Originally posted January 9th, 2015 (updated pictures)
By now I think you know how much I love pizza. If you’re new, I REALLLLY love pizza. If I had to eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would definitely be pizza. Pasta would be a close second but for me I need the different varieties of pasta and I’m very particular about it.
Pizza is also one of those foods that healthier versions don’t satisfy my craving for it. I’ve tried a couple different things in the past, English muffin pizzas, cauliflower crust (what a fail), quinoa pizza, etc. and I finish those “alternatives”, still craving real pizza.
When I planned this dinner I wasn’t hoping to really satisfy the craving I had for pizza, just to pacify it for a few more days.
I was blown away with how good these eggplant pizzas were. I’m not craving pizza right now, I’m craving more eggplant pizzas!
Before you say anything, yes I know that a huge part of the pizza flavor comes from the crust and all those yummy carbs, but I did not miss them at all. For some reason the turkey pepperoni tasted a million times better on this eggplant pizza than it does on normal pizza (and I actually like the turkey pepperoni).
We were able to pick up the eggplant pieces and eat it like pizza.
I couldn’t pinpoint what it was about these little pizza imitators that worked so well. Which means I should probably make them again like tomorrow to try to figure that out for you 
They were easy too! Just salt sliced eggplant for about 20 minutes. Brush with olive oil and garlic. Then bake at 375 for about 20-25 minutes. They’ll look something like this:
Then top with some sauce, mozzarella cheese, parm cheese and italian seasoning.
Bake again at a higher temp (broiling or about 550) until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Be careful not to burn!
And then…. eat them all.
Ps. I ate leftovers of these for lunch and reheating them in the microwave made them a little mushy but they were still beyond amazing and I still managed to hold them like a pizza.
- 1 Eggplant
- 4 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded (I shredded in the food processor)
- 15-20 turkey pepperoni slices, cut into quarters
- Pizza sauce (homemade or store bought)
- Parmesan cheese
- Olive oil
- Garlic, minced
- Italian Seasoning
- Red pepper flakes, to taste
- Salt
- Slice your eggplant into round ~ 3/4 inch slices. Try to slice as evenly as possible.
- Lay eggplant slices on paper towels and sprinkle with salt to draw out some of the moisture. Let sit for about 20-25 minutes and then wipe eggplant with paper towels.
- Mix minced garlic and olive oil in a bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds. (I like to do this so the garlic flavor infuses a little with the olive oil but you can skip this step and just combine them)
- Brush each eggplant slice with garlic and olive oil and place on a greased cooling rack on top of a baking sheet.
- Bake in oven 375 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.
- Top eggplant slices with pizza sauce, pepperoni quarters, mozzarella, parmesan and Italian seasoning.
- Broil (or bake at about 550 degrees) until cheese is melted and golden brown. Be careful not to burn.
- Serve immediately with red pepper flakes if desired.
Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen
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