Pizza is definitely one of my favorite comfort foods, however I don’t always love how I feel after I indulge in a few slices.
Not only is pizza typically loaded with heavy cheese, sugary red sauce, and fatty Italian meats, but also the amount of grain in the crust can add up to equal over three servings per slice!
However, there is a better way to enjoy pizza without overdoing your calories, saturated fat, sodium and carbohydrates for the day. By removing the crust and replacing it with eggplant rounds you quickly cut down on mostly all of the carbohydrates found in pizza. Also, the eggplant rounds allow you to moderate the pizza-portion. No more jumbo-slice pizza here!
Making the Eggplant Pizzas
When you make pizza at home you have full control over every ingredient you use and you can pick out healthy toppings.
Use a sugar-free marinara sauce and a blended mix of cheeses, freshly shredded. Buying pre-shredded cheese often exposes you to many undesired additives including potato starch (thickener, anti-clumping agent), powdered cellulose (wood pulp derivative used as an anti-caking stabilizing agent) and natamycin (anti-mold agent). While none of these ingredients are harmful in moderation, the taste, texture, and mouthfeel of fresh shredded cheese just out performs any pre-shredded cheese product.
I typically like to top my pizza with veggies like sautéed onions, mushrooms and spinach, but I didn’t want to weigh down the eggplant rounds too much. I may try adding those toppings at my next attempt on this recipe.
I love this simple eggplant pizza recipe because it has all the flavor of pizza but without the guilt-factor. It is also a great way to sneak in the veggies at meal time. Try it out and let me know what you think!
DIETS
This recipe complies with the following diets:
- Paleo – No
- SCD – Yes, but use a cheese aged >30 days
- Low FODMAP – Yes, as long as you use a low FODMAP approved marinara sauce
- Grain Free – Yes
- Gluten Free – Yes
- Dairy Free – No
- SIBO-Specific Diet – Yes, but use cheese aged >30 days and garlic/onion-free marinara sauce without sugar
- Keto – No
NUTRITION FACTS
This recipe makes 2 servings
Each serving includes: 456 calories, 27 g carbohydrates, 32 g protein, 36 g fat, and 8 g fiber.
- 1 medium eggplant
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup shredded pizza cheese
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Slice eggplant in 1/2 inch thick rounds and place on the baking sheet. Lightly top each round with oil, salt and pepper.
- Top each round with 1 spoonful of marinara sauce, shredded cheese, and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning.
- Bake for 20-minutes or until the cheese begins to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-minutes.
