10 Eggplant Pasta Recipes from Italy

Here in Italy, eggplant (melanzane in Italian) is a typical Southern Italian ingredient which is used in lots of traditional dishes, many of which have become well-known in other countries too. Some of the best melanzane recipes include pasta. Below you’ll find a selection of 10 eggplant pasta recipes from Italy that are mostly vegetarian, except for one with fish and one with nduja!

A little eggplant history.

The origin of eggplant (which is actually a fruit) is said to be Pakistan and India where it grows wild. It has been also cultivated there and other parts of Southern Asia, and in China for thousands of years.

Food history tells us that the Arabs were the first to bring eggplant to Europe, the Persians took it to Africa and the Spanish introduced it to the New World. By the 1800s both purple and white eggplants were being cultivated in American gardens.

Different names for eggplant.

In USA and Australia, they call it eggplant, because of its shape and the fact that the first eggplants brought to English speaking countries were white. But, in other countries the name differs. In the UK, France, Germany and Holland it’s an aubergine. Whereas, in most of Asia, the name derives from Arabic and is some form of brinjal or brinjaul.

In Italian, eggplant is melanzane, which people thought meant ‘mela insana’, meaning mad apple or unhealthy apple! This gave rise to a belief in the past that they caused insanity and other illnesses! But, actually the word comes from the botanical Latin melongēna.

Italian eggplant types.

So, as I mentioned above it was the Arabs who first brought eggplants to Europe, particularly Southern Italy and Spain. Sicily was actually an Islamic Emirate from 831-1091 AD. So, as you can imagine, the Arabs influenced Sicilian cuisine and agriculture. In fact, in Western Sicily, couscous is a traditional dish.

Nowadays, there are a number of eggplant varieties said to be originally Sicilian. These include the oval zebra or graffiti eggplants which have a lighter striped skin and three types of round eggplants, one white, the light purple Rosa Bianca and the darker Prosperosa.

These last round varieties have a dense whiter flesh and less seeds than the more common eggplant. They are also less bitter. The prosperosa is widely available throughout Italy. It’s our favourite for all kind of recipes, including eggplant pasta. Some years we grow it in our veggies garden.

However, we can also find the more common dark purple oval eggplants that are widely available in other countries. Plus, there are long cucumber like Italian eggplants, similar to Japanese eggplants, which are cultivated more here in the North where we live. We’ve also had those in our garden.

Italian eggplant recipes.

Although it’s possible to buy melanzane all over Italy, most of the traditional recipes for it come from the South. Italians cook and serve eggplant in many ways. They grill it, roast it, fry it and stuff it. They make filled eggplant involtini (rolls) eggplant suppli or arancini and eggplant polpette (balls).

Of course, all Italian food fans know eggplant Parmigiana! This iconic Italian dish is claimed by Sicily, Calabria and Campania as originating there! Italian versions of Parmigiana don’t have meat in them, unlike in the States, Canada, South America and Australia.

Another classic dish from Southern Italy is Sicilian caponata, a bit similar to French ratatouille. This sweet and sour cooked vegetable stew or salad is also fabulous on pasta. In fact, there are many delicious pasta recipes with eggplant.

If you’re a fan, do give some of these 10 eggplant pasta recipes from Italy a try. I’m sure you’ll love pasta with eggplant as much as the Italians do!

If you make any of these pasta with eggplant recipes, I’d love to hear how they turn out and if you liked them. Please leave a comment here on the blog or on The Pasta Project Facebook page.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Buon appetito!

10 eggplant pasta recipes to try.

Click on the recipe name to go to the recipe.

1. Fileja Tropeana.

Fileja Tropeana is a Mediterranean veggie pasta dish from the beautiful seaside town of Tropea in Calabria. It’s a delicious and easy vegetarian pasta dish from Calabria which includes eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, peperoncino and Tropea onions! Perfect for lunch or dinner! I used traditional fileja pasta from Calabria. Of course, you can use other pasta types.

2. Rigatoni pasta alla parmigiana.

This pasta Parmigiana is a rich and tasty vegetarian recipe from Southern Italy made with the same ingredients as eggplant parmigiana and tastes just as wonderful! This recipe calls for rigatoni pasta, but you can use any type of pasta tubes.

3. Parmigiana timballo with long ziti.

Another version of pasta parmigiana is this divine vegetarian parmigiana timballo which is based on a 150 year old recipe. For this recipe long ziti or zitone pasta with homemade tomato sauce is wrapped in eggplant slices and baked. It doesn’t take so long to make and yet it's as tasty and beautiful looking as any other timballo!

4. Anelletti pasta eggplant boats.

These delicious Italian pasta stuffed eggplant boats are easy to make and really delicious. The filling has anelletti pasta with tomato sauce and eggplant. The boats are then topped with cheese and baked. Your guests will love this unusual way to serve pasta. If you don’t have anelletti pasta rings you can use orzo or other small pasta.

5. Orecchiette with nduja and eggplant.

This nduja and eggplant pasta recipe is full of rich and bold typical Southern Italian flavours! The sauce is made from tomatoes, nduja (spicy soft salami) and eggplants. Perfect for spicy food loving foodies! I used orecchiette, a typical pasta from Puglia, but other short pasta works well too.

6. Reginette/mafaldine with eggplant and swordfish.

This Sicilian swordfish pasta recipe is a treat for the taste buds! The fresh swordfish is paired with fried eggplant, fresh mint and some lemon zest, all of which really give it a delicious distinctive flavour.  I used beautiful reginette/mafaldine pasta. However, both long and short pasta types go well with the sauce too.

7. Casarecce pasta caponata.

Caponata is an iconic Sicilian recipe. There are different versions of this sweet and sour Mediterranean vegetable dish. This recipe has eggplant, capsicums, olives, capers, celery, tomatoes and red onions. Caponata is delicious as a side dish with meat and fish and makes a fabulous pasta sauce!  Pasta alla caponata is great warm or as a pasta salad.

This delicious whole wheat penne with aubergine (eggplant) is based on a recipe from the late Antonio Carluccio’s book ‘Complete Italian Food’. It’s full of Mediterranean flavours, healthy and easy to make!

9. Lasagna alla Norma.

Lasagna alla Norma is a delicious baked version of pasta alla norma (see below). The combination of typical Mediterranean ingredients of fried eggplant, tomatoes, basil and garlic combine so well with a ricotta cream  to make a fabulous flavourful lasagne al forno.

10. Rigatoni pasta alla Norma.

Pasta alla Norma is a classic vegetarian pasta dish from Catania in Sicily. This world-famous recipe was named after the opera Norma, composed by Vincenzo Bellini who came from Catania. My husband also comes from Catania, so this recipe is actually his! It's easy to make and perfect for both family meals and special occasions.

Pin for later.

If you are interested in learning how to make other homemade pasta and different types of gnocchi, check out my shop page for some great video online courses from my friends in Rome! Nothing beats learning to make pasta from Italians! Plus while you’re there why not order a copy of my autumn/winter pasta recipes cookbook!?