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This hearty Eggplant Meatball recipe makes it easy to add more nutritious veggies into your life, without sacrificing on taste. Made gluten-free, and optionally dairy-free, this eggplant meatball dish is a cross between eggplant parm and traditional meatballs. They’re simple to make and perfect for meatless Mondays!
Healthy Eggplant Meatballs
These Eggplant Meatballs are the real deal! They’re hearty, with just the right “meaty” texture. They aren’t a true 1-1 substitute for beef meatballs, but instead, they’re a really delicious alternative that tastes a little reminiscent of eggplant parmesan! Made with real whole foods, and just a few simple ingredients, they make a great healthy meal on a weeknight! Plus, they’re also gluten-free and optionally dairy-free so they can be loved by everyone!
Eggplant Meatball Ingredients
- Eggplant
- Garlic
- Almond Flour
- Egg
- EVOO + Spices
Substitutes
Can’t have nuts but still want to make this? Instead of almond flour, use gluten-free or traditional panko breadcrumbs.
Eggs
We haven’t tested this without eggs, but there is a good chance that flax eggs will work.
How to Make Eggplant Meatballs
The first step in making the meatballs is to cook the peeled and diced eggplant! You can either steam it, or you can boil it. You want it to be just fork tender. After it’s cooked you can squeeze out the eggplant in a clean kitchen towel or press out the eggplant in a strainer to remove excess liquid.
The next step is to combine the eggplant with all the rest of the ingredients to a bowl and mix it up well. The mixture is soft, but can easily be shaped. If you are having trouble achieving the shape, add in 1 tablespoon more of almond flour at a time until you can easily make a meatball shape with it. Once it is the right consistency, you can use a cookie scoop or a spoon, to scoop out about 2 heaping tablespoons of the mixture and gently form it into a ball.
Next, it’s time to bake! While it’s baking, you can make a super simple tomato sauce. If you are pressed for time, you can also serve this with a good-quality store-bought marinara, too.
Once the meatballs are tender and firm to touch, they’re done! Gently toss together the meatballs and the sauce, and serve over noodles of choice.
How to Serve Eggplant Meatballs
There are so many ways to serve these veggie meatballs! For a light and plant-forward dinner, serve with spiralized vegetables such as zucchini noodles! Or you can serve them with your pasta-of-choice.
Go a little non-conventional and serve over a salad, or with rice or even on their own with the sauce!
Watch the video here:
If you like this eggplant recipe, check out these others:
- Healthy Eggplant Parm Bites
- Eggplant Lasagna Rollatini
- Roasted Eggplant Dip
- Tomato, Eggplant, and Chickpea Stew
Eggplant Meatballs
Ingredients
For Meatballs
- 1 medium-size eggplant about 1-½ pounds, peeled and chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 - 4 tablespoons almond flour
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese optional
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- For Easy Tomato Sauce
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Fresh basil for garnish
- Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Set aside.
- Add eggplant to a medium pot of boiling water and cook until a fork can easily pierce the eggplant, about 8-10 minutes. Drain eggplant well. Either squeeze out the eggplant in a clean kitchen towel or press out the eggplant in a strainer to remove excess liquid.
- Transfer eggplant to a bowl and add in the garlic, almond flour, parmesan cheese (if using), egg, olive oil and spices. Mix well.
- Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, scoop out about 2 tablespoons of mixture and gently form into a bowl. The mixture is soft, but can easily be shaped. If you are having trouble achieving the shape, add in 1 tablespoon more of almond flour at a time until you can easily make a meatball shape with it.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until tender and firm to touch.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce: heat oil and garlic in a medium pot. Add in onion and let cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. Add in remaining sauce ingredients, and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Gently toss together the meatballs and the sauce, and serve over noodles of choice.
Notes
- Recipe originally published in 2014, and republished in 2020.
I love eggplant… these were too mushy. There are many better ways to use eggplant!
There are absolutely delicious! And my husband, who isn’t much for veggies, loved them as well. Thank you for the recipe!
This recipe looks and sounds delicious. What is the approximate size of one of your meatballs? Is the nutrition information you provide for a single serving? How many meatballs are in a serving?
Has anyone tried leaving the skin on? There are so many nutrients in the skin. I’m going to dice smaller before steaming and give it a try.
Loved these! Fun way to eat more veggies. Served with Raos Marinara.
I never liked eggplant but these were delicious and seemed very much like real meatballs. The key is to get ALL the moisture out. I use a milk nut bag and squeeze till there’s not a single drip left. Be aware once you cook and drain the eggplant there isn’t much left. I ended up using 3 eggplants for a yield of 19 small-medium size meatballs. She says 2-4 tablespoons of almond flour and I used about 10 for 3 eggplants, as well as the optional parmesan, and they formed very easily and kept their shape. The folks who have trouble forming them didn’t get all the moisture out I believe, just draining won’t do it. My Italian fiancé loved them! This is going to be added to the regular rotation for us. Even with the prep of the eggplant this was a very easy recipe. I used good jar sauce instead of the one in the recipe and served over penne.
WOW! These were so yummy. I actually made them because my daughter is a vegetarian and when she comes home from college I like to make an option she can eat. I do eat clean but I could have ground chicken or turkey. I don’t want that anymore. This was sooooo yummy. Thanks Lexi for another great recipe! She’s zooming now and hasn’t tried them yet but I know she will love them as much as I did!
are you using the whole eggplant including skin or just the flesh? its not clear in directions
Hi Marina! It addresses this in both the post and the directions. The recipe calls for peeled and diced eggplant 🙂
These turned out amazing! I followed the recipe exactly – used 4 T almond flour. Are these with some Raos sauce and quinoa. So so good! Will definitely be making these again! (Maybe weekly)
Hi- how many ounces is a medium and large eggplant
These are so good and pretty easy to make! Mine actually held together better than expected– delicious either way
I would like the nutrition information please: sounds delicious
Hi There,
I was wondering if you had the nutritional information for these? They look awesome!
I just made these for the first time. I used a large eggplant and sadly ran out of almond meal flour so I added some gluten free bread crumbs. They were absolutely DELISH. I cannot wait to make them again & again & again. I’m about to start my dietetic internship at Georgia Southern University and you better believe I will be taking this recipe with me!
So happy you liked them!!
Wondering if you could substitute something in for the egg. My son is allergic to eggs but he would love this!
Wondering if coconut flour is ok to use
Just made these tonight they are soooooo good! I left out the almond meal and used just Parmesan cheese to bind it. It was like egg plant parmigiana. Seriously good stuff. Served it with Rao’s special blend pasta sauce that only has 2 carbs and zoodles. Thank you for this!
I made these last night and they were fabulous! I was worried that they were too moist because I had to spoon my “meatballs” onto my cookie sheet but they held together well after they were baked. Quick question: have you tried freezing them? I was thinking about making a bigger batch and freezing them if they held up well. Thanks!
I haven’t but I bet they’d do well being frozen! Glad you liked!! XO
Kate – Did you try freezing them? Have just picked a few eggplant from my garden, and this would be a great way to use them. Thanks.
Was wondering if you think putting the eggplant in a good processor before making the balls would help it to form better?
These were fabulous!! Mine held together much better than I had expected. I actually thought they tasted quite like meat too. Thank you for creating and sharing this recipe!