Pasta alla Norma
Pasta alla Norma is a delicious Sicilian pasta dish with eggplant, marinara and basil. This amazing recipe features roasted eggplant, not fried!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 9, 2024
We’re going back to Sicily! Pasta alla Norma is a delicious Sicilian pasta dish with eggplant, marinara and basil. I’m excited to introduce you to this dish because it is a completely satisfying vegetarian dinner. If you enjoy eggplant Parmesan, you’re going to love pasta alla Norma. I’m craving a bowl as I type.
Most pasta alla Norma recipes are made with fried eggplant, but this recipe features roasted eggplant. Eggplant really absorbs oil like a sponge, so this lightens up the dish. Another plus? Roasting eggplant is easier and less messy.
I further lightened this classic recipe by using more eggplant and less pasta, so this dish won’t put you to sleep. It’s nice and saucy, just the way I like it.
I don’t speak Italian, so I first assumed that “norma” meant eggplant. Not the case! Norma is capitalized because she’s a lady. Or an opera, depending on how you look at it.
Here’s the backstory: Pasta alla Norma comes from Catania, a city on the eastern coast of Sicily. Catania is the hometown of Vincenzo Bellini, an Italian opera composer who lived in the early 1800s. One of Bellini’s most famous operas, Norma, is named after its lead character.
Folklore has it that playwright Nino Martoglio, after his first bite of this pasta dish, exclaimed, “Chista è ‘na vera Norma!” (“This is a true Norma!”) That’s quite a compliment.
Watch How to Make Pasta alla Norma
Pasta alla Norma Ingredients
Pasta alla Norma is proof that simple ingredients can yield spectacular results. This classic Italian dish is especially appropriate in late summer or early fall when eggplant is in season. It’s so hearty that I’ll be enjoying it through the winter.
Marinara Sauce
You really can’t beat my Super Simple Marinara Sauce, which comes together with minimal fuss. It’ll be ready around the time the eggplant is done roasting, and yields exactly the amount of sauce you’ll need for this dish (two cups). If you’d like to simplify the recipe, you could use a good store-bought marinara. My favorite is Rao’s.
Eggplant
Look for two medium eggplants with firm, shiny skin and no bruises. They should feel heavy for their size. We won’t bother salting the eggplant before roasting—it’s truly unnecessary with modern eggplants.
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Any quality extra-virgin olive oil will do. Use an Italian variety if you want to be as authentic as possible.
Pasta
Use rigatoni, ziti, spaghetti, or any pasta along those lines. You’ll see rigatoni in these photos, but I’ve also really enjoyed spaghetti.
Fresh Basil
Basil livens up this saucy meal. We’ll use a pretty generous amount, about 1/2 cup or an entire small store-bought container. It’s worth it.
A Few Basic Spices
Freshly ground black pepper, dried oregano and red pepper flakes round out the flavors in this dish. If you’re sensitive to spice, go light on the red pepper flakes or omit them entirely.
Cheese
True pasta alla Norma is made with aged ricotta salata, which is difficult to find in the United States. For something fairly similar, try equal parts store-bought ricotta salata and Parmesan. Other suggestions I’ve found online include Grana Padano or mature Pecorino Romano (with or without some crumbled feta). All that said, I don’t think you could go wrong with mozzarella. Some recipes also include dollops of ricotta, which would surely be tasty.
If you’re following a dairy-free or vegan diet, I believe you’ll still love this dish without cheese. Or, you could finish your bowls with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan and perhaps even a dollop of vegan sour cream in place of ricotta.
How to Make Pasta alla Norma
This recipe is simple enough to pull off on a weeknight if you start an hour before dinnertime. It calls for a few simple components and you’ll get the hang of it quickly. Pour yourself a glass of Italian red wine, perhaps a Sangiovese, and make the most of it!
You’ll find the full recipe below, but here’s the gist:
1) Start the marinara sauce.
That is, assuming you’re going the homemade route. You really won’t believe how quickly my marinara comes together!
2) Prepare and roast the eggplant.
We’re going to follow Ottolenghi’s lead here and use a vegetable peeler to shave off strips of eggplant peel to make it look rather zebra-like. This way, you still get some of the nice texture of the eggplant skin, but you don’t end up with distracting long strips of it in your finished dish (the eggplant tends to fall apart in the sauce, in a good way). Then, we’ll slice the eggplant into rounds, brush them with oil, and roast them until deeply golden.
3) Cook the pasta in salted water.
Salting the water infuses your pasta with more flavor. Try to remember to reserve some of the pasta cooking water before draining it—the starch in the water helps unite the sauce with the pasta. I typically scoop some into a Pyrex glass measuring cup just before draining. (If you forget, as I often do, no worries.)
4) Stir it all together.
