Easy Low Carb Roasted Eggplant Mini Pizzas. 3g carbs per portion (2 mini pizzas).
Lunch ideas are always the most difficult for those following the ketogenic lifestyle. Especially when lunch has to take place away from home, where cooking or re-heating food is not an option. In fact, most ketoers who return to carb life do so because they found keto difficult when out and about.
Even though I am fortunate enough not to have to “go to work”, I totally get it. Ketohusband works 13 hour shifts as a mental health specialist. So we always have to think ahead and prepare meals in advance that he can take with him. He rarely eats al desko. Because he works in the community, he doesn’t even have the luxury of a fridge or toaster like his office-based colleagues do.
As a result, I am constantly thinking up lunch ideas. I know he loves pizza, so why not create something different but with pizza flavours?
How to make Easy Low Carb Roasted Eggplant Mini Pizzas.
It’s obvious that the star of the show is eggplant. This fabulous vegetable, also known as aubergine or melanzana, is low carb and easy to cook with. I loved it looong before keto. In fact – I couldn’t get enough of it as a child. Not because of its healthy qualities. Because it was my #2 favourite dessert. Seriously! Thinly sliced, tossed in flour and fried until golden and crispy, then drained and sprinkled with loads of sugar. Unbelievably good! My #1 favourite was sugar chips. Yes, you’ve read that correctly. Much as the thought literally makes my brain hurt, I have to fess up. Chips. Dipped in a pot of sugar. What can I say, other than TRY BEFORE YOU JUDGE… (the try bit is for non-ketoers only, obviously).
Anyway…where was I… my mind keeps wandering off today… Oh yes, Mini Pizzas. Eggplant aside, you only need a few staple ingredients: tomatoes, cheese, olives, capers, Extra Virgin Olive (EVO) oil, oregano, salt and pepper.
If you don’t like the sound of those, no problem. Be creative and top your mini pizzas with whatever you fancy. Like diced peppers, chillies and hot sausage – if you like your food really hot, for example. Why not? You can pretty much put anything you like on a pizza. Most Italian pizzerias even offer Nutella pizza nowadays! Please don’t !!!! Just bear in mind that eggplant provides a soft ‘pizza base’ so don’t go mad with oily toppings.
My macros are based on 300g eggplant net weight. Please use metric scales for weight measurement as they are more precise (see recipe for links). Slices will vary in diameter, but generally, because of the eggplant shape, you will obtain 4 larger and 4 smaller slices. I suggest -to even out the macros, that you plate 1 small and 1 large ‘pizza’ per serving, alongside some charcuterie, perhaps.
But of course you could serve Easy Low Carb Roasted Eggplant Mini Pizzas as an appetiser, offering just one to each person on a variety platter. Or you could have a main meal for 2 and eat 4 each. Or even scoff the whole lot if you fancy blowing an entire day’s carb allowance.
Enjoy!
- Yield: 8
- Serving: 2
- Calories: 190
- Fat: 15g
- Net Carbs: 3g
- Protein: 8.7g
- 1 medium eggplant (aubergine), circa 400g
- 100g provola piccante (or mozzarella, gruyere, scamorza, etc.)
- 80g baby plum or cherry tomatoes
- 8 pitted black olives
- 8 capers
- a sprinkle of fine Himalayan pink salt
- a pinch of dried oregano
- freshly ground black pepper
- a drizzle or spray of Extra Virgin Olive (EVO) Oil
- pre-heat oven to 200C static.
- top and tail eggplant and then cut across to obtain 8 slices approximately 1cm thick; the slices should weigh 300g circa in total.
- place eggplant slices on a baking tray lined with parchment paper; score each slice vertically and diagonally, drizzle or spray a little EVO oil and sprinkle salt and pepper all over.
- roast for 10 minutes.
- while the eggplant slices are roasting, slice cheese and tomatoes quite thinly, cut olives in half and wash+drain capers.
- remove roasted eggplant slices from the oven (don't turn it off), and top with the following (in order): sliced cheese, then sliced tomatoes, and finally olives and capers.
- sprinkle oregano over the mini pizzas, drizzle a little EVO oil and bake for 20 minutes.
- serve hot or cold.
For accurate measurement, use metric scales. They are inexpensive and take up very little space in your kitchen. I keep mine standing up inside a cupboard. For U.S. option, click HERE.
