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You are here: Home / Specialty Diets / Gluten Free / Eggplant Meatballs in Marinara

Eggplant Meatballs in Marinara

4 Aprby Amy17

Prep Time: 5m
|
Total Time: 1h 21m
|
Gluten free
|
Vegetarian
|
Nut free

Eggplant Meatballs in Marinara Sauce is actually a meat-free recipe that is vegetarian and gluten-free.  This Eggplant Meatball recipe is made with roasted eggplant, creamy salty parmesan cheese, Italian breadcrumbs and fresh basil and parsley packed into a balls, and then lightly fried, served topped with marinara sauce. 

This Eggplant Meatball recipe is made with roasted eggplant, creamy salty parmesan cheese, Italian breadcrumbs and fresh basil and parsley packed into a balls, and then lightly fried, served topped with marinara sauce. | ahealthylifeforme.com

Oh lordy, look at me posting a fry em’ up recipe. Yep fried food, but, but, but wait just a minute before you leave.  Let me explain… this is eggplant meatballs!  Fried eggplant meatballs.  Is your mouth-watering?  Well, it should be!  These meatballs are… epic!  Yes, epic!

I could eat them every day!  The hubby could eat them every day, but he wouldn’t because he won’t eat leftovers, but that is a story for a different day.

This Eggplant Meatball recipe is made with roasted eggplant, creamy salty parmesan cheese, Italian breadcrumbs and fresh basil and parsley packed into a balls, and then lightly fried, served topped with marinara sauce. | ahealthylifeforme.com

After spending last weekend in Cleveland and enjoying my mother-n-laws Italian cooking, I came home with a hankering for cooking up my own classic homemade Italian recipes.  Ever since our trip to Italy I always associate eggplant with Italy.  The flavor combinations in the dish are all Italy.

This Eggplant Meatball recipe is made with roasted eggplant, creamy salty parmesan cheese, Italian breadcrumbs and fresh basil and parsley packed into a balls, and then lightly fried, served topped with marinara sauce. | ahealthylifeforme.com

Just one roasted medium eggplant will give you fourteen 2″ meatballs, and the perfect family dinner for everyone.  Served with a big leafy green salad and you have a great vegetarian, dinner and no one will feel deprived without protein.

This Eggplant Meatball recipe is made with roasted eggplant, creamy salty parmesan cheese, Italian breadcrumbs and fresh basil and parsley packed into a balls, and then lightly fried, served topped with marinara sauce. | ahealthylifeforme.com

This Eggplant Meatball recipe is made with roasted eggplant, creamy salty parmesan cheese, Italian breadcrumbs and fresh basil and parsley packed into a balls, and then lightly fried, served topped with marinara sauce. | ahealthylifeforme.com

I hope you give this recipe a try and if you do please share it with me! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #ahealthylifeforme. 

I am now on Snapchat, so come check out what I am doing today! Just take a picture of my Snapchat code {the image of the snapchat ghost below or in my sidebar} and add me by Snapcode!Amy Stafford Snapchat

This Eggplant Meatball recipe is made with roasted eggplant, creamy salty parmesan cheese, Italian breadcrumbs and fresh basil and parsley packed into a balls, and then lightly fried, served topped with marinara sauce. | ahealthylifeforme.com

Eggplant Meatballs in Marinara
Author: Amy Stafford
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 1 hour 16 mins
Total time: 1 hour 21 mins
Serves: 14
Eggplant Meatballs in Marinara Sauce is actually a meat-free recipe that is vegetarian and gluten free. This Eggplant Meatball recipe is made with roasted eggplant, creamy salty parmesan cheese, Italian breadcrumbs and fresh basil and parsley packed into a balls, and then lightly fried, served topped with marinara sauce.
Ingredients
  • 1 large purple eggplant {1 lb}
  • 2 large eggs, whisked
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 3 cups of gluten free Italian breadcrumbs
  • 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 cup gluten free all purpose flour
  • 3 cups vegetable oil {for frying}
  • 1-28 ounce can of marinara sauce
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 350°.
  2. Prick eggplant with fork and place on small baking sheet and bake for one hour.
  3. Remove from oven, let cool, cut eggplant in half lengthwise and using a spoon scoop out inside flesh, and mash. Discard skin.
  4. Meanwhile add marinara to a pan and heat over low heat until simmering.
  5. In a large bowl add eggs, whisk. Add garlic, salt, parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, herbs, and mashed eggplant.
  6. Using your hands press mixture together into 2”-2 1/2” size balls. Packing the mixture tightly together.
  7. Place vegetable oil in a medium frying pan and heat to 375°, over medium high heat.
  8. Place flour in a medium bowl and roll each ball in flour coating evenly. When oil is ready drop meatball carefully into oil. It should sizzle immediately.
  9. Working in batches add meatballs until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Using a spoon flip and cook other side an additional 2 minutes or until golden brown. They will brown up quickly. Transfer meatballs to simmering marinara sauce.
  10. Continue until all meatballs are added to marinara sauce and toss to coat, cooking until heated through completely about 10 minutes.
  11. Serve topped with additional parmesan cheese and basil.
3.5.3208

