Spinach & Ricotta Aubergine (Eggplant) Rolls are the kind of dish that makes you rethink what comfort food looks like. They’re indulgent but wholesome, rich yet refreshing, and they cater to a wide range of diets without compromising on flavour. This recipe transforms soft slices of roasted aubergine into irresistible little parcels filled with a creamy spinach and ricotta mixture, all nestled in a homemade tomato and basil sauce. It’s a dish that feels familiar, like baked pasta, but skips the carbs and keeps things light without losing any of the satisfaction.
Whether you’re hosting a vegetarian dinner, meal prepping for the week, or just craving something hearty and nutritious, these aubergine rolls deliver on all fronts. They also reheat beautifully, making them ideal for batch cooking or easy weeknight meals.
Table of Contents
- Ingredient Breakdown
- Prepping the Aubergine Slices
- The Key to a Great Tomato and Basil Sauce
- Building the Filling
- Assembling Spinach & Ricotta Aubergine Rolls
- Serving Suggestions
- Fancy More Aubergine/Eggplant Recipes?
Ingredient Breakdown
- Aubergines: Sliced and roasted until soft, these become the ‘shell’ of the dish, replacing pasta.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: Used to coat the aubergine and sauté the aromatics.
- Sea salt & black pepper: Seasoning essentials for enhancing flavour at every stage.
- Sweet onion: Adds gentle sweetness to the tomato sauce base.
- Garlic cloves: Provides depth and aroma in both the sauce and filling.
- Double concentrated tomato purée: Intensifies the sauce and adds umami richness.
- Crushed tomatoes: The body of the sauce, bringing freshness and tang.
- Water: Helps loosen the sauce for a silky consistency.
- Sugar (optional): Balances acidity in the tomatoes if needed.
- Fresh basil: Torn and stirred into the sauce for herbaceous flavour.
- Fresh spinach: Blanched and chopped, it’s the bulk of the creamy filling.
- Ricotta: Soft, slightly sweet cheese that creates the creamy texture.
- Parmigiano Reggiano: Adds savoury sharpness and enhances both filling and topping.
- Lemon zest: Brightens the filling and lifts the overall flavour.
- Egg: Helps bind the filling so it holds inside the aubergine rolls.
- Flat-leaf parsley: Brings a fresh, grassy note to the mix.
- Nutmeg: A small amount goes a long way in complementing the spinach and cheese.
Prepping the Aubergine Slices
Preparing aubergine for rolling might sound straightforward, but a few tips can make the job far easier. Always slice lengthways and aim for consistency in thickness. If your slices are too thick, they’ll crack when rolled. Too thin, and they’ll tear under the weight of the filling. Half a centimetre is the sweet spot. Once sliced, a generous toss in olive oil, salt and pepper helps with roasting. You don’t need to salt the aubergines first to draw out moisture; modern varieties are far less bitter than they used to be.
Roasting brings out sweetness and softens the flesh enough to roll easily. A single layer on the tray ensures even browning, but a little overlap won’t hurt if you’re short on space. Flip them halfway through roasting to avoid uneven browning. Once they’re golden and pliable, let them cool completely. This makes them easier to handle without tearing.
The Key to a Great Tomato and Basil Sauce
Homemade tomato sauce forms the heart of Spinach & Ricotta Aubergine (Eggplant) Rolls, so it’s worth doing properly. Start with good-quality tinned tomatoes. Brands like Mutti or Cirio make all the difference. Cook the onions slowly until soft and translucent. This builds a savoury base without rushing the flavour. Adding tomato purée and allowing it to darken in the pan deepens the overall taste. Garlic goes in after the onions to prevent burning and bitterness.
Simmer the sauce with torn basil leaves so the flavours infuse gently. The end result should be thick but not dry, tangy but balanced. A small amount of sugar can round off any sharpness, depending on your tomatoes. Homemade sauce gives this dish its character and elevates it far above anything store-bought.
Building the Filling
A great filling is all about texture and flavour balance. For these Spinach & Ricotta Aubergine (Eggplant) Rolls, the ricotta should be thick and creamy. Avoid anything too watery. Draining it in a sieve for 10–15 minutes helps if needed. The spinach, once wilted, needs to be squeezed thoroughly. Too much moisture will make the filling runny and cause your rolls to collapse or leak.
Finely chopping the spinach gives a better texture and allows it to mix well with the cheeses and herbs. Lemon zest brightens the whole mixture, while nutmeg adds gentle warmth that works beautifully with ricotta. Don’t underestimate the fresh parsley and basil. They’re not just garnish; they lift everything. The filling should taste good on its own before it even hits the aubergine.
Assembling Spinach & Ricotta Aubergine Rolls
Once the prep is done, assembly becomes quite satisfying. Start with the thinner end of the aubergine slice facing you. Add a heaped teaspoon of filling, then roll it up snugly but not too tight. You want to avoid squeezing out the filling. Place the rolls seam-side down into the sauce, letting them nestle closely. This helps them hold shape while baking.
