Who likes eggplant? (Unite!)
Who likes pizza? (OK, seriously, who isn’t raising their hand?)
Who’s stoked about combining the two? Me!
Let’s do this!
This 10-ingredient dinner or side is adapted and inspired by my Crispy Gluten-Free Eggplant Parmesan, only I took it a step further by adding pizza sauce and vegan cheese!
The base starts with thinly sliced eggplant (the thinner the better), which is then dipped in gluten-free flour, almond milk, and finally a crispy breading comprised of cornmeal, vegan parmesan cheese, and gluten-free bread crumbs.
Once they’re breaded, simply sauté on both sides until golden brown and then bake in the oven until crispy. All that’s left to do is top with a little red sauce and vegan cheese of choice and bake again until hot. And voila! Eggplant pizza.
We hope you LOVE these mini pizzas! They’re:
Crispy
Cheesy
Saucy
Versatile
Flavorful
& Uber delicious
These pizzas would make the perfect side on Italian night or main when paired with hearty greens or our Best Vegan Meatballs! We especially love how crispy they are and that each bite includes plenty of hearty red sauce and vegan cheese!
If you’re into pizza, also be sure to check out our Easy Vegan Pesto Breadsticks, Easy Vegan Pizza, Butternut Squash Veggie Pizza, and Mini Portobello Pizzas!
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
For those looking to skip the breading process or make eggplant pizza on the grill (see below), we’ve got you covered! See alternative options in the notes!
Crispy Gluten-Free Eggplant Pizzas
Ingredients
WET INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup unsweetened plain almond milk (or other neutral dairy-free milk)
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch (you can try subbing arrowroot starch, but we haven’t tested it)
FLOUR COATING
- 1/2 cup gluten-free flour blend
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch (you can try subbing arrowroot starch, but we haven’t tested it)
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
CRISPY COATING
- 1/3 cup gluten-free panko bread crumbs*
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1/4 cup Vegan Parmesan Cheese
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
EGGPLANT
- 1 whole long, narrow eggplant (sliced into 1/8th inch rounds // skin on)
- 4 Tbsp neutral cooking oil (like avocado or melted coconut // divided)
TOPPINGS
- 1 cup Easy Marinara Sauce (or your favorite store-bought pizza sauce)
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese
- Vegan Ricotta Cheese (optional)
- Chopped mixed vegetables (like kalamata olives, green pepper, onion, or mushrooms // optional)
- Fresh basil (optional)
- Red Pepper Flake (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Also, prepare your dipping stations by mixing together almond milk and cornstarch in one bowl; gluten-free flour, cornstarch, and sea salt in another bowl; and gluten-free panko bread crumbs, cornmeal, vegan parmesan cheese, and sea salt in another bowl (see photo).
- Next, dip eggplant slices in flour mixture, then almond milk mixture, and then breadcrumb mixture and arrange dipped rounds on a clean plate or baking sheet.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 2 Tbsp oil (30 ml // as recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size). Let the oil heat for 1 minute. Then add 4-5 eggplant rounds at a time and brown for ~2-3 minutes on each side or until light golden brown. Then add to the prepared baking sheet and add baking sheet to the oven so the eggplant can start baking.
- Continue browning eggplant in batches until all rounds are browned and in the oven, adding more oil to the cooking pan as needed. Turn heat down if eggplant rounds are browning too quickly.
- Bake eggplant for 15-20 minutes or until crispy and golden brown, flipping once around the halfway mark to ensure even baking. Prepare sauce, vegan cheese, and any other toppings at this time (optional). Set aside.
- Remove eggplant from the oven when crispy and golden brown. Top with a little red sauce, vegan cheese of choice, and any other toppings, such as mixed vegetables. Bake for another 5-7 minutes or until cheese is lightly golden brown. Enjoy as is or garnish with red pepper flake, fresh basil, or vegan parmesan cheese.
