Did you know eggplants get their name because when young they actually look like eggs? Fun fact for ya. The majority of people, I’d say, love pizza. I can name 2 people that don’t like pizza. That is it! Pizza is so comforting, also filling, cozy and delicious. It is an easy meal for those weeknights that you don’t want to cook and an easy meal that the kids will enjoy. On top of all that, you can make pizza so many different ways, from the crust, toppings, cheese and sauce! Eggplant pizza tastes just as good and is a lighter bite than a traditional pizza.

Eggplant

Eggplant is a great alternative when you want to replace meat. Not that it tastes like meat but sometimes, depending on the way it is cooked, it is textured like meat. The closest comparison in taste would be zucchini. Eggplant is perfect to make a vegetarian meal. Most people think of eggplant parmesan and can’t think of anything else to make with it. Yet there are many things to make with it. You can use it to make stir fry, vegetable medleys, lasagna and my favorite, mashed! I love it mashed with lots of cheese, served with white rice. Just one cup of eggplant is 20 calories! Feel free to over eat eggplant!

A must when cooking eggplant is to salt it. The salt helps the eggplant sweat out all the water, whichever way you choose to cook it.

I don’t buy eggplant as often. Mainly because my husband doesn’t really care for it. When my boys were younger I used to make it often for them and myself and overtime just forgot about it. Who wants to make 2 different dinners? Not me. Well this time around, I did not tell my husband I was making eggplant pizza and he had no choice but to eat it. Guess what?! He absolutely loved it! He mentioned a few times after how delicious the meal was. It’s a light dinner that I served with watermelon. You can also serve it with a side salad. Even my youngest, at 11 months loved it. Eggplant is back on my rotating list of meals to make.

Pizza

Who doesn’t have pizza at least once a week? Guilty. Friday’s are usually pizza nights. However, during quarantine, there has obviously been less movement. Things are opening up here in my state but not enough to be running around and acting irresponsible. Therefore, I do what I have to do and try to enjoy myself when I can. Yet, I am mostly home. Therefore, I want to make sure I am not overeating in the carbs department.

This eggplant pizza is absolutely delicious and cooks in just 8 minutes! If you love pizza as much as I do, try my BBQ Chicken Pizza and Lemon Chicken Pizza.

Eggplant Pizza

Recipe by Azilde ElizabethCourse: Lunch/DinnerCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

8

minutes

Total time

23

minutes

Easy, light dinner! Add toppings or serve with just cheese!

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant, washed and sliced (skin on) About 1/2 inch slices.

• 3-4 tbsp of olive oil

• 4 oz of mozzarella cheese, shredded

• 2 oz of parmesan cheese, shredded

• 1/2 cup of pasta sauce

• Salt

• Pepper

• Dried Oregano

• 1/4 cup of mushrooms, sliced (optional)

• 1/4 cup of cherry tomatoes, sliced (optional)

• Dried cilantro, for garnish

Directions

• Turn oven on HI broil.
• Brush eggplant on each side with olive oil. Then season both sides with salt and pepper.
• Stick in oven for 5 minutes or until browned. Keep watch as it can burn quickly on broil.
• Remove from oven and flip. Brush on another layer of olive oil and sprinkle some oregano. Spread some pasta sauce on each eggplant. Top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
• Add mushrooms and tomatoes, if desired.
• Broil for 3 minutes or until cheese is melted and brown.
• 3-4 Servings* (see notes)

Notes

• *I used 8 slices, varied in different sizes and served 2 adults and 2 young children. I had a large eggplant that I sliced into 17 slices and froze half.
• If using the whole eggplant, you will need more cheese and pasta sauce. My measurements are based on the 8 slices of eggplant.
• I found it best to use a cooling rack to set eggplant for broiling. This way it does not stick to the pan and does not get soggy.

I wish I would have made the whole eggplant since I want some now just talking about it!

I hope you enjoy!