This is when we add the fresh basil, most of the cheese (reserve some for garnish), and some spices. Add salt to taste, and your meal is ready to serve. Buon appetito.
More Eggplant Recipes to Enjoy
- Baba Ganoush
- Caponata (also from Sicily)
- Eggplant Parmesan
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Roasted Summer Vegetables
- Ratatouille
- Roasted Eggplant & Tomato Orzo Pasta
As always, please let me know how your pasta alla Norma turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you. If you’re hungry for more pasta dishes, I’ve got you covered.
Pasta alla Norma
Pasta alla Norma is a delicious Sicilian pasta dish with eggplant, marinara and basil. This amazing recipe features roasted eggplant, not fried! Recipe yields 4 entrée servings.
Ingredients
- 1 batch Super Simple Marinara Sauce, or 2 cups (16 ounces) store-bought marinara
- 2 medium eggplants (about 2 ¼ pounds total)
- ¼ cup + 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt, more to taste
- 8 ounces rigatoni, ziti or spaghetti
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil, plus a handful more small basil leaves or torn leaves for garnish
- ½ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ cup (1.5 ounces) finely grated ricotta salata and/or Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- If making your own marinara: Cook the sauce per instructions. If it’s done cooking before you’re ready to assemble, cover the pot and keep it warm over very low heat. If you’re using store-bought marinara, warm it in a pot over medium-low heat while you cook the pasta.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit with racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Use a vegetable peeler to shave off long alternating strips of eggplant peel. The eggplants will look striped like zebras when you’re done. Then slice the eggplants into ½-inch thick rounds, discarding the end pieces.
- Place the eggplant on the lined baking sheets. Brush the rounds with olive oil on both sides. Sprinkle the eggplant with the salt and plenty of pepper. Roast until deeply golden and tender, about 35 to 45 minutes, flipping after 20 minutes. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta until al dente, according to package directions. Reserve some pasta cooking water before draining (about ½ cup should be plenty), then return the pasta to the pot.
- When the eggplant is done and the marinara is finished cooking (or warmed through, if using store-bought), gently stir the roasted eggplant into the sauce. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil, fresh basil, red pepper flakes (skip if you don’t like spice, or load it up if you do). Crush the dried oregano between your fingers as you drop it in.
- Add the pasta to the sauce with a couple tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking water, and gently stir it in. Add about two-thirds of the cheese, reserving the rest for garnish. Season to taste with additional salt (I usually add ¼ teaspoon more) and black pepper. You can add a bit more of the reserved pasta cooking water to loosen up the sauce, if desired.
- Divide the pasta between four bowls. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the individual servings, followed by some extra fresh basil. For added richness, drizzle the servings lightly with olive oil. Enjoy! Leftover pasta will keep well in the refrigerator, covered, for 4 to 5 days.
Notes
Recipe roughly adapted from Ottolenghi Simple (a cookbook, affiliate link) and my eggplant Parmesan.
Make it gluten free: This dish would likely be nice with sturdy gluten-free noodles, such as a corn and quinoa blend.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the cheese (this pasta is still very nice without it). You could sprinkle individual servings with vegan Parmesan. You might enjoy a dollop of vegan sour cream for some creaminess, too.
Parmesan note: Whole Foods 365 and BelGioioso brands offer vegetarian Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Tastes as good as the picture looks! Made it last night and it was a definite hit. Next time though, I will use 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes since I used 1/2 tsp and found it a tad too spicy for me. For the cheese, I used a blend of mozzarella and parmesan — yum! Look forward to trying more recipes from your top 10 of 2020. :)
Thank you for sharing! Yes, great way to adjust to your taste.
Absolutely delicious and easy to make!
This was delish and super easy. My husband and I are sometimes wary of eggplant because we’ve been victims of the sad, rubbery kind, but we both loved it. We used store-bought sauce (Rao’s arrabiatta) and everything came together in a snap. Our oven is a little funky so some of the eggplant rounds on the bottom got a little crispy but it still tasted amazing and the tip to peel the skin makes a big difference.
I’m happy you were able to enjoy it, Tamara!
I have never been a big fan of eggplant, however, I love your recipes so I have decided to try this one. Yet again, it didn’t disappoint! I simply couldn’t get enough!! Made it week ago and making it again today, now the eggplant lover I am!
Thank you so much for this gem!
Love this recipe! Can’t believe how good it tastes considering how easy it is to cook. Thanks Kate!
You’re welcome, Sal. I’m delighted you enjoyed it!
How would this be adding pancetta to it?
Sorry to disappoint, but I’m a vegetarian so can’t speak specifically to that addition.
