Blast of Italian flavour!

Are you craving some baked and bubbly cheese and meat? Here is a quick recipe for some simple Italian food with a spicy twist, using ingredients that are easily available in your kitchen. This low-carb recipe makes for about 10 to 12 Rollatini, happily serving your family a meal or an entrée for a party.  This is a dish that has made quite a few guests go “Wow!”

Italian Rollatini

  • Servings: 4 (12 pieces)
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Print


  1. 1 Egg plant- Thinly sliced, lengthwise
  2. Extra virgin Olive oil- 1 or 2 tbsp
  3. Minced meat (or Italian sausage)- 2 cups
  4. Pickled Jalapeno slices- ½ cup
  5. 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
  6. ½ cup Parmesan cheese
  7. 1 cup cream cheese
  8. Parsley- for garnish
  9. Spicy Marinara sauce
  10. Salt
  11. Freshly ground black pepper


Step One

Slice the eggplant lengthwise (quarter inch thickness), to about 10 to 12 slices. Lightly salt the slices and leave it aside for about 10 mins. Remove the excess moisture released from the slices with a tissue paper. Once the eggplant slices are pat dried, brush or spray some olive oil on both sides, season with salt and grill both sides for about 10 mins. Remove the grilled slices and keep it aside to cool.

Step Two

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Step Three

In a medium skillet, heat some olive oil to brown the minced meat, for about 5 minutes on medium heat or until it is cooked. In case of using a sausage, use a wooden spoon to break it up as it cooks. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the meat into a bowl. Once it cools, mix in the cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and some chopped jalapeno.

Step Four

Take a baking dish and create a base using the spicy marinara sauce. Roll up a grilled eggplant slice by placing a heaping tablespoon of the meat and jalapeno filling in the center; repeat the process to form 10 to 12 rolls.  Place the rolls in rows, seam-side down into a baking dish. Put a teaspoon of marinara sauce on each roll. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese on the rolls. Place a slice of jalapeno on each roll. Bake for around 20 minutes; until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

Step Five

Garnish with some parsley and serve.

Please Note: The Rollatini is a dish that is slightly on the heavier side. If you are planning this as a part of the menu, then make sure that the other dishes are chosen accordingly.

Preparing this dish can get slightly messy as the egg-plant and cheese need to hold up together.

Egg-plant can be replaced by Zucchini for those of you who are looking for other options.

Make sure that the dish is served and consumed while it is hot. On cooling, the cheese may harden and reduce the “burst-of-flavour” impact that it usually has.


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