Low Carb Eggplant Pizza
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Published Oct 04, 2018, Updated Jan 23, 2023
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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.
Benefits of Eating Eggplant
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.
Is Eggplant Good for Losing Weight?
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.
How Do You Cook Eggplant?
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.
More Eggplant Recipes
More Healthy Pizza Inspired Recipes
- Cauliflower Pizza
- Spaghetti Squash Pizza Crust
- Tortilla Pizzas with Hummus
- Pizza Trail Mix
- Naan Pizza with Butternut Squash and Pesto
- Zucchini Pizza Bites
- Easy Tortilla Pizzas
- Cloud Bread Pizza
- Protein Pizza
Low Carb Eggplant Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2-1 cup no sugar added pizza sauce*
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach
- sea salt, to taste
- ground pepper, to taste
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup chopped fresh oregano
- crushed red pepper, optional
Instructions
- Preheat: Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Cut eggplant: Slice the eggplant lengthwise, about 1/4-1/3 inch thick. Brush or rub a little olive oil on each side of the eggplant slices and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking stone. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in oven for 7-10 minutes, or until eggplant is hot and starting to cook down.
- Sauté: Meanwhile grab a skillet, add 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil and sauté the garlic and onion until soft (about 3-4 minutes). Season with salt and pepper. Add pizza sauce and spinach to the skillet and cook for 1-2 additional minutes until mixture is warm and spinach has wilted.
- Adding toppings: Remove the eggplant slices from the oven, top each with the onion and spinach mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and chopped oregano. Place in the oven for approximately 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
- Serve: Serve immediately with more fresh oregano and crushed red pepper.
Video
Notes
- For the pizza sauce you can make your own using my recipe or use store-bought. My favorite store-bought option is Rao’s Homemade.
- If you’d like to add more protein to this dish, simply add about 8 oz of ground chicken sausage or veggie sausage to the skillet with the garlic and onion. Sauté until sausage is thoroughly cooked and then add your pizza sauce and spinach.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m from Australia, the eggplants can vary in size. How many slices roughly does this count to the 1/2 or full serving size?
Hey Jade – about 3 slices for 1/2 the serving and 6 for the full serving. 🙂
Delicious recipe. I found this at a great time since I have an abundance of squash in my garden.
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Tammy. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. 🙂
This was delicious!! My 14yr old ate it faster than I did. Will be adding this to “the list” of go to low carb, easy & flavorful dishes. Thank you!!
Yay!! So glad this recipe was a hit. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it, Stacey. 🙂
This was DELICIOUS! My first recipe from your site and I know I’ll definitely be coming back for more
Ahh that makes me so happy to hear, Lidia!! So glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I really appreciate it. 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! This was dinner tonight and this will be an often meal!!!! I used all listed ingredients and added sausage, squash, mushrooms, and green pepper and it was incredible!
Ahh yay!! That makes me so happy to hear, Anita. I’m so glad this pizza recipe was a hit. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I appreciate it!
Just made these for lunch, it was so good! Definitely making them again tomorrow. Thank you for sharing the recipe X
Ahh you’re so welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe, Sara. Thanks for trying it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
This is not a pizza.
This is an already existing Mediterranean dish.
It would be nice if you didn’t try to pass this as an “invention”.
In response to the ridiculous 1 star comment complaining about how this was a stolen Mediterranean dish, this is a fabulous find on Pinterest for a search of “carb free pizza”, “gluten free pizza”, or “dough free pizza”, and it’s delicious! Excuse this food blogger for not memorizing every dish from every international cuisine in the world.
Why is the sodium so high? Looks fabulous but I have to watch my sodium this is really high yet the ingredients do not seem high does this reflect the recipe if you were making it with the meat?
Hey Christine – That’s just based on the ingredients I used. The sodium is going to depend on the ingredients you use, especially the pizza sauce and cheese. If you’re watching your sodium, I’d just make sure to get a sauce with no salt added and use a cheese that’s low-sodium. You can also add less salt to the recipe.
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! I have been trying to find a way to have pizza/parmigiana that is low calorie and this was amazing. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!! But do be aware to anyone wanting to try this beauty, if your eggplant slices are too thick they will require longer to cook in the oven otherwise they can be undercooked, so try to slice them all even if possible.
Yay!! I’m so glad you found this recipe and enjoyed it, Bee! And thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment + star rating. It means the world to me. <3
Delicious, Simple, very little time to make it and very healthy. Just love it!
Ahh yay!! I love hearing that, Rashmi. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it!