for 3 minutes, stirring well. Add 1 cup of water and cook covered on medium-high heat for 25 minutes or until the eggplant is tender. While the eggplant is cooking, ensure there's still water and the eggplant is not burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan. If that is the case add a little more water. See note 3 for an alternative way to cook the eggplant.
- Heat the oven to 375ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Drain the eggplant using a colander and let it cool slightly (you can place it in the fridge).
- In a food processor add eggplant, eggs, panko bread crumbs, parsley, basil, salt, oregano, pepper, and pecorino romano or parmesan cheese and process until well combined (the mixture will be loose).
- Transfer the eggplant mixture into a bowl, cover it, and let it sit in the fridge for 45 minutes or overnight. This allows the eggplant mixture to firm up. Do not skip this step, the breadcrumbs need time to absorb the moisture and get the mixture firm enough to form the eggplant meatballs. If the mixture is still wet add more breadcrumbs and refrigerate again.
- Once the mixture is firm measure 1 ½ tablespoons and form the meatballs, I like using an ice cream scoop. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.
- Generously coat the eggplant meatballs with oil spray and bake for 30 minutes.
- Let the meatballs cool slightly.
- In a large deep skillet for which you have a lid, pour the marinara sauce, fill the jar with ⅓ cup of filtered water, close it, and shake it to get all the remaining marinara sauce left in the jar. Add it to the skillet, place the meatballs in the sauce, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, cover the skillet, and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted and the sauce and meatballs are hot.
- Serve it over spaghetti. - See Note 5
Notes
- If you prefer not to use eggs, you may use 2 flax eggs. To make the 2 flax eggs combine 2 tablespoon ground flax seeds with 5 tablespoon of water, and let them sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Use vegan cheese alternatives if vegan or want to keep this dish dairy-free.
- If you prefer roasting the eggplant instead of cooking it on the stove follow the roasting eggplant cooking directions in our Baba Ganoush recipe.
- If you like a lot of sauce with your meatballs, use two jars of marinara sauce.
- Serve the eggplant meatballs with spaghetti, zoodles, cauliflower rice, hearts of palm pasta, rice, quinoa or chickpea pasta, or other bean-based pasta for added protein.
- Prep Time: 10
- Refrigeration time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop & Oven
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 meatballs with sauce
- Calories: 247
- Sugar: 9.7 g
- Sodium: 955.9 mg
- Fat: 9.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.6 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 29.6 g
- Fiber: 6.3 g
- Protein: 11.3 g
- Cholesterol: 58.9 mg
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