Dear Kate: thank you: my cardiologist and I had disagreed about everything in my recipe box beginning with “take a pound of butter”, ala Julia Child. Given that this conversation was taking place while he was placing a stent in one of my coronary arteries, he won the argument. Ya got me. Lovely recipes that work without the butter. Thank you.
I got your book. fantastic.
huge fan. I’m not even going to talk about the dog.
I made it vegan and it was so good! I’m super impressed with the flavors and the eggplant gave it that meaty texture!
I’m happy you loved it, Chris! Thank you for you review.
I found your blog on a Google search and have fallen in love. Your recipes are easy to follow and promise a great taste.
The Pasta alla Norma was just amazing. My
Marinara recipe is similar to yours and I absolutely love it. The roasting of eggplants is a great idea. My dad dislikes eggplants and he devoured up the pasta.
Thank you for these!
So easy and yummy!! I added some Kalamata olives to mine.
Sounds delicious, Amy! Thank you for sharing.
Delicious! Husband and son really liked it. I made my portion without cheese to avoid dairy and I loved it too! Liked the texture of the eggplant. We don’t often use eggplant so it was a nice addition for a weeknight meal. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Mary! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
My daughter introduced me to this recipe and it is now one of my favorites. I introduced it to a friend who enjoys it just as much as me!
Finally made this today and it was absolutely delicious. I had to use the tube of basil because there was no fresh in the store, subbed red lentil pasta for regular and only sprinkled pecorino cheese on top and it was wonderful. Thank you for another wonderful recipe.
You’re welcome, Lisa!
Hi Kate! This is my very first time cooking with eggplant (it’s intimidating!) and the dish was delicious! I made it for Valentine’s Day bc Italian is my hubby’s favorite. Except for him draining the pasta “for me” so I didn’t have the little bit of extra pasta water, it all went swimmingly!
Great! Thank you for sharing, Katie.
Absolutely amazing and my hubby and I don’t even love eggplant. I rarely find a recipe that I don’t tweak, but this one was perfect as written.
That’s great, Susan! Thank you for sharing.
This has become one of my cooking staples! I actually use an entire eggplant per pasta portion because it cooks down so much and adds great flavor to the pasta.
The real miracle- my sister loved it, and she struggles to enjoy veggies. Thanks Kate!
I sliced the aubergines into 2 cm slices, and might even do 2.5 cm next time. If the slices are nicely browned they dry out and get noticeably thinner. Used half and half dried and fresh oregano (I happened to have a window pot oregano). Following Jamie Oliver I added some capers. This was an exceptionally nice sauce which we had with tagliatelle. Took a. Lovely photo which I will post.
Made this tonight and oh boy, was it delicious. I did make the marinara sauce and I really think that makes the recipe. Everything came together well and the rigatoni stands up well in the sauce. I don’t think spaghetti would be the same. My wife gave this 5 stars and so do I. We can’t wait for lunch tomorrow.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Steve! Thank you for sharing.
This was so easy and delicious! I used little Italy marinara sauce made in Cleveland from Costco. I did not flip the eggplant just baked for45 minutes, I snacked on them when the came out of oven, I could eat the roasted eggplant as a snack. I did let the eggplant cook down in the sauce. Since cooking for two I used the leftover sauce on the ultimate vegetarian pizza, EXCELLENT RECIPE TOO! Thank you for all the wonderful recipes!
I absolutely LOVE this recipe. It’s become a regular in our rotation at home (my partner, who is not vegetarian like me, is also obsessed). We add zucchini just to mix in another veggie (roast it on the pan with the eggplant — turns out fine!) but otherwise follow the recipe exactly — including the simple marinara sauce, which is divine. You’ve totally converted me into someone who makes their own marinara every time (and who eats eggplant regularly). Thank you for sharing this and so many other great recipes! :)
You’re welcome! I’m delighted you loved it.
Wonderful recipe…I first made this because my name is Norma, so I thought I would try it..Amazing! We loved it..making it again for dinner tonight. Thank you for this cookieandkate.
Well it’s just the perfect match then! Thank you for sharing, Norma.
I just made this recipe tonight and it turned out so amazing! It was super simple to follow along with the recipe, too. Thank you!
So I just wanna say that this meal was absolutely amazing! Like seriously!
I’m glad you loved it!
Hi! Do you have any recommendations on how to prepare the eggplant in an air fryer? Thank you and love your recipes!
Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t use an air fryer.
I’m obsessed with this recipe. I’ve craved it so many times since I first discovered it. I LOVE how the roasted eggplant falls apart in the sauce and the fresh basil is so good. I’ve been using the Rao’s marinara which makes it super quick and easy but one day when I’m feeling like spending a bit more time in the kitchen, I’ll try your marinara recipe :)
I love it! Rao’s is delicious, but I hope you try mine soon. Thank you for your review, Ali!
Absolutely delicious!
