EGGPLANT PIZZA BITES

Eggplant Pizza Bites! I know just the name alone is making you want to faceplant so hard.  This Whole30, Paleo, and kid-friendly recipe will become a new staple in your house.  I promise.

Not gonna lie, I used to be intimidated by eggplant.  I would look at in the grocery store and think “oh heck no Jenn, if you buy that you will totally F it up” So I passed on it for years! Then a few years ago we got a couple in our CSA box.  Well crap, now I had to cook it up….I wasn’t about to waste those purple beauties.

So I made an eggplant parmesan.  It was filled with oooey-gooey mozzarella, parmesan cheese (obvs), and tons of marinara.  But the eggplant was soggy.  Womp. Womp.  So I tried tried again, tweaked a bunch of things and NAILED IT.  Sidenote: have you watched Nailed It on Netflix?  The host is pretty intense, but if you need a nonsense, fun show to watch check out a couple episodes!

Alright, back to all this eggplant talk.  After my tweaks I decided that making eggplant “bites” were way easier than layering.  I also changed things up to help the soggy issue that I know a bunch of you get when cooking eggplant.

Here are my tips:

1. Slice at least 1/8 inch thick.
2. Place on paper towels or cotton towels and sprinkle salt all over the top.  The salt helps draw out the water.  Let it sit for at least 30 minutes.
3. Pat those bad boys dry! Pat them real good.
4. If breading, only bread 1 side.

Follow these tips and you won’t have sogginess all up in your mouth!

Onto the breading.  Now this is totally optional.  I think that is adds a pizza-ie flavor to it, but it will still taste delightful without it.  You have a few choices when it comes to “breading” the eggplant.  You can use panko, make a flour mixture (which is what I did in this recipe), or use my favorite pork panko crumbs.  You can get the pork panko HERE.  Hashtag WORTH IT.  And then with the other bags of pork panko that you get (it comes with 3), you can make my CRISPY OVEN BAKED GREEN BEAN FRIES.  🙂

I talked about it on Instagram, but my kids DEVOURED these and left only 2 for me.  They definitely were hesitant at 1st to eat them because it had been awhile since I’ve cooked eggplant, but after they were done they told me that it needed to be made more often.

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EGGPLANT PIZZA BITES

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Yield: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1-2 medium eggplants, sliced 1/8 in. thick
• fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup marinara sauce or pizza sauce (I love Cucina Antica)
• OPTIONAL: fresh grated parmesan cheese
BREADING:
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1 tbl oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Take your eggplant, slice it up, sprinkle a bit of salt on each one, and let sit for 30 minutes. (Read tip in post)
3. After 30 minutes, take a paper towel and pat dry.
4. In a bowl mix almond flour and seasonings together. In another bowl whisk 1 egg.
5. Dip 1 side of the eggplant into the egg and then into the almond flour mix. Place on a silicone mat or parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Next add 1 basil leaf to the eggplant followed by a spoonful of marinara sauce.
7. Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes.
8. Remove and garnish with fresh basil and the optional fresh grated parmesan cheese.
9. Enjoy warm.

Notes

Prep Time is at 30 minutes because you have to let the eggplant sit.

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(As always, you can get 25% off of DiOro products, like this silicone mat that is my fave.  Just use code “donutdioro” at checkout.  )

Are you an eggplant fan or have you not made it in a long time because it was always so soggy?  Let me know your thought!

Whole30: yes (omit optional parm cheese)

Paleo: yes (omit optional parm cheese)