Julia Child’s Eggplant Pizza (Video)

Julia Child’s Eggplant Pizza is made on a base of roasted eggplant with tomatoes, herbs, garlic, Mozzarella, and Parmesan. And this vegetarian  eggplant pizza is so great for a meatless main dish!

PIN the eggplant pizza recipe to try it later!

I’ve been an eggplant fan for quite a few years, starting when I grew several different types of eggplant in my garden and experimented with them. And when I started thinking about making low-carb pizza on a base of eggplant, I was excited to find this recipe for Julia Child’s Eggplant Pizzas in From Julia Child’s Kitchen (affiliate link) my one and only Julia Child cookbook.

This recipe illustrates perfectly how Julia was ahead of her time with this low-carb, gluten-free, and vegetarian pizza idea. But I confess that even though the inspiring recipe was from Julia Child, I did make a few changes in the eggplant pizza recipe.

I cut the eggplant slightly thicker than Julia said and also roasted them uncovered rather than covered with foil. I also used some thinly sliced fresh basil on the pizza, a change I am sure Julia would approve of. And I did use two types of cheese and a generous amount of dried herbs, for an eggplant pizza recipe that’s loaded with flavor.

This recipe has been popular on the blog for quite a few years now, and it’s eggplant season so I’m reminding you about this eggplant pizza recipe for my Friday Favorites pick this week! Hope you will enjoy trying it.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

• globe eggplant
• salt, for drawing water out of eggplant
• olive oil
• basil leaves (optional)
• freshly grated Parmesan
• finely grated mozzarella
• hot red pepper flakes, optional
• garlic cloves, very finely chopped
• canned petite diced tomatoes
• dried Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link)
• Greek Oregano (affiliate link)

What kind of eggplant is best for eggplant pizza?

I use large Globe Eggplant for this recipe. Those are the biggest and fattest eggplant variety and they’re also the kind you’re most likely to see in American supermarkets. In fact, Globe Eggplant is sometimes called American Eggplant!

Do you need to salt the eggplant for this recipe?

I highly recommend salting the eggplant for this recipe and letting it sit for 30 minutes. Julia says the salting step is “to  remove excess moisture and puckery quality.” And although eggplant pizza will never have a firm crisp base like pizza made with dough, the salting will remove water that might make it soggy.

Will salting make the eggplant too salty?

After the eggplant sits for 30 minutes and the water is released, the water and salt is wiped off with a paper towel.

What other kinds of eggplant pizza can you make?

This recipe is for a low-carb vegetarian pizza. But you can definitely use other pizza toppings like sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, or bell peppers. I’d cook the sausage and then add the sauce ingredients. Mushrooms or peppers will need to be pre-cooked before they’re added to the top of the pizza; pepperoni and black olives can be added below or on top of the cheese.

Want more ideas for low-carb pizza?

If you’re craving pizza but don’t want the high-carb version, check out my huge round-up of Low-Carb Pizza Recipes from great blogs around the web! And most of the low-carb pizza ideas are also gluten-free.

How to make Julia Child’s Eggplant Pizza:

(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)

1. For this recipe you’ll need a globe eggplant, about 9 inches long.  (Mine weighed about 1/2 pound.)
2. Cut the eggplant in slices about 3/4 inch thick, trying to make them all the same thickness.
3. Lay eggplant slices on a double layer of paper towels and salt generously. 
4. While the eggplant sits, start cooking a generous amount of garlic in olive oil.
5. Then add a can of good quality petite dice tomatoes (or 2 cups diced fresh tomatoes), dried Italian Herb Seasoning (affiliate link) and dried Greek Oregano (affiliate link).
6. Let sauce simmer, adding a tablespoon or two of water whenever it seems dry.
7. After 30 minutes, you can see the liquid that’s released from the eggplant. 
8. Blot eggplant dry with paper towels and wipe off excess salt. Be sure to do that or the pizzas will be way too salty.)
9. Brush the eggplant with oil, sprinkle with dried herbs, and roast at 375F/190C for about 25 minutes. 
10. While the eggplant roasts, thinly slice fresh basil (if using) and measure out the Mozzarella and Parmesan. 
11. My eggplant was done after it roasted for 25 minutes.
12. Divide the sauce mixture among the eggplant pieces and top each with some sliced basil.
13. Then top each one with a generous amount of cheese.
14. Put pizzas under the broiler, just until the cheese is melted and serve.

