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Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups

Be the hit of the party when you serve these Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups. They're the perfect one bite appetizer.

This time of year, you don’t want to turn the oven on. It’s so hot, even with the air conditioning on, that you can’t even think of standing in front of the stove. Thank goodness for the grill. But grilling doesn’t just mean you have to eat hamburgers and hot dogs every day. Nope. Instead, you can grill some gourmet appetizers like our Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups.

These are the perfect summertime appetizer too. They’re so easy, super delicious, and feel like something you would order in a high-class restaurant, not something you would make in your own backyard.

Plus, it has a huge slice of mozzarella cheese inside. Who doesn’t love cheese?

If you have the choice, I would suggest you make these Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups on a propane grill versus a charcoal grill. First of all, propane is so much easier because you can just turn on the grill and you’re ready to go. Secondly, charcoal is great when you want to add a smoky flavor to your food. Since the prosciutto already has such a strong flavor, you don’t want to mask it with the smoky charcoal flavor.

My dad and I made these grilled eggplant roll ups as a Father’s Day appetizer. So, of course, he said we had to serve them on the Burnt By Dad King Of The BBQ plate my brothers and I got him for Father’s Day decades ago. Well, maybe a decade and a half ago. That plate makes an appearance quite often, and I wish it was still available somewhere because it’s a really great gift for any dad who loves to grill.

Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups

What You’ll Need:

  • 1 large eggplant
  • 6 oz. (6 slices) package of prosciutto
  • 12 oz. mozzarella cheese block
  • 1.5 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Olive oil (for finishing)
  • Fresh herbs

What You’ll Do:

Be the hit of the party when you serve these Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups. They're the perfect one bite appetizer.

Slice the eggplant into 12 slices. Wash them and pat try.

Lightly sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of each eggplant slice.

Drizzle balsamic vinaigrette on both sides of each slice. About 1/8 of a tablespoon per slice is plenty. You just want to give it a light coating. Use your hands to spread the balsamic vinaigrette, salt, and pepper evenly on each eggplant slice.

Be the hit of the party when you serve these Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups. They're the perfect one bite appetizer.

Grill for about four minutes until you start to get grill marks.

Be the hit of the party when you serve these Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups. They're the perfect one bite appetizer.

Flip the eggplant and grill for about four minutes on the other side.

Take the eggplant off the grill.

Be the hit of the party when you serve these Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups. They're the perfect one bite appetizer.

Cut slices of mozzarella cheese from the block.

Cut the prosciutto in half. (Small aside: If your prosciutto comes in an oval-ish shape, cut the prosciutto on an angle so you end up with two slices that — very loosely — look like the state of Idaho).

Place the mozzarella onto the eggplant.

Top with prosciutto. (If you took my advice of cutting it so it looks like Idaho, you’ll put the bottom of the state at the bottom of the eggplant and the top of the state up top where the eggplant is thinner).

Roll the eggplant, then put a toothpick in the top to hold it closed.

Put it in a cold sheet pan.

Continue will all 12 of the eggplant slices. When you get to the end pieces, put the prosciutto and mozzarella on the side with the peel and roll it so the peel is on the inside. It looks prettier that way.

Be the hit of the party when you serve these Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups. They're the perfect one bite appetizer.

Place the sheet pan on the grill and close the grill’s lid. Keep them there until the cheese is melted and the prosciutto is cooked slightly, about three minutes.

Drizzle with olive oil and chopped herbs. We used fresh parsley and basil for the herbs, but you could use oregano instead.

Serve warm.

How to reheat Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups

If you want to reheat these grilled eggplant, prosciutto and mozzarella roll ups, heat a tiny bit of olive oil in a pan on a stove. Remove the toothpicks and place the rolls ups in the pan. Cover.

Heat them for about two minutes, then flip them and heat for another two minutes until the cheese is melted.

You can also reheat them in the microwave. Put them on a microwave-safe plate and heat on high for 40 seconds on one side, flip, and heat on high for 40 seconds.

Either way works, but the prosciutto holds up a little better if you reheat these on the stove. When the prosciutto gets microwaved, it gets cooked more than I prefer.

Are these Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups or Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roulades?

By definition, a roulade is a filled rolled meat or pastry.

Braciole, which is a tenderized skirt steak filled with herbs and cheese, then rolled, is technically a roulade.

A Swiss Roll, which is a sponge cake, filled with whipped cream, then rolled (and dipped in chocolate!) is technically a roulade as well.

This recipe, while it has the rolled aspect of the roulade down, it’s a rolled vegetable. So it doesn’t actually fit the definition of a roulade. That’s why I called it a roll up.

But if you wanna make these and sound fancy, call them grilled eggplant, prosciutto, and mozzarella roulades. Who is really gonna know that’s a misnomer but me? (And don’t worry, I won’t tell.)

Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups Alternatives

If you don’t eat meat, or just want a vegetarian option, you can substitute the prosciutto with tomato. If you do that, you’ll want to cut the tomato pretty thin. A thick tomato is going to be too hard for this. Part of the appeal of this recipe is that you can serve it as a one-bite appetizer without any utensils.

If you want to make this but don’t have any eggplant, you can substitute zucchini. Of course, the taste will be completely different, but the concept will be the same. I would use zucchini over a yellow squash because the zucchini will cook quicker, even if you cut the slices the same size. And you want this to cook quickly so you don’t completely cook the prosciutto.

Want more eggplant recipes?

Traditional Eggplant Parmesan
Garlic Parmesan Baked Eggplant
Pasta alla Norma
Baked Eggplant Sticks
Breaded Eggplant Parmesan Bites

Yield: 12 Servings

Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups

Be the hit of the party when you serve these Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups. They're the perfect one bite appetizer.

Be the hit of the party when you serve these Grilled Eggplant, Prosciutto & Mozzarella Roll Ups. They're the perfect one bite appetizer.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 9 minutes
Total Time 19 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 large eggplant
  • 6 oz. (6 slices) package of prosciutto
  • 12 oz. mozzarella cheese block
  • 1.5 tablespoons balsamic vinaigrette
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Olive oil (for finishing)
  • Fresh herbs

Instructions

  1. Slice the eggplant into 12 slices. Wash them and pat try.
  2. Cut slices of mozzarella cheese from the block.
  3. Cut the prosciutto in half.
  4. Lightly sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of each eggplant slice.
  5. Drizzle balsamic vinaigrette on both sides of each slice.
  6. Grill for about three minutes on each side.
  7. Take the eggplant off the grill.
  8. Place the mozzarella onto the eggplant.
  9. Top with prosciutto.
  10. Roll the eggplant, then put a toothpick in the top to hold it closed.
  11. Put it in a cold cake pan.
  12. Continue will all 12 of the eggplant slices. 
  13. Place the cake pan on the grill and close the grill’s lid. Keep them there until the cheese is melted and the prosciutto is cooked slightly, about three minutes.
  14. Drizzle with olive oil and chopped herbs. 

Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 148Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 32mgSodium 627mgCarbohydrates 6gFiber 2gSugar 2gProtein 11g

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