Eggplant Parm Meatballs, spicy garlicky saucy vegetarian meatballs that will serve you all the eggplant parm feels!
I was never a big fan of eggplnat growing up. Not that I ever tried eggplant parm growing up as there was no such concept back in India when I grew up there. When I moved to the States, I had seen my husband enjoy this saucy red colored food made with eggplants. As I was never a fan of this vegetable growing up, I did not really give it a fair chance. But once I tried it, I still felt a bit off especially due to the eggy aftertaste it left me with.
And there was this whole meatball world out there that I was always festinated about. Being a vegetarian I have never tried meatballs. I see people eating them over pasta as well as in saucy warm subs. Since my husband is a huge fan of eggplant parm and me wanting to try meatballs but vegetarian versions, I thought why not combine them both to make one dish that we both like! That is when these bad boys came to life!
I like me some spicy saucy piping hot bakes goods. And this is just that! I do take up a notch with modifying the jarred sauce and adding flavors to plain ricotta/parmesan cheese mix. Because I am sucker for a spicy garlicky comfort food. You do not have to do the extra work with sauce and cheese mix, I hughly suggest you try at least once. I promise it is not that much of an extra work and you will definelty like all the flavors that come together as an end dish!
This is once of those recipes that you make for a big crowd. I love to add this to my festive feast. This recipe is great for prepping ahead. You make all three main components eggplant balls/mix, sauce and herby cheese mix ahead of time. Then when you are ready to serve, simply assemble and bake. It pairs lovely with crusty buttery bread. I hope you add this to you festive feast this year and every year! My Loaded Veggie White Lasagna would make an amazing co-recipe for your festive dinner!
If you end up making it and liking it, leave me a comment below or tag me on Instagram @myvegetarianroots. I would love to get your feedback.
Happy & Healthy Eating!
Eggplant Parm Meatballs
Ingredients
Eggplant Parm Balls
- 2.5 lb Globe/American Eggplant, cubed
- 5 large Garlic Cloves, sliced
- ½ tsp Black Pepper Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 6 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 3 tbsp to bake eggplant + 3 tbsp to cook balls
- ½ cup Finely Chopped Fresh Basil
- â…“ cup Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1¼ cup Seasoned Panko
- 2 tbsp Italian bomba hot pepper sauce from Trader Joes OR choice of jarred/minced Calabrian chili peppers
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Black Pepper Powder
- 1 tsp Red Chili Flakes
- 1 tsp Dry Oregano
- 1½ tsp Galic Powder
- 1½ tsp Onion Powder
- ¾ cup Seasoned Panko to bind (not for ball mix)
Herby Ricotta Mix
- ½ Jalapeno
- 2 small Garlic Cloves
- ½ cup Fresh Basil
- ¾ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Black Pepper Powder
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ¾ cup Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese
Spicy Sauce (this is completely option, you can use jarred pasta sauce as it comes)
- 3 large Garlic Cloves
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Red Chili Flakes
- 1 tsp Sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup Finely Chopped Fresh Basil
- 28 oz Rao's Homemade Arrabbiata Sauce OR choice of pasta sauce
Instructions
Make Eggplant Parm Balls
- Preheat oven on 375℉. Coat cubed eggplant and 5 large sliced garlic with 3 tbsp EVOO, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper powder. Bake it in single layer for 30 minutes. Toss it once after 15 minutes to ensure even baking.
- Once eggplant is baked, take it out of the oven and let it cool down a bit. Once ready, pulse it few times in food processor to get chunky texture.
- Take chunky baked eggplant out in a mixing bowl. Add rest of the ingredients listed under "Eggplant Parm Balls" including 1¼ cup of panko, DO NOT MIX lastly listed ¾ cup of panko. That much panko will be used for coating the eggplant balls later.
- Once eggplant parm ball mixture is ready, make 28 ish even sized balls. Coat them all with panko using rest of the ¾ cup of panko. I used 2 tbsp cookie dough scooper to ensure even sized balls.
- Heat up 3-4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a wide shallow non stick pan. Place each eggplant ball in the pan in single layer. Cook them all on all sides until they start to brown. Do not overcrowd the pan, you can cook in 2 pan or in 2 batches. Once done keep it aside.
Make Herby Ricotta
- In a food processor, pulse everything listed under "Herby Ricotta Mix" but ricotta and parmasan cheese. Once you have grainy herby mix in the food processor, add in both ricotta and parmesan cheese. Do few pulses until everything is well combined while the mixture is still somewhat grainy. Once done, keep it aside.
Make Sauce (skip if using store bought sauce as it is without any modifications)
- Heat 2 tbsp of EVOO in a pan. Add in 3 cloves of slices garlic with 1 tsp of red chili flake. Mix well and cook until garlic turns golden brown. Add in jarred pasta sauce in pan with 1 tsp of sugar. Rinse the sauce jar with ¼ cup of water and add it to the pan. Add in ¼ cup of finely chopped fresh basil, Mix all well and simmer for couple of minutes.
Assemble and bake
- Preheat oven on 375 ℉. In a wide shallow baking tray, add ⅓ of the sauce at the bottom in thin layer. Place prepared eggplant parm balls in single layer, without overcrowding them.
- Drizzle rest of the sauce on top of all eggplant parm balls making sure they are almost all covered in sauce.
- Now add in dollop of herby ricotta mix between each eggplant parm balls. Once it is all well assembled, cover it with aluminum foil and bake it for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, uncover and bake it for additional 5 minutes.
- Once done, enjoy it with buttery crusty bread!
