Name: EASY PASTA ALLA NORMA
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Ingredients: 450 g Marinara sauce (recipe link in notes); 2 Medium eggplants (aubergines); 54 g Extra virgin olive oil; 225 g Rigatoni; 25 g Fresh basil; ½ tsp Dried oregano; 1 tsp Red pepper flakes; ½ tsp Thyme; 2 tsp Extra virgin olive oil; 75 g Vegetarian parmesan cheese; Salt and pepper to season

Creamy, cheesy with eggplant slices cooked to perfection, our pasta alla Norma tastes divine. We love to cook this when someone claims they don’t like eggplant, once they taste roasted eggplant in this delicious pasta dish, they completely change their minds!

A bowl of pasta à la norma with roasted eggplant, pasta and a glass of Italian red wine.

Why you’ll love pasta alla Norma

It’s a hearty, tasty vegetarian meat free weeknight dinner that only takes 20 minutes of prep.

It’s a real crowd pleaser, we’re yet to meet anyone that doesn’t like our pasta alla Norma.

You can use virtually any pasta you have in your store cupboard.

Ingredients for making pasta à la norma, thyme, rigatoni, eggplant, tomato sauce, oregano, parmesan, red pepper flakes, extra virgin olive oil, basil leaves and kosher salt.

Why is it called ‘alla Norma’?

Pasta alla Norma is a Sicilian dish and was originally named pasta con le melanzane, which means pasta with eggplant.

It acquired the name ‘pasta alla Norma‘ after Catania Vincenzo Bellini who was the composer of an opera called ‘Norma.’

It’s reported that when he tasted the eggplant pasta dish he loved it and said ‘this is a real Norma!’ which meant it was a masterpiece.

The name pasta alla Norma stuck and is commonly how pasta con le melanzane is referred to now.

Combine homemade marinara sauce with beautifully seasoned roasted eggplant and cheesy pasta, and you’ve got a winning absolutely delicious weeknight dinner.

What pasta sauce should I use?

The best pasta sauce to use when cooking pasta alla Norma is marinara sauce, a tomato sauce.

Homemade marinara sauce is always the best to use, it’s fresh, full of flavor and you can make it ahead.

If you don’t have time to make your own tomato sauce, then buy the best quality pasta sauce you can, as the sauce is a big part of the dish.

A bowl of the best marinara sauce with fresh basil, a spoon and green napkin.

Eggplant or aubergine?

Eggplant or aubergine depends totally on where you live.

If you live in America, you’ll call it an eggplant, because when it was first introduced to North America, they looked like white eggs.

If you live in Europe, you’ll call it an aubergine which is a French word.

We’ll call it eggplant as most of our readers live in North America.

Slices of freshly roasted eggplant, seasoned with red pepper flakes.

Eggplant slices or cubes?

For this pasta alla Norma recipe, we use roasted eggplant slices.

The slices are seasoned perfectly, and they are light, tasty, crispy, and work so well in this tasty pasta dish, they become deliciously silky when combined in the tomato sauce.

If you are roasting, then eggplant cubes don’t tend to roast as well, cubes are better for fried eggplant.

pasta à la norma in a bowl and freshly made in a pot extra virgin olive oil, slices of roasted eggplant and grated parmesan cheese on a grater.

What cheese do I use in this pasta dish?

The cheese we use in our pasta alla Norma recipe is vegetarian.

We’ve used vegetarian finely grated parmesan cheese (you may find it labelled as Italian hard cheese), but you could also use finely grated ricotta salata cheese.

You could easily use vegan hard cheese, and this would make this eggplant pasta dish vegan-friendly.

Ricotta salata cheese is typically found in a traditional pasta alla norma.

Don’t mistake ricotta cheese for ricotta salata cheese.

Ricotta salata cheese is aged and pressed, so it’s a much drier cheese than ricotta, so it makes it good for finely grating.

Be warned, ricotta salata cheese is not vegetarian.

Homemade pasta à la norma, with eggplant, pasta, fresh basil and grated parmesan cheese on a fork.

How do I store it?

If you do have leftovers from your pasta alla Norma (unlikely) you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Gently heat them before serving or eat them cold, it’s your choice.

Recipe notes and tips

Don’t like spicy foods?
Just leave out the red pepper flakes
Get ahead
Cook the tomato sauce (marinara) and roast the eggplants the day before and store in the fridge in airtight containers.
Make it vegan
Just use vegan cheese, this is the only ingredient that is potentially not vegan
Got leftover pasta?
Have it for lunch the next day, it’ll keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
No rigatoni?
Use any short pasta you have in your store cupboard
Want to loosen the sauce up?
Use a little of your pasta water, pour a little in at a time and stir to combine until you have your preferred consitency
Don’t overcook your pasta, you’ll need it al dente as it will continue to cook in the hot tomato sauce

pasta à la norma in a bowl ready to eat and in a pan just from the cooker with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

How to make pasta alla Norma with step-by-step instructions

A full printable version of this great recipe with all ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.

If you are going to make your own marinara sauce, then start with this.

If you are using a jar of marinara or tomato sauce, then gently warm it in a pan.

Preheat your oven to 220°C/425F.

To prevent your eggplant from sticking, line two baking trays with parchment paper.

Remove the ends from your eggplants and if you would like striped eggplant slices, then use a vegetable peeler and peel stripes but this is not essential.

Remove the ends from your eggplants and then cut into slices that are roughly 1cm/½ inch thick.

Process shots for making pasta à la norma, slice eggplant, brush with extra virgin olive oil and roast eggplant in oven.

Use extra virgin olive oil to brush the eggplants on both sides, then season with salt and ground black pepper.

Roast the eggplants for 35-40 minutes or until they are very golden brown (see image). Halfway through cooking, turn the slices over.

Now cook your pasta of choice, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, reduce to medium heat, and cook your pasta according to the packet instructions; you’ll want al dente pasta.

When your roasted eggplant is fully cooked, remove it from the oven and place it into your warm marinara sauce, stirring it in gently.

Now add fresh basil, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, thyme, and the remaining teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil and stir to combine.

Now place your drained pasta into the tomato sauce.

Process shots for making pasta à la norma, add eggplant to tomato sauce, add extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, thyme and oregano, add pasta and parmesan cheese.

Gently stir to combine all the ingredients.

Add around two-thirds of your grated parmesan cheese and stir to combine.

Taste and then, if necessary, season with salt and pepper.

Serve in bowls, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, and garnish with fresh basil.

Delicious – enjoy!

Made from scratch pasta à la norma in a bowl, with roasted eggplant, pasta and cheese, with a fork ready to eat.

More pasta dishes you’ll love

Cheesy pasta al forno – if you like a hearty cheesy pasta dish, then this is the meal for you!

Pasta bake with veggie meatballs – seriously delicious meatballs in a filling pasta bake.

Four cheese and mushroom lasagne – loaded with delicious cheese with a real umami flavor, this pasta recipe is a keeper!

Quick mushroom pasta – quick and easy, one of our favorite weeknight pasta dishes!

Pasta alla sorrentina – delicious, sweet tomatoes and mozzaralla cheese makes this a tasty vegetarian main dish!

We hope you enjoy making this delicious alla Norma pasta dinner recipe and we’d love to hear from you and how you got on with it.

Please leave a comment below or feel free to ask any questions you have.

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