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We frequently schedule meatballs as part of our weekly meal plan, as they are a great option when it comes to a weight loss program. First of all, one batch of meatballs serves you for several lunches and dinners. More importantly, once you realize that “spaghetti and…” are not actually the words that always precede “meatballs”, you’ll find that they can be a great source of protein, low in calories, and fit in with almost any weight loss plan.

For years I’ve prepared my meatballs with ground turkey, and only at the holidays shifting to a beef/pork mixture. But lately I’ve decided to try a new, even healthier option — roasted eggplant meatballs. They take a little more time, and a little more care, but in terms of taste and texture they’re a great alternative to actual “meat” balls.

Ingredients (Yields 24 meatballs)

• 1 lb chopped eggplant
• 1 yellow onion
• 1/4 cup part-skim milk ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup plain Japanese-style bread crumbs
• 1 large brown egg
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp fresh basil
• salt/pepper to taste

Preparing The Eggplant

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Chop the eggplant into equal sized cubes. Since most meatball recipes call for 1 lb of meat, I try to make sure I’ve got 1 lb of chopped eggplant, meaning I will actually weigh either the chopped eggplant or at least the whole eggplant at the store. If you’re weighing the whole eggplant, obviously take into account that you’ll be discarding the stem.

Slice the onion into large pieces as well. Crush or thinly slice the garlic clove and add it as well, along with salt and pepper.

Spread out the mixture in a single-layer on a prepared baking sheet (I prefer foil and cooking spray) and bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees, stirring at least once midway.

Assuming the eggplant is tender and the onion is softened with some darker edges, remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes.

When you finished roasting the eggplant at 425 degrees, turn the oven down to 350 so as to have it ready to bake your meatballs.

Making The Mix

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Place the eggplant and onion into food processor and grind until well blended. You’re especially looking to see the eggplant skin broken down.

From this point you can continue to make the mix right in your food processor, or remove the eggplant/onion to a bowl and mix everything by hand. I normally make my meatballs by hand, but because this mix is a bit looser, I’ve tried it both ways. I’ve found it makes no difference in taste nor texture, so it’s just personal preference.

First, add the cheeses: 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan and 1/4 cup of part-skim milk ricotta cheese. If in making these meatballs you find them too soft for your liking, you can cut down on the ricotta. After the cheese, add one large egg and mix well.

Next add 1 tablespoon each of fresh parsley and basil. If you haven’t tried the squeeze bottle version of these yet, let me recommend them. They’re great time savers and I don’t find there’s any taste sacrifice. But if you’re someone who prefers to go to chopping, then feel free.

Last step is salt and pepper to taste, and then 1 cup of plain Japanese-style bread crumbs. I’d recommend about 1 tbsp of salt and 1/2 or less of that of pepper, but it’s personal preference.

Let’s Roll

When it comes to the Panko, after you’ve blended the mix it should hold together when rolling in your hands but much more like a soft cookie dough than your regular meatball mix. If it feels too loose to you, feel free to sprinkle on a bit more Panko and remix.

I’ve found that this amount of mixture should yield about 24 meatballs. If you’re accustomed to larger (golf ball) sized meatballs, you’ll only get around 15-17, but I highly recommend that you aim for smaller balls. They’ll cook faster and more thoroughly.

I’ve tried baking these on foil lined pans sprayed generously with cooking spray, and even in that situation I’ve had a bit of a struggle with sticking. However once I switched to using parchment paper I found that solved the problem almost completely. So bake by whichever method you feel comfortably, but here’s my strong recommendation that you give parchment a try.

Let’s Bake

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This is probably the trickiest step in this process, especially because the mix is somewhat soft to start. Our purpose here is to get the meatballs baked, yes, but especially to focus on baking an outer shell on them. This requires turning then on the pan, and keeping them from sticking.

Total baking time will be about 25 minutes. Begin with 10 minutes initially, to try to get that first good “crust” on one side of your ball, and then turn each ball (and the pan). Cook for another 10 minutes to get a second nicely browned side.

After that, try to turn the balls on an angle so as to put them on a third side and cook for an additional five minutes.

Laying On The Sauce

If you’ve baked the meatballs through, and sealed them in a bit of a solid outer shell, they should be ready to stand up to sauce in the way any other meatball would.

Meaning, if you normally put your meatballs in a skillet with sauce for a few minutes before serving, that’ll work. Personally, I like to take my meatballs and let them cook in sauce over low heat for several hours before serving… and that has worked out wonderfully with these eggplant meatballs.

In fact, I’ve found that when reheating them the next day, after a night in the fridge stored in sauce, they’re even better… as they tend to absorb sauce even more than than the “meat” balls themselves do.

Serving Suggestions

A few serving suggestions. First, we’ve found that these meatballs are surprisingly filling. We’ve found that a four-meatball serving is plenty for a meal. And at 30 calories per meatball (before sauce and cheese) that’s a pretty low-call meal!

The meatballs go great with roasted zucchini, or riced cauliflower if you’re really trying to keep the calories down. We haven’t tried them with pasta yet, but if someone does I’d love to hear how it goes for you.

Don’t skimp on the sauce. These meatballs really take on sauce well, even more so than traditional meatballs. So whether your favorite sauce is your grandmother’s recipe (guilty!) or from a jar, I’d recommend having that favorite on hand the first time you try this recipe.