Eggplant Pizza
Eggplant pizza is the easiest way to satisfy your pizza cravings when you're trying to cut down on carbs! Using fresh eggplant as a "pizza crust" is a quick and tasty substitute; not to mention how cute they are!! Pizza is such a fun, hands-on meal to make with kids, and what better way to get some extra veggies into your families' diets than to use eggplant slices instead of dough :)
When cooking eggplant, it's important to sprinkle the vegetable with a ton of coarse salt in order to draw out some of the bitterness, and get rid of the moisture inside the eggplant. It's hard to believe how much moisture comes out of eggplant! After that, eggplant pizzas are as simple to make as covering them with your favorite homemade or store-bought sauce, cheese, and toppings. My favorite topping combinations are caprese and sausage and mushroom. It's the simple things ;) Some other topping ideas are: prosciutto, chicken, bacon, peppers, onions, shallots, pepperoni, ham, pineapple, olives... there are no limitations :) Let's get baking!
Ingredients You Need:
- 1-2 Eggplants
- Coarse salt / paper towels
- Your favorite pasta or pizza sauce
- Cheese: shredded or sliced. I used an Italian mix of shredded Mozz, Asiago, Romano, and Parmesan cheeses
- Olive oil
- Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper
- Toppings: basil, tomatoes, mushrooms, sausage, olives, pepperoni, peppers, onions, garlic, etc.
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 400F / 200C.
- Wash and slice the eggplant into 1/2" thick slices. (I've never seen round eggplants before today! They're so cute and actually work so well for pizza :)
- Place the eggplant slices on paper towels and sprinkle each slice liberally with coarse salt. Cover with paper towels for 20-30 minutes to draw out the moisture and bitterness. Pat dry.
- Now all you've got to do is top each eggplant slice with sauce, cheese, and whatever toppings you'd like! :) Top with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Bake at 400F / 200C for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly. The eggplant should be fork tender and not mushy!
After about 15 minutes in the oven/toaster oven, you'll have bubbly, cheesy goodness!
I love the texture of the eggplant once it's roasted. It holds up nicely to all the sauce, cheese, and toppings, and seriously...as long as we have cheese, it's way easier to live without carbs ;) Give these a try with your family! I love how bright and colorful they are, and that everybody can make their own pizza :) Making things in my toaster oven has been such a game changer - I love how quick it is to pull off this pizza! Now what to do with all this leftover cheese...
If you give these or other recipes a try, I would love to hear from you!! Snap a pic or tag me @brokeandcooking / #brokeandcooking!! :)
