The eggplant meatballs are a tasty finger food, easy and quick to serve as an appetizer or to enrich a buffet. If you have tried the zucchini meatballs and the broccoli meatballs, then you can’t miss this simple and egg-free variant. Yes, these delicious meatballs are made with eggplants, grated cheese, and breadcrumbs. Usually, eggs are added to bind the mixture. In this recipe, however, the water contained in the eggplants, released after cooking in the air fryer, is used: practical, quick, and without fat. If you don’t have one, you can also roast the eggplants in the oven.
Once the eggplants are cooked and peeled, all the other ingredients are combined until a compact and homogeneous mixture is obtained. Don’t worry, nothing is blended: everything is mixed with a fork or spoon if you don’t want to get your hands dirty, but you can also knead with them. To make this finger food even more delicious, I added a cube of scamorza cheese inside the meatballs, which will have a super gooey center once cooked. You can also choose to fry them as in my version, or opt for baking in the oven, air fryer, or pan. What do you say, shall we prepare them together? Then follow me in the kitchen, because the eggplant meatballs without eggs will be ready in a click!
If you’re interested in other meatball recipes, also read:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 3 people
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Summer
- Energy 259.63 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 19.43 (g) of which sugars 4.22 (g)
- Proteins 11.23 (g)
- Fat 15.56 (g) of which saturated 4.09 (g)of which unsaturated 7.70 (g)
- Fibers 3.46 (g)
- Sodium 236.45 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 90 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant
- 1/2 cup g grated Parmesan
- 1/2 cup g breadcrumbs
- pepper (to taste)
- 1.5 oz g smoked scamorza cheese
- vegetable oil (as needed)
- breadcrumbs (as needed for breading)
Tools
- Air Fryer
- Frying Pan
- Bowl
- Cutting Board
- Knife
Steps
First, wash an eggplant, dry it very well with paper towels, and place it in the fryer basket. Cook at 374°F for 25 minutes. If you opt for oven cooking, place the eggplant on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 356°F for 40 minutes. The eggplant is cooked when it is soft when pierced with a fork.
After the cooking time, take the eggplant, peel it, and extract the pulp. Then put it in a bowl and add breadcrumbs, grated cheese, and pepper. As you may have noticed, I didn’t add salt to the ingredients because the amount of cheese is sufficient. Then mix all the ingredients with your hands or a fork until you get a homogeneous and compact mixture.
Then cut the scamorza cheese into cubes and set it aside. Take some of the mixture, flatten it slightly with your hands or a fork, and place a cube of scamorza cheese or other cheese of your choice in the center. Close the mixture well and roll it in your hands to form the meatballs. Then roll them in breadcrumbs and fry them in hot oil.
When the meatballs are well browned, drain them on paper towels and serve.
Variations and Tips
Eggplant meatballs are best consumed freshly made, but they can be stored in the refrigerator in a container with a lid for one or two days. You can also cook the meatballs in a pan, oven, or air fryer.
You can also freeze the meatballs raw and fry them later. In this case, I recommend frying them while still frozen.
As a substitute for Parmesan, you can use Pecorino cheese. If you want to add an egg, I recommend letting the eggplant release water after cooking in the fryer or oven. Transfer the pulp to a strainer and press it with a fork or the back of a spoon until you get a puree.
