The fried eggplant meatballs are absolutely my favorite version of meatballs! It’s a dish my mother-in-law Lina often made for me – eggplant meatballs in Neapolitan “le Mulignane” – how delicious, take note of the recipe right away because these are the best eggplant meatballs!!!
A very simple recipe, which can be prepared both as a main course and as a snack for an appetizer. If you make them smaller, they are a great finger food to enrich buffets or aperitifs with friends.
If you want to serve the meatballs as an appetizer, you can make them smaller (about the size of a walnut) and then serve them skewered on a long toothpick.
Eggplant meatballs are a preparation that always attracts everyone’s attention, regardless of age or level of appetite, so they are one of the culinary proposals with which you hardly go wrong.
To make these meatballs, the eggplants are cooked in a pan with a little oil for about 10 minutes. With this technique, without boiling, the eggplants do not absorb water, so you don’t need to add too much breadcrumbs that would make them dry.
The eggplant meatballs in this way come out flavorful, very soft but not mushy.
You can cook the eggplant meatballs in the oven, in an air fryer, or fry them.
The result will be excellent in any case, if you bake them, remember to turn them halfway through the cooking time to get a crispy, golden, and uniform breading.
Don’t miss the delicious variant of Stuffed Eggplants.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 12 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Frying, Air Frying, Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
- Energy 146.56 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 9.85 (g) of which sugars 1.40 (g)
- Proteins 5.43 (g)
- Fat 9.80 (g) of which saturated 2.23 (g)of which unsaturated 5.46 (g)
- Fibers 1.42 (g)
- Sodium 281.76 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 50 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 for Eggplant Meatballs
- 21 oz eggplants
- 1 egg
- 4 slices stale bread (without crust or pacarrè)
- 4 tablespoons parmesan
- as needed breadcrumbs
- leaves basil
- salt
- pepper
- as needed olive oil
- as needed peanut oil (for frying)
- 3.5 oz smoked scamorza (or provola or mozzarella)
- 1 clove garlic
Tools
- Bowl
- Frying Pan
- Absorbent Paper
- Skimmer
- Lid
Steps for Eggplant Meatballs
Wash the eggplants and dry them, remove the stalk, cut into cubes, and fry in a non-stick pan with a little oil, the garlic in its skin, and salt.
Cook for about 10/12 minutes until they become soft, covering with a lid.
In a large bowl, place the crumb of stale bread, previously soaked with water and well squeezed, the grated cheese, salt, pepper, the egg, and the sautéed cubes, mix everything well.
Knead with your hands, add breadcrumbs until you have a well-combined dough (I added 2 level tablespoons).
(The amount of breadcrumbs may vary).
Form the meatballs, placing a piece of scamorza cheese in the center.
Roll the meatballs in breadcrumbs and fry in a pan a few at a time, for 3-4 minutes, turning them often until golden brown.
Tips (You can also prepare them in advance and store them in the fridge until it’s time to cook them).
Drain them and place them on a sheet of kitchen absorbent paper.
Serve immediately, they are also good at room temperature.
Enjoy your meal.
Notes and Tips
For oven cooking.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and put a bit of oil, roll the meatballs to coat them well. Cook in a preheated oven at 356°F (180°C) with fan setting for about 20-25 minutes, turning them for the last 10 minutes to brown them well on all sides. Serve hot, they are also excellent cold.
In air fryer 375°F (190°C) for 13-15 minutes.
They can be frozen raw without breadcrumbs, once slowly thawed in the fridge, they are rolled in breadcrumbs and fried or baked.
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