- Best when fresh. But you can store completely cooled eggplant (that hasn’t had any sauce or toppings added) covered in the refrigerator up to 2 days. Reheat on a baking sheet in a 350-degree F (176 C) oven until hot. You can also freeze UNCOOKED coated eggplant slices in a single layer and store in a freezer-safe container up to 1 month. From frozen, sauté on both sides until golden brown. Then bake in a 375-degree F (190 C) oven until hot, crispy, and golden brown. Top with desired toppings and then bake again to warm toppings – about 5 minutes.
Video
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with 1 tsp vegan almond ricotta per slice and without optional ingredients.
Ross Kane says
This sounds uber delicious. I might have this for dinner soon.
Let us know what you think if you give it a try, Ross!
Betsy says
I also decided to skip the browning so just sprayed with avocado oil and baked at 425 for about 20 min, flipping halfway through, before adding sauce and some Miyoko’s mozz for another 5 or so. Will make again and again!!
Yumm! We’re so happy you enjoyed! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Betsy! xo
Holly says
This is amazing!!! Love it!! Will definitely make it again. Love your recipes!
So great! Thanks for sharing, Holly!
alicia cortada says
These are sooooo good omg
Just trust me and make them!
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoy them, Alicia! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Rachel says
What a great recipe! I normally only like eggplant in specific dishes, but I must say that this is one of those dishes.
I’m vegetarian so I used regular parm for the coating and cheese to top the pizzas and skipped the frying and went right to the oven. They browned up nicely. I also really enjoyed the texture of the eggplant – its such a nice change from the bready-ness of a wheat-based crust. Highly recommend!!!!
Yay! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Rachel! xo
Ann says
Really enjoyed this eggplant recipe! And so did my 3 year old! I don’t follow a vegan diet so I used flour, cheese and milk. Topped 1/2 the pizzas with mozzarella and 1/2 with ricotta along with mushrooms and olives. Thanks for a great eggplant recipe.
Yay! We’re so glad you both enjoyed it, Ann! Thank you for sharing! xo
Lauren says
Super Yummy! I’m not gluten or dairy free, so I used regular flour and regular cheese, which worked great. Heated these up for leftovers 2 days later on the griddle, and they were just as good, if not better. (Used Trader Joe’s pizza sauce on these– super good.) Great recipe!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Lauren!
Natalia says
This recipe is amazing! As soon as my husband and I took a bite out of our pizzas we just immediately looked at each other in disbelief and proceeded to devour the entire thing! Seriously, this dish was truly delicious. I’ll have to include it into our family’s meal rotation. Thanks!!
Yay! We’re so glad you both enjoyed it. Thanks so much for sharing, Natalia!
PA says
Perfect Crispy Eggplant slices! So good!! Although to save some time, I may skip the browning step and go straight for the oven next time and see what the result is. Thanks
We’re so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Erin says
These were so delicious!! I don’t think I will ever have regular pizza on dough again. I had the extras for lunch today and they reheated perfectly! Thank you so much!
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Erin! Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Sue Centra says
We made these without the cornmeal and they were still crunchy and delicious! Will definitely make again.
Oh and we skipped the frying step and baked in a 450 oven instead.
Thanks for sharing, Sue! We’re so glad you enjoyed them!
Megan says
This was delicious! Baked it until the higher minute range and they turned out nice and crispy. Thanks for including videos (and keeping them short and sweet) for your recipes. They are super helpful! :)
Thanks so much for the lovely review and feedback, Megan! We are so glad you enjoyed these! xo
K says
Amazing! Everyone loved these pizzas. Fun to make and delicious to eat.
Alexandra says
These pizzas are SOO delicious!!
I used coconut milk and arrowroot starch and had no issues following the directions exactly.
Thanks for the deliciousness!
Yay! We’re glad to hear that, Alexandra!
Justin says
I made these the other night, and they were absolutely amazing! Thank you for recipe!
Whoop! We’re glad to hear that, Justin!
Brooke A says
Can these freeze well? prior to adding the pizza toppings?
See the last note in the instructions, Brooke!
Jay Soriano says
Thanks for sharing ……… Amzzing
Julie says
Delicious! Definitely time consuming, but worth it. Loved that I didn’t have to spend time drying out the eggplant
Wim says
Can I substitute the cornmeal in the crispy coating for regular wheat flour? Or will that make it less crispy?