This Eggplant Meatball recipe is made with roasted eggplant, creamy salty parmesan cheese, Italian breadcrumbs and fresh basil and parsley packed into a balls, and then lightly fried, served topped with marinara sauce. | ahealthylifeforme.com

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This Eggplant Meatball recipe is made with roasted eggplant, creamy salty parmesan cheese, Italian breadcrumbs and fresh basil and parsley packed into a balls, and then lightly fried, served topped with marinara sauce. | ahealthylifeforme.com

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Under: Gluten Free, Main Dishes, Specialty Diets, Summer, Vegetarian 17 Comments

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Comments

  1. Ruthiejocat says

    October 31, 2016 at 1:53 pm

    Curious – do you discard the seeds?

    Reply
    • Amy says

      November 1, 2016 at 4:56 pm

      Hi Ruth, My eggplants were small so I didn’t have a lot of seeds. If you are using larger eggplants with a lot of seeds, I would discard them.

      Reply
  2. Jaime says

    November 1, 2016 at 8:39 pm

    How many meatballs per serving?

    Reply
    • Amy says

      November 4, 2016 at 2:20 pm

      This recipe makes roughly 14-2″ meatballs and the serving size on the nutritional label is per meatball.

      Reply
    • Cindy says

      November 5, 2017 at 11:40 am

      One. These were so good I Snacked on them all afternoon.

      Reply
  3. Marla says

    December 12, 2016 at 5:29 pm

    These were wonderful! I substituted nutritional yeast instead of the parmesan cheese and Panko bread crumbs with Italian seasoning. To save time I diced the eggplant, peelings off, and cooked it in salted boiling water for about 10 minutes and then drained and mashed them. I did not deep fry them but just fried them in a little olive oil and didn’t use the flour. My family loved them. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
    • Amy says

      December 15, 2016 at 11:43 am

      I am such a huge fan of Nutritional Yeast. I am starting to use it more and more in my recipes in place of Parmesan cheese. Thanks for coming back and letting me know what you thought of the recipe and the changes you made. Always good information for everyone when they go to try the recipe.

      Reply
  4. Brian says

    March 12, 2017 at 12:20 pm

    Hi what brand of gluten do you buy? Can you substitute TVP?

    Reply
    • Amy says

      March 18, 2017 at 12:52 pm

      Not sure I understand your question Brian. What do you mean by TVP?

      Reply
  5. Kristina says

    July 30, 2017 at 2:07 am

    Do these store well? Coukd I make these ahead of time and then fry just prior to eating? Or could I fry and redheat? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Amy says

      July 31, 2017 at 12:52 pm

      You could make them a day or two in advance and then finish cooking them before you want to eat them.

      Reply
  6. Diane says

    September 1, 2017 at 12:08 pm

    Has anyone frozen these? Someone gave me a bushel of eggplant yesterday so looking for recipes!

    Reply
  7. Joanna says

    September 1, 2017 at 5:25 pm

    Hi there. Do you know if you could prepare and freeze these? Without frying them first? I have a plethora of eggplants in my garden and I don’t want them to go uneaten!!!

    Reply
  8. Marina says

    September 18, 2017 at 2:25 am

    These sound delicious! My garden is overflowing with eggplant, and now I know what I’ll be making for tomorrow night’s dinner! Do you think these would freeze well? I’m hoping to make a HUGE batch, cook them up, and freeze for later.

    Reply
    • Amy says

      September 18, 2017 at 7:43 am

      Marina, I have not frozen them. I would give a small batch a try and if you find success go fit it. They are really delicious!
      Amy

      Reply
  9. Ana says

    April 10, 2018 at 11:43 am

    Just made this and it turned out AMAZING, the eggplant worked perfectly, seeds and all, and my husband couldn’t stop raving about the sauce.

    Reply
  10. Laura says

    September 15, 2018 at 6:19 pm

    Hi, I love this recipe. It’s my new favorite! These eggplant “meatballs” always turn out well. They hold their shape and always taste delicious! I don’t think I’ll ever mess with meaty meatballs again!

    Reply

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Hi, I am Amy, food photographer, recipe developer, food lover, organic garden maven, fitness nut and lover of Airedales. Please stay a while and explore. More >>

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