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A low carb eggplant pizza recipe that uses sliced eggplant instead of a carb-heavy breaded crust. Tons of flavor and super simple to assemble, this recipe is gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan-friendly.
Does anyone else feel like eggplant is a forgotten veggie? I mean, besides the eggplant emoji, when is the last time you thought about eggplant? Or purchased eggplant? Or maybe you’ve never even eaten it before?!
I remember the first time I tried eggplant… it was post-college and layered with cheese and basil and pan-fried to perfection. I loved it, but if I’m being honest, eggplant isn’t a veggie I buy on the regular.
But lately, Isaac and I have been low-key obsessed with this eggplant pizza, so I see a lot more eggplant in my near future.
Eggplant is a great “vehicle” for flavor. What do I mean by this? It’s pretty mild on its own so it pairs really well with complex flavors, making it a great base for a recipe! I had the idea of creating a pizza using eggplant as the crust one weekend when pizza was on my brain. I love that this pizza is easily made low carb by using eggplant and how simple this pizza was to create (aka much easier than putting together a cauliflower crust!).
It’s definitely more of a fork and knife pizza, but trust me when I say that it’s really delicious and just like regular pizza. And you can top it with anything you desire! I made this veggie version to share, but I’ve also made a meat version with chicken sausage from our local farmers market and it was phenomenal. If you want a little more protein, follow the instructions for how to add ground meat (or veggie crumbles) to the recipe.
Eggplants are very nutrient dense – meaning they pack a lot of vitamins and minerals in without a ton of calories. They’re low in carbs, but high in fiber, folate, potassium and manganese along with other vitamins and minerals. One important thing to note: eggplant, just like tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and tomatillos, are in the nightshade family. Nightshades are typically safe to consume but they do contain alkaloids so if you’re someone who struggles with autoimmune conditions, IBS or other food sensitives consuming nightshades might contribute to your condition. Learn more about nightshades here.
Because of eggplant’s texture, flavor and ability to replace higher calorie foods, eggplants are great to incorporate when trying to lose weight – and this recipe is the perfect example! Instead of making or ordering pizza with a doughy crust loaded with calories, you can easily make this eggplant pizza that is packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals! All the pizza flavor is still there — you’re just replacing the crust with something a bit healthier.
There is a myth that raw eggplant is poisonous. This isn’t true, however, the leaves and flowers of the plant can be toxic. And like I mentioned above, plants in the nightshade family, all contain alkaloids. One alkaloid present in eggplant is called solanine and it can be poisonous when consumed in extremely large quantities.
So yes, eggplant is okay to consume raw, but at the end of the day it tastes much better cooked – plus there are so many ways to cook it! You can eat the skin and the small seeds, just make sure you cut off the green stem on the top. You can cut it into strips (lengthwise) or into rounds (widthwise). Bake it, roast it, grill it, pan-fry it… so many options. As for peeling eggplant, you certainly don’t have to peel them – it’s really your choice. The skin is completely edible, but sometimes with larger eggplants, the skin can be a little tough and you may want to consider peeling.
For this low carb eggplant pizza recipe I didn’t find the skin to be too tough, but if you’re using a large eggplant and don’t want to deal with biting through the tough skin, go ahead and peel your eggplant before using it in this recipe.
If you try this eggplant pizza recipe be sure to leave a comment and star rating letting me know how it turned out. Your feedback is so helpful for me and other EBF readers who are planning to try the recipe!
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My family loved this, and I’ve already recommended to my sister! I used dried tomato spread and Italian seasoning instead of pizza sauce, and that worked great! The second time I made it (in two days) I made a lot more onions and spinach for the topping. I also had marinated mozzarella in my fridge, so I used that cut in pieces. Delicious!
Woo!! So pumped to hear this eggplant pizza was a hit, Amy! Thanks so much for trying it out and coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
Loved this recipe.I have a tendency to buy eggplant and not get around to using it in time since some recipes are long and involved. This was quick, easy & used ingredients I usually have on hand. I added some leftover peppers & sausage and some dollops of ricotta cheese I needed to use up. It was delicious!
So glad you loved this recipe, Cathy! Thanks for making it and for the review. I so appreciate it.
need to put in your recipe on nutrition chart how much saturated fat and cholesterol.
This was delicious! We had it as a side dish with seafood. Recipe is a keeper.
Although it had great flavor, before you can pawn it off as pizza it needs to be drier.Much too soggy and l followed the directions pretty good
Thanks for the feedback, Charles. I appreciate you trying it!
Yay!! So glad this recipe was a hit. Thanks for the review, Ellen!
This recipe is a favorite in the summertime when the garden is producing almost more eggplant than we can handle. I use Ichiban type eggplants and cut them in long slices, arranging them on a pan, and treating the whole thing like one big pizza. I usually leave out the spinach and add lots of basil, also from the garden.
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that you’ve been enjoying this eggplant pizza, Shawna! Thanks for the review. It means the world to me!