Eggplant Pizza Crust

So after a couple of “Thursday Night Pizza Nights” this crust has officially been deemed blogworthy!!!!

If you are new to the blog, we have a family tradition (for the past 6? 7? years) to make pizza every Thursday night. I almost always make homemade whole wheat crust, unless we are in a huge time crunch. Then I will occasionally buy the store-bought 100% whole wheat organic crusts.

Our homemade crust is very good and we all love it. It’s especially great when you throw it on the grill! But I am always on the lookout for something a little lighter and more nutritious since we eat it every week. I have used everything from an Ezekiel clean-ingrediet pocket bread to these Millet and Flax Lavash flatbreads. I have also tried cauliflower crusts, just out of curiosity, since they seem to be crazy popular around the blog and Pinterest world. But, honestly, I just didn’t dig them.

Then I ran across a photo of an Eggplant crust and decided to give it a try. WOW! Instant obsession!!!!

To be honest, they are a little work. But you can make a bunch at one time and freeze them. I promise the taste is amazing!!!! Don’t expect it to be a “bread-y” replica of doughy pizza crust. It is a different texture. But still a healthy, tasty way to enjoy pizza!!

If you give this a try, please let me know what you think!!! I would love to hear if you like it as much as me

Eggplant Pizza Crust (paleo, grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free)

Ingredients

1 whole eggplant

1/4 cup almond meal or almond flour

2 T. coconut flour

2 T. ground flax, flaxmeal, or ground chia seeds

1 egg

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Olive Oil or Parchment Paper (this crust is sticky!!!!)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Peel the eggplant. This may be easier if you slice the eggplant into a couple of big chunks. Then grate the eggplant with a cheese grater – be prepared to get your arm workout for the day!!!

Put the pile of shredded eggplant into a couple of paper towels or cheesecloth, if you have it, and wring out all of the excess moisture. Do NOT skip this step!

Place eggplant and other ingredients into a bowl and mix well.

Grease a pan very well with olive oil or lay down a sheet of parchment paper.

Place the pizza “dough” onto the pan and shape into a thin round crust.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Flip over and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

At this point, you can freeze the crust. Or top with desired toppings and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. Broil, if necessary, to get the cheese slightly browned and bubbly.

**Notes – I doubled this recipe and made it into 3 personal-pizza sized crusts since I’m the only one that eats these. Darren gave them the thumbs up approval, but he prefers his regular pizza