Baby Eggplant Parmigiana is a fun dish that's so easy to make! Begin by oven-roasting small, hollowed-out baby eggplants and generously stuffing them with a trio of cheeses. Then bake in the oven until all the cheese is melted and gooey. This is a breadless eggplant parm, making it gluten-free and low-carb.
These petite eggplants are the size of eggs and have tender flesh. What's more, their skin is entirely edible.
This was inspired by my Roasted Baby Eggplant Poppers and my Traditional French Ratatouille made with baby eggplants.
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What You Need
Baby Eggplant Parmigiana starts with tiny eggplants. They could be hard to find so try your local specialty shop. I got these at the Redland Market Village, a giant produce bazaar in the north part of Homestead, Florida.
You can also try Indian grocery stores or Chinese grocery stores.
- Baby eggplants
- Olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Parsley
- Ricotta
- Mozzarella
- Parmesan or Romano (Locatelli) Cheese
- Marinara Sauce
- Fresh basil for garnish
How to Roast Mini Eggplants
The small eggplants must be washed carefully. You can cut the stems off or make sure you clean under the stem to get dust off inside there.
As you cut the eggplants in half, they will start to discolor. Don't worry about it!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Slice each little eggplant in half. Scoop out the seeds with a small spoon or melon baller.
Brush each eggplant lightly all over with olive oil.
Place all eggplants with the cut side down on the pan.
Roast for 10 minutes or until tender.
In a medium bowl, mix ricotta with chopped parsley and parmesan cheese.
Stuff each eggplant half with the cheese mixture.
Hand-grate mozzarella cheese with a box grater for best results.
Top each eggplant half with a tablespoon of shredded mozzarella.
Place back in the oven for 4 or 5 minutes until cheese is hot and melted.
When cool enough to handle, plate the eggplant.
Serve with marinara sauce and garnish with fresh basil leaves.
Hint: Serve these tiny eggplants as an appetizer or side dish. When they come out of the oven they are very hot and soft. Let the pieces cool for 5 minutes so the filling tightens a bit and they become more manageable.
This eggplant parm is gluten-free, grain-free, and vegetarian.
I seasoned the ricotta cheese with parsley. You can use also chopped basil leaves.
Variations
EGGPLANTS There is another variety of tiny eggplants called Fairy Tale Eggplants. They are about 3 inches long and have white stripes. They could be used in place of the purple eggplants for eggplant parmigiana.
SPICE For a little extra spice, you can top each eggplant half with chili pepper flakes or some hot sauce.
CHEESE I made this recipe with Locatelli Cheese, which is an Italian grass-fed Romano cheese made with sheep's milk. You can use your favorite Parmesan cheese in its place.
MARINARA I use Carbone Marinara Sauce. There is no sugar added to the recipe and it's all natural. It also tastes great! You can pick it up at Publix in Florida and most large grocery chains.
Storage
Store the eggplant in a single layer in an airtight container for 2-3 days in the refrigerator.
These eggplant appetizers should not be frozen.
Conclusion
These keto baby eggplant parmigiana appetizers are ready in 20 minutes.
I serve them with Carbone Marinara, an all-natural high-end pasta sauce. If you haven't tried it, give it a shot. It tastes great!
Little tiny eggplants are the size of an egg and are sometimes hard to find. You can check gourmet stores and/or Indian or Chinese markets.
This miniature eggplant recipe is fun to make and even more fun to eat.
FAQ
Mini eggplants are the size of eggs.
Yes, baby eggplants are good to eat. The flesh and skin are very tender so you can eat the whole thing.
"📖 Recipe"
Baby Eggplant Parmigiana
Ingredients
- 1 pound baby eggplants, 8-12 pieces halved
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
- 1 cup ricotta
- 1 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup parmesan or Locatelli cheese
- cup marinara sauce
- fresh basil leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit with rack set in v=center of oven.
- Prepare a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Slice each little eggplant in half. Scoop out the seeds with a small spoon or melon baller. Brush each eggplant lightly all over with olive oil. Place all eggplants with the cut side down on the pan. Roast for 10 minutes or until tender.
- In a medium bowl, mix ricotta with chopped parsley and parmesan cheese. Season with a little salt and pepper. Stuff each roasted eggplant half with the cheese mixture.
- Top each eggplant half with a tablespoon of shredded mozzarella. Place the pan back in the oven for 4 or 5 minutes until the cheese is hot and melted.
- Let cool on baking sheet until cool enough to handle. Serve with warm marinara sauce and garnish with basil leaves.
Notes
Nutrition
More Gluten-Free Veggies
Looking for some more healthy sides? Try these:
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