Make it a low-carb vegetarian Meal:

Julia suggested this as a first course or side dish, but I ate it as the main dish, with Summer Tomato Salad with  Goat Cheese on the side. This would also be good with Perfect Spring Mix Salad, Lemon Parmesan Kale Salad, Avocado Tomato Salad, or Tomato, Olive, and Fresh Mozzarella Salad.

More Low-Carb Eggplant from Kalyn:

Grilled Eggplant with Feta and Herbs

Mediterranean Eggplant

Spicy Grilled Eggplant and Zucchini Salad

Grilled Eggplant Salad

Spicy Grilled Eggplant

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Yield: Makes 8 slices eggplant pizza

Julia Child's Eggplant Pizzas

Prep Time 50 minutes

Cook Time 32 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 22 minutes

I love this recipe for Julia Child's Eggplant Pizzas made on a base of roasted eggplant.

Ingredients

• 1 globe eggplant, about 8 ounces and 9-10 inches long
•  1 T salt, for drawing water out of eggplant
• 2 T olive oil, for brushing eggplant before roasting
• 2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning, for sprinkling on eggplant before roasting
• 10 large basil leaves, cut in chiffonade strips (optional)
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/3 cup finely grated mozzarella
• hot red pepper flakes for sprinkling finished pizza (optional)

Sauce Ingredients

• 3 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 large garlic cloves, very finely chopped
• 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes with liquid (see notes)
• 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning blend
• 1/4 tsp. dried oregano (use Greek or Turkish oregano)

Instructions

1. Cut off both ends of the eggplant; then cut it into 3/4 inch thick slices (trying to make them the same thickness!)
2. Put the eggplant pieces on a double layer of paper towels and sprinkle both sides generously with salt.  Let the eggplant sit with the salt on it for about 30 minutes to draw out the liquid.
3. After the eggplant sits for 15 minutes, turn on the oven to 375F/190C.
4. While the eggplant sits, make the sauce.  Heat 2-3 tsp. olive oil (depending on your pan) and saute the finely chopped garlic just until it becomes fragrant.  (Don't let it brown.)
5. Add the petite diced tomatoes, dried Italian seasoning, and dried oregano and let the sauce cook at a low simmer until it's thickened, breaking up the tomatoes with a fork as it cooks.  (Add water as needed, a few tablespoons at a time as the sauce cooks, keeping it hot by simmering at very low heat until it's needed for the eggplant slices.)
6. After 30 minutes, wipe the eggplant dry with paper towels (this also removes most of the salt.)
7. Spray a roasting sheet with olive oil or non-stick spray, lay eggplant slices on, brush the tops of the eggplant with olive oil, and sprinkle with dried Italian seasoning.
8. Roast the eggplant about 25 minutes (but "not so long that the slices become mushy and lose their shape" as Julia says.)
9. While the eggplant roasts, thinly slice the fresh basil leaves (if using) and combined freshly grated Parmesan and low-fat mozzarella blend.
10. After 25 minutes or when eggplant pieces are done, remove eggplant from the oven and turn oven setting to broil.
11. Spread a few tablespoons of sauce on the top of each eggplant slice, sprinkle with thin basil slices (if using) and top with a generous amount of cheese.
12. Put pizzas under the broiler until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.  (This took 6-7 minutes for me, but I was using a toaster oven and in a more powerful broiler it would probably only take a few minutes.)
13. Serve hot, with red pepper flakes to sprinkle on pizza if desired.

Notes

Use 2 cups peeled and diced fresh tomatoes instead of canned tomatoes if you prefer.

For nutritional information, two pizza slices is considered to be a serving.

This recipe adapted from one found in From Julia Child's Kitchen.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 195Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 535mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 3.6gSugar: 4.6gProtein: 6g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
I’m quite sure that Julia Child didn’t care about low-carb eating, but nevertheless these low-carb eggplant pizzas are a great choice for low-carb and gluten-free diets, and for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Eggplant Recipes or Oven Dinners to find more recipes like this one. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2012. It was last updated with more information in 2022.

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