Eggplant Pizza

Making eggplant pizza bites is very easy. First, make the “pizza crust” with roasted eggplant discs, add some pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, or non-dairy cheese, and broil until it melts.

Top with a few fresh basil leaves or a delicious pesto sauce, and you have a simple and delicious appetizer, side dish, or even main dish that everyone will love.

From this eggplant pizza recipe, you can expect a familiar, cozy flavor similar to eggplant parmesan. The crust is tender and not crunchy like baked pizza dough, but it’s delicious.

You can make a lighter and fresher version with a topping of diced cherry tomatoes marinated in olive oil, basil, and garlic. This version resembles a tomato bruschetta with eggplant slices instead of bread.

We often serve eggplant pizza on a platter with grilled zucchini and crunchy crostini to add some delicious crunch.

Note: The low-carb eggplant pizza recipe is gluten-free and can be made vegan by subbing vegan cheese for mozzarella.

Eggplant

We recommend using a long-shaped globe eggplant or Italian eggplant (the one with dark purple peel) to make cute round bite-size slices so you can eat eggplant pizza as finger food without a fork and knife.

Cheese

Any melty cheese generally works, but shredded mozzarella is our favorite. Make sure to use mozzarella cheese made for pizza that is dryer than regular mozzarella so the eggplants won’t come out too watery.

To make this vegan, use a non-dairy cheese that melts; it’s available in most supermarkets.

Alternatively, some brands offer vegan mozzarella blocks made for pizza. Violife has some good options. You can even make yours with our melty vegan cheese recipe.

Tomato Passata

Tomato passata is best for this recipe because of its creamy texture and sweet taste.

Also, passata doesn’t require pre-cooking. There are many imported Italian brands in the USA.

Alternatively, you can use a generic tomato puree, crushed tomatoes, or marinara sauce.

Olive oil

We always recommend using extra virgin olive oil because of its superior flavor and nutritional profile compared to most other oils. However, as a cheaper alternative, you could use regular olive oil.

Dried oregano

Dried oregano makes the sauce taste like authentic pizza sauce. You can substitute dried thyme for oregano.

Garlic

Garlic is optional. Some kids don’t like it, so if you make this recipe for them, you might want to reduce or omit the garlic completely.

However, we love this recipe with at least one garlic clove. You can thinly slice it, grate it, or mince it.

Salt & Pepper

Use sea salt or kosher salt for the best flavor. Freshly ground black pepper is also recommended.

Optionally, add a pinch of red pepper flakes to make the sauce spicy.

Fresh Basil

We use fresh basil to garnish the eggplant pizza and add that distinctive Italian aroma everyone loves.

1. Roast eggplant discs

Preheat the oven to 430°F or 220°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Wash and dry the eggplant, remove the stem, and cut it into 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) discs.

Arrange the discs on the baking sheet, brush them with extra virgin olive oil, and season with salt and black pepper.

Roast the eggplants for 15 to 20 minutes. While they bake, make the pizza sauce.

Tip: if your eggplants are watery, turn them around and bake them for 5 more minutes to remove excess moisture.

2. Make pizza sauce

Add tomato passata, dried oregano, extra virgin olive oil, grated or sliced garlic, salt, and pepper, to a bowl, stir, and set aside.

2. Make eggplant pizza

Apply pizza sauce on top of roasted eggplant slices and spread with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with a pinch or two of grated mozzarella.

Put back in the oven and broil for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is melty and starts to brown.

Transfer onto a serving platter, and sprinkle with a pinch of dried oregano, a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil (optional), and fresh basil leaves.

Eggplant pizza with fresh tomatoes

Our favorite variation of eggplant pizza is one with fresh tomatoes and basil, without the cheese. To make it, you’ll need the following:

• 8 ounces (230 grams) of cherry tomatoes or other small tomatoes
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of vinegar (balsamic or apple cider)
• 2 twists of black pepper
• 10 leaves of fresh basil

Roast the eggplant discs for 25 to 30 minutes until fully cooked. Turn them around at the 20-minute mark.

To a bowl, add diced cherry tomatoes, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, and chopped basil. Stir and set aside while the eggplants bake.

Arrange eggplants on a serving platter on a single layer. Top with about a tablespoon of the tomato mix, and enjoy.

Eggplant pizza with pesto

Make the eggplant pizzas per our recipe, then drizzle them with our delicious pesto sauce to add a wonderful basil flavor.

Check out our homemade pesto sauce recipe.

Eggplant pizza with olives

Add olive slices with the mozzarella cheese, then broil for 5 minutes, and your eggplant pizzas are ready.

You can add other pizza toppings like diced bell peppers, pineapple, artichoke hearts, and asparagus.

These eggplant pizzas can easily be served as an appetizer or as a main with other small dishes. Here are some scrumptious pairing ideas:

• Starter: serve on crostini or a platter with other starters such as focaccia bread, bruschetta, bean dip, and farinata

• Main meal: add the eggplant on top of pasta aglio e olio or in a sandwich. You even make pizza dough with our flatbread pizza recipe and top it with eggplant pizza.

• Side dish: pair with one of our delicious plant-based mains such as vegan fish, marinated tofu, and mushroom tofu.

Make ahead: while these are best right out of the oven, you can also make them a few hours before serving them and enjoy them at room temperature.

Refrigerator: store leftovers in the fridge, covered with film or in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.

Reheat: the next day, you can serve them at room temperature, taking them out of the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Or reheat them in the oven, with the broiler function, for 5 minutes.

Freezer: we haven’t tried freezing eggplant pizza.

More Eggplant Recipes

Get more easy and delicious eggplant inspiration from these wholesome recipes:

• Roasted eggplant (garlic, parsley, olive oil, salt, eggplant, etc.)
• Air fryer eggplant (garlic powder, eggplant, chili powder, salt, olive oil, etc.)
• Sicilian caponata (capers, olives, eggplant, basil, garlic, canned tomatoes, vinegar, etc.)
• Creamy eggplant dip (roasted eggplant, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, etc.)
• Eggplant pasta (canned tomatoes, rigatoni pasta, eggplant, basil, garlic, olive oil, etc.)
• Stuffed eggplant (eggplant, mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, pesto, pine nuts, etc.)

If you want more, see our 35 best eggplant recipes.