The other day, my son was talking about spaghetti and meatballs…and so with that on my mind, I perused the fridge and saw a handful of small eggplants in the veggie drawer. One thing led to another, and a little less than an hour later, we were eating a fun vegetarian take on Spaghetti and Meatballs! The “meatballs” themselves had a texture that was a lot closer to a meat meatball than I thought it would, and the eggplant flavour shone through in an Eggplant Parmesan type way.
We then simmered our eggplant “meatballs” in tomato sauce and served over spaghetti…but these would also go well on a vegetarian meatball sub!
Time: 40 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Large Eggplant
- 2 Eggs
- Seasoned Bread Crumbs
Method:
- Cut the top and bottom ends off your eggplant.
- Use a box grater or the fine shredding plate of your food processor to grate your eggplant, and then transfer it into a mixing bowl.
- Crack and add in two eggs, and then pour in bread crumbs. Stir to combine, and add more bread crumbs as necessary until your mixture can stick together and form firm “meatballs.”
- Pick what cooking method you are using (we did air fryer)
- Air Fryer – Form your “meatballs” and arrange on your frying mesh. Give a quick oil spray on top, and cook at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes (flipping part way through).
- Conventional Oven – Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Cover a baking sheet with some foil, and give it a quick oil spray to prevent sticking. Then arrange your “meatballs” atop, give them a quick oil spray, and bake for 25-30 minutes (flipping part way through cooking).
- Use your meatballs in whatever way you like. We simmered some tomato sauce and then added the meatballs to coat them in sauce.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