I think that would make it less crispy and not work quite the same, but if you give it a try, report back!
Lauren says
Made this for dinner tonight and it was so so good! A bit time consuming because you can only fit so many slices in a pan to brown at once but even making all the extra toppings, it took just over an hour and that’s not bad! And the final product is worth it! I’ll make these again.
Jas says
Oh my god! Made these for dinner this evening without the vegan cheese topping, but with sautéed mushrooms. YUM!! Got through way more than I was planning to ??
Kaitlin says
Hi! These look so delicious and I plan on making them this week! Do you think using either almond flour, coconut or cassava flour would be ok for the flour coating?
Beth says
I used almond flour and they were amazing!
Cassie Autumn Tran says
I used to eat eggplant this way as a teenager! The only difference is that I wouldn’t use the flour blend or cornstarch. I’m sure these would taste like small eggplant Parmigianas–absolutely to die for!
Yay to nostalgia! We hope these bring back memories, Cassie!
Judy says
I made this 2 nights ago and I can’t stop thinking about it. It truly was fantastic. I am only going to comment on the “base” bc anybody who makes any kind of pizza is going to top it to their liking. I followed the instructions to the letter for the base and I couldn’t love it any better. The outcome was a delicious surprise to me. It was soft & marvelous on the inside & it was over the top crunchy on the outside. There is no doubt that this is a keeper bc I know that I will make this over & over again. Thanks Dana!
Lisa says
Tried this recipe tonight, except I used zucchini instead of eggplant. I’m not vegan or gluten free, either, so I used regular parmesan cheese and flour. They turned out amazing!
I love your recipes and look forward to move delicious dinners. Thank you!
Yum! Thanks for sharing your recipe changes, Lisa!
Kylie says
First, I want a mini Dana to live in my kitchen. You’re so creative and all of your recipes that I’ve tried have worked out amazing. My non Vegan friends are always impressed.
I wanted to ask, in your original Vegan Eggplant parmesan recipe you go to a lot of trouble to dry out the eggplant slices, salting and pressing them. In the gluten free updated versions since, you don’t include these steps. Are they unnecessary?
Hi Kylie! So kind. So yeah, I now consider them unnecessary for my eggplant recipes! Too time consuming for too little reward. Hope that helps!
MARIE says
Made these for dinner tonight! LOVED THEM
This recipe is a keeper!
Thanks, Marie!
emy says
Those gluten free Panko bread crumbs you linked to are $38!
Emy, they’re $38 for a pack of 8. However, you can find them for around $4 at most grocery stores.
Tami says
You are amazing… I’ve been following you for the past 18 months now, and am never surprised with what you come up with. So creative – thanks for helping me on my plant-based journey!
Thanks, Tami! xo
Nan says
First, I didn’t think your vegan eggplant parmesan could get any better and then you go and make eggplant pizzas!!! They turned out amazing. Crispy, tomato saucy deliciousness. We added roasted red bell peppers, sundried tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, and olives. This is a keeper in our home. Thank you for sharing your culinary talents with us.
Thanks for sharing, Nan! xo
Phoenix Perry says
Ok, first off this is great, however it took me an hour to get it made. I think if it’s in your normal arsenal, it’d take 30 minutes. There are 3 other recipes hiding inside this one. If I did it again, I would just put some oil in the baking pan and use store bought vegan cheese and sauce. It would not be as good, but it would be quicker. We added artichokes on top.
Thanks for the feedback, Perry! The DIY vegan cheese and tomato sauce are definitely steps that are optional but hopefully can be done when the eggplant is baking. Thanks for the feedback! Glad you enjoyed it!
Jojo says
Literally has my mouth watering. After work will have to go to get the ingredients for this! Thanks
Whoop! Let us know how it goes :D
Briann Clagg says
How do you recommend cooking the veggies first? I plan on putting olives, broccoli, mushrooms, and peppers.
Thank you!
Briann :)
Sautéing until just tender is best!
Brittany Audra @ Audra's Appetite says
Love how crispy these look! :)
Thomas says
Looks SO GOOD! Love the idea of eggplant pizzas Dana, can’t wait to try it! :)