I love this recipe! I’ve made it a few times, I forgot to brush the eggplant with olive oil this time and it still came out great!
I’m glad you like it! Thank you for sharing, Mackenzie.
So amazing! First time cooking with eggplant, and it was perfect! A++++++ Question, where is the protein coming from in the recipe? Thanks!!!
This recipe is amazing! So easy – time consuming, yes – but not at all hard to make. I made it for my husband who always wants meat in his dinners and he loved it… the eggplant gets a nice, meaty taste with the roasting. Will be adding it to my regular rotation of recipes! I have made so many recipes from Katie’s site and this is a new fav! I’ve never had a bad result with anything and recommend all of her recipes. Some of my other favorites are: Healthy granola, hummus, kale salads, and quinoa salad.
What a delicious and easy recipe for a lazy Sunday afternoon! I made your marinara and let it cook at the same time as the eggplant. Worked perfectly just as written. Super delicious!
That’s great to hear, Heather! I appreciate your review.
I’m Sicilian American but unfortunately never got an alla Norma recipe passed down to me, so I’ve tried making several versions over the years. This one is delicious and by far the easiest, especially with jarred sauce. Will make it more often this summer as long as it’s not too hot to use the oven. I used pecorino Romano because that’s what I had and added parsley along with the basil. Yum!
I’m happy you enjoyed this one, Cathy! Thank you for your review.
Hi, My husband made your amazing Pasta Alla Norma. We made different variations of that recipe but yours is amazing. I wonder if you have figured out the nutritional information on that? All I really wanted were the calories and serving size.
Thanks so much and I hope I hear back from you.
Hi Nancy, I’m not sure what you are asking. All the nutritional information is below the recipe notes. Just click to expand. I hope you find what you are looking for!
Yum, yum, yum. Had fresh eggplant & basil out of the garden. Delish!!
Fabulous. Made the sauce too. Will make again.
Great to hear, Christine!
This was soooo delicious, and very easy too!! I decided to add some fresh ricotta on the top and it was amazing! Can’t wait to make it again!
Wonderful! Thank you or your review.
Omg! This is amazing!!!! I will be making this all of the time!
Wonderful, Renata!
Perfect recipe! Recently went to Sicily and had to recreate this at home. Thanks for making us feel like we were back down South.
That’s great, Emily! Thank you for your review.
I made this with Kate’s amazing marinara sauce and the whole thing was so delicious. Will make this again and again.
That does sound delicious, Carolyn!
Eggplant heaven! I can’t give any criticism on this dish. Flavorful. Meaty meatless texture. Fresh basil at the end lifts the dish. Used shredded Romano which gave a sharp but tasty bite. So veggie, so good!
Found your recipe when I got a bunch of small eggplants in my CSA. The only changes I made were cutting eggplant into 1″ cubes and adding cut up red pepper for roasting. The marinara makes it an easy and tasty vegetarian meal!
Thank you for your review!
I loved this! Made it with a combo of mozzarella, Parmesan and feta because that’s what I had. I would have happily eaten the sauce on its own. I’ll make more next time.
This dish was delish! My hubby, who’s says he doesn’t like eggplant, loved this dish! At first I thought the 1/2 slices were too thick, but they are perfect. I added a dollop of ricotta and it was just lovely.
That’s great to hear, Donna! Thank you for your review.
This was delicious. Perfect lazy weekend meal. Worked great with storebought marinara sauce and vegan parmesan as well.
This was so delicious! First time cooking with eggplant, and loved it in the dish!
I’m glad you loved it, Alex! Thank you for your review.
Ahh, a pasta dish named after me. Just kidding.
This is our favourite pasta dish. Easy and wonderful.
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe.
Love this recipe. Roasted the eggplant slices as instructed (no issues at 425 oven temperature). Used my favorite store bought marinera. Substituted pecorino romano for ricotta salata. My husband and I both loved it and looking forward to leftovers. Will be a regular in our winter meals.
Holy EGGPLANT! This is so good – I was skeptical when I first added the eggplant, because I did not think it was going to break down, but it did and it was delicious. Thank you so much! Your recipes are always amazing.
I’m happy to hear you are enjoying it, Courtney!
It was delish and easy to prepare. The perfect choice for all my garden eggplant. Thanks!!!
You’re welcome, Julia!
I have made this recipe 3 times now and it is absolutely delicious. Personally – I love with the rigatoni – but my grandson loves it with spaghetti! Def a keeper
That’s great to hear, Deb!
I have all the ingredients except fresh basil. Can I substitute with dried? If so, how much would you recommend?
Hi Sue, fresh is best, but see my 20 DIY Pantry Recipes (Make Your Own Marinara Sauce & More) for reference on how to use dried in place of fresh!