1 ½ pounds eggplant (unpeeled, cut into 1” cubes (you should have 8 cups))
¼ cup water
1 cup grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese
½ cup fresh Italian parsley leaves and tender stems (chopped)
¼ cup fresh basil (chopped)
4 eggs (beaten (you can use between 2-4 eggs, but I like to use 4 for extra protein and to hold the meatballs together better))
1 ½ cups dried breadcrumbs (you can use 1 cup, but the meatballs will be much softer)
1/8 teaspoon of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper
½ recipe of Marinara Sauce (recipe below, or about 3 cups of sauce)
Steps
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Warm olive oil and sauté garlic until just fragrant and barely starting to lightly brown, about 30 seconds. Add eggplant and water. Reduce heat to low and cover the skillet. Allow eggplant to steam until soft, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, if you have time.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
Place the eggplant mixture in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until well chopped, but not pureed. Or just do this on a cutting board with a knife.
Transfer eggplant to a large mixing bowl and add cheese, parsley, basil, eggs, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Stir mixture well to combine using your hands or a wooden spoon. The mixture can be refrigerated at this point, covered for up to a day. It is easier to roll into meatballs when the mixture is cooled down. (If doing so, preheat the oven 30 minutes before baking the meatballs.)
Roll mixture into 1 ½ ” balls and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, or until firm on the outside and light brown underneath.
Transfer meatballs to a large saucepan with marinara sauce and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Reviews
Norah on 2022-01-13 (5 stars): Just wanted to thank you for this fantastic recipe. I've made these countless times exactly as written - the only thing I add is some fennel seed (always adds something to meatballs), a pinch of red pepper flakes and some lemon zest. I like to make eggplant parm sandwiches with tomato sauce and melted mozzarella cheese. My husband (who is very much a carnivore) gobbles them down.
Claudette on 2021-03-15 (5 stars): We absolutely love this recipe! What would you do if your sous chef got excited and prepared the mixture but added the sauce (by mistake) before forming the balls. Which ingredient(s) would you add to solve this hiccup? :) asking for a friend of course lol
Mickey on 2021-02-02 (5 stars): My friend recommended this recipe to me so I bought my eggplant and made it the next day. I was not disappointed! I made 38 balls which were plenty big. I made homemade GF breadcrumbs. I added oregano.
i combined all of the ingredients in my food processor with a few pulses. I used one jar of marinara from Costco (3 1/2 cups) but i needed more sauce for all of the balls...so I only put about 2/3 of the balls in the sauce. I served it over my homemade noodles. Wow, are these good! You'd never know it was made with eggplant! DE-licious!
Noelle on 2020-12-19 (5 stars): Wow! One of the friends I swim with made these and mentioned how yummy they were. So I made them the next night and my husband - who rarely comments on the things I make - LOVED them! I"ll definitely add these to our dinner rotation! Thanks for the amazing recipes!