You’ll get around 30 rolls, depending on the size of your aubergines, and they should fit perfectly in a large shallow baking dish. Once assembled, they bake quickly. The sauce bubbles up, the aubergine edges turn golden, and everything melds into one irresistible, oven-baked dish.
Serving Suggestions
These Spinach & Ricotta Aubergine (Eggplant) Rolls can be served as a main with a simple green salad or crusty bread to mop up the sauce. They’re also excellent as a side for grilled fish or meat, making them an ideal addition to a summer dinner or festive table. If you want to keep the meal entirely vegetarian, pair them with a grain salad or something fresh like a citrus-dressed fennel slaw.
For leftovers, reheat gently in the oven until piping hot. The sauce protects the rolls from drying out, so they taste just as good the next day. You can even freeze them before baking, then cook from frozen for a convenient weeknight option.
Fancy More Aubergine/Eggplant Recipes?
Whether you call them aubergines or eggplants, here are some more recipes for you to try:
- Smoky Aubergine (Eggplant) Curry : An Indian-inspired, smoky aubergine curry that makes a very delicious meat-free dinner.
- Smoky Aubergine and Red Pepper Dip (Eggplant): My take on kyopolou, a delicious Bulgarian aubergine dip. It’s smoky and a little zingy and you can serve it as a dip, spread, condiment or salad
- Miso Aubergine: Effortless and simple, yet packed with Japanese-inspired flavour.
- Aubergine (Eggplant) and Tomato Pasta: Rosemary roasted aubergine in a rich tomato sauce, perfect for a midweek meal.
If you’d like to see how I make all these recipes and more, head on over to my Instagram!
Spinach & Ricotta Aubergine Rolls
Stuffed pasta shells, but make it low-carb, gluten-free and keto-friendly. This recipe swaps pasta shells for roasted aubergine slices, which are filled with a herby spinach and ricotta mixture and baked in a tasty homemade tomato sauce.
This recipe calls for homemade sauce but in a pinch you could use your favourite store-bought sauce. I recommend going with the homemade version though. It’s more effort, yes, but I promise you it’s worth it!
To make things easier, both the aubergine slices and tomato sauce can be prepared the day before. In fact, you can make the whole dish a day in advance, up until before it goes into the oven. All you then need to do the following day is bring it to room temperature and bake it.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
- Category: Vegetarian
Ingredients
For the aubergine slices:
- 3 large aubergines (approx. 250g each)
- 3 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp freshly-ground black pepper
For the tomato and basil sauce:
- extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 sweet onion, finely chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 45 g double concentrated tomato purée
- 2 x 400g tins good-quality whole or crushed tomatoes (I use Mutti)
- 400 ml water
- 1 tsp sugar, optional
- 20 g fresh basil leaves, divided
For the filling:
- 350 g fresh spinach (not baby spinach)
- 175 g ricotta
- 50 g parmigiano reggiano, grated
- ½ lemon, zest only
- 1 medium egg
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 15 g fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 15 g fresh basil, finely chopped
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp freshly-ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
Roasting the aubergine
- Heat your oven to 200℃ on the fan setting. It’s the best setting to use when baking or roasting things on different levels. Line two extra-large baking trays with greaseproof paper.
- Remove the aubergine stalks and cut the aubergines lengthways into ½ cm-thick slices (approx.). Transfer the aubergine slices to a large bowl. Add the extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and toss well to coat.
- Spread the aubergine slices out onto the greaseproof paper-lined baking trays. A little overlap is ok, but ideally you want them in a single layer. Roast for 25 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until softened and lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
Making the sauce
- You can skip this step if you’re using shop-bought sauce; I recommend making your own though! While the aubergine slices are roasting, heat a splash of extra-virgin olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the sweet onion and season with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute, then add the tomato purée. Cook, stirring frequently, until the paste begins to darken, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the tinned tomatoes, water, sugar (if using) and half of the basil leaves. I leave the leaves whole, but feel free to roughly tear them. Season with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper and stir to combine.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 mins, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the sauce from the heat. Tear in the remaining basil leaves and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning, then transfer the sauce to an oven proof dish. I used a wide, shallow 3-litre casserole dish.
Making the filling
- While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of water to the boil and season very generously with salt. Add the spinach and cook until it’s just wilted, around 2 minutes.
- Drain well and allow the spinach to cool. Squeeze out all of the liquid and roughly chop the spinach.
- In a medium bowl, combine the chopped spinach with the remaining filling ingredients. Set aside.
Assembling the dish
- Heat your oven to 220℃ / fan 200c. Lay one of the aubergine slices on a chopping board, thinner end facing you. Place a heaped teaspoon of the filling on the thinner end then roll the aubergine – from the thinner end to the thicker end – so that the filling is encased.
- Place the aubergine roll in the tomato sauce, seam-side down. Repeat with the remaining aubergine slices and filling. You should end up with around 30 rolls, all sitting snuggly in the sauce.
- Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the aubergine is golden brown on top and the sauce is bulling. Remove from the oven and let rest 5 mins. Top with grated parmigiano reggiano, serve and enjoy!
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