Anelletti al Forno with Eggplant (2024)

Anelletti al forno with eggplant is a classic Sicilian baked pasta made with meat ragu and peas, eggplant, hard boiled eggs and anelletti, a small ring shaped pasta of Sicilian origin. This impressive pasta dish is prepared on special occasions or for Sunday lunches with family.

This eye catching dish is a specialty from Palermo, Sicily. Some refer to it as a timballo or timpano, which is a baked pasta dish encased in dough or in this case, eggplant.

Like several other Sicilian baked pasta recipes, this dish is made with a meat ragu with peas, eggplant and hardboiled eggs.

You will find a similar combination of ingredients in a couple of my other Sicilian pasta recipes such as lasagna and pasta al forno.

Possible variations of this dish

There are several variations of this baked anelletti recipe: it can be made with a simple meatless tomato sauce; some add prosciutto cut into cubes stirred in with the pasta; and béchamel sauce can be drizzled over the pasta as I do with my lasagna.

Is baked anelletti with eggplant difficult to make?

It is not difficult to make, however preparation is lengthy. But the good news is you can easily breakdown the tasks into manageable steps.

For example, prepare the meat ragu, eggplant and hard boiled eggs a day or two ahead. If you happen to have a batch of meat sauce in your freezer, defrost it and stir in some peas.

The following day boil your pasta, assemble the dish and bake.

Of course, you can also opt to bake your anelletti with meat ragu in a regular casserole dish without the eggplant crust. But encasing this pasta in a shell of eggplant slices elevates it to this beautiful elegant dish that is sure to impress all and is well worth the effort!

What are anelletti?

Also known as anelli or anellini, meaning small rings, this ring shaped pasta of Sicilian origin is popular for making this baked pasta dish.

Anelletti are not as easy to find in all grocery stores. However, you can purchase them here.

Anelletti pasta substitutes

If you don’t have access to this ring shaped pasta you may substitute rigatoni, penne or I have also seen maccheroni used in this baked pasta recipe.

What you will need to assemble this dish

Once you have all of the following components ready, you are ready to assemble this dish!

• Meat ragu with peas: exactly as I used to make this Sicilian lasagna recipe.
• Thinly sliced eggplant: the eggplant is traditionally fried, however I bake my eggplant slices until golden brown (see below in my step by step instructions).
• Anelletti pasta: boiled 3-4 minutes less than the suggested cooking time.
• Hard boiled eggs: thinly sliced.
• Caciocavallo cheese: cut into cubes. Other cheeses such as mild provolone or mozzarella may be substitued.
• Parmigiano cheese: just because all pasta dishes require grated Parmigiano cheese!

The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. Please scroll to the end of this post for the detailed printable recipe card.

Step by Step Instructions

Prepare the meat ragu with peas

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet or sauce pan and sauté a finely diced onion, carrot, celery stalk and a pinch of salt until golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in 2 minced garlic cloves and red pepper flakes (optional) and cook for 1 minute.
• Add the ground meat trio (beef, veal and pork) and cook, stirring and breaking up the pieces with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
• Deglaze the pan with red wine and cook until it evaporates. Pour in 1 jar of tomato passata. Then pour 2 cups of water or chicken stock in the bottle, swirl it around to gather up all the remaining sauce and pour back into the pan
• Add bay leaves, salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook partially covered for 1 hour. Stir in green peas and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning if needed.
• When the sauce is ready, set aside to cool slightly while you finish preparing the remaining ingredients.

Cook the eggplant

While the sauce simmers, prepare the eggplant:

• Trim the ends of the eggplant. Slice into approximately 1/4 inch slices.
• Layer the slices in a large bowl adding salt to each layer of eggplants.
• Cover with water, place a large plate over the bowl and weigh it down with a heavy object, such as a package of salt or sugar. Let sit for 30 minutes.
• Drain and rinse the eggplant slices and pat dry.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and grease 2 baking sheets generously with olive oil (about 2 tbsp).
• Place the eggplant slices on the baking sheets without overlapping them. Brush the tops with olive oil (about 2 more tbsp.) and sprinkle lightly with salt.
• Do not skimp on olive oil! Eggplants are like sponges and soak up lots of oil. Make sure the eggplant slices are not dry and brush with extra oil as needed.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes (flipping them halfway) until soft and golden brown.

Prepare the remaining ingredients

• Hard boil 3 eggs, let cool then slice into rounds.
• Cut caciocavallo cheese into small cubes
• Cook anelletti pasta 3-4 minutes less than suggested on the package. Drain and place in a bowl. Stir in one or two spoonfuls of olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking.

Assemble the baked anelletti dish

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Prepare a 10 inch (24 cm) spring form pan by coating it with olive oil. Coat the bottom and sides with a layer of breadcrumbs. Place the pan on a baking sheet. Some of the liquid may leak out from the bottom of the pan during baking.
• Cover the bottom and sides of the pan with overlapping eggplant slices. Let the slices hang over the sides of the pan as shown.

• Reserve about 1 cup of meat ragu and stir the rest into the pasta.
• Stir in the cubed caciocavallo cheese and grated Parmigiano cheese.

• Pour half the pasta with sauce into the eggplant covered spring form pan.
• Cover with hard boiled egg slices.
• Add the remaining pasta and top with the reserved sauce. Sprinkle with extra grated Parmigiano cheese. Press down lightly on the pasta.
• Cover the top of the pasta with the slices of eggplant hanging over the sides of the pan. Top with additional eggplant slices to completely cover the pasta.
• Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs.
• Bake for 30 minutes.

To serve

• Let the baked anelletti sit for about 30 minutes before removing the sides of the pan.
• Do not skip this step or it may fall apart when you attempt to slice it!
• Slice into wedges and serve hot.

Recipe Notes

Did you try out this recipe?

Please let me know how much you enjoyed it by rating it in the recipe card below!

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More delicious baked pasta dishes for you to check out!

• Sicilian Pasta al Forno
• Crepe Lasagna
• Sicilian Lasagna
• Timpano di Pasta Recipe
• Crepe Cannelloni with Ricotta and Spinach

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