Eggplant Pizza Toasts

These little pizza toasts are awesome! They are fun, easy, full of summer flavors, and feature super in-season eggplant. Besides from just being delicious, eggplant is intriguing to work with as its meaty characteristics can make for good animal protein replacement in many dishes. Of course, eggplant doesn’t have protein like meat, but it does share some of the same savoriness and heartiness as meat.

This amazing pizza toast is hearty toasty bread, sweet and acidic tomato sauce, super savory eggplant, and rich melty mozzarella, all topped off pizza style with olive oil and basil. It’s like eggplant parm pizza toast. You already know it’s crazy good.

As with pretty much everything I make, my goal for a recipe is to first off taste amazing, and then just happen to also be a nutritious, fueling option for you. I would say these eggplant toasts fit the bill. They would make an easy lunch or dinner along side a protein and salad, or really even just on their own. Enjoy!

Eggplant Pizza Toasts

Makes 4 toasts

5 cups (400g) diced eggplant (~1/2 large eggplant)

1 tbs. olive/vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1-2 big pinches kosher salt

couple grinds black pepper

1 tbs. balsamic vinegar

4 thick slices whole grain bread (cut ~1”/2.5cm thick)

¼ cup (65g) tomato sauce

4 oz. (115g) mozzarella, torn or cut into pieces

fresh basil leaves, torn or sliced

olive oil

Heat a large sauté pan or skillet on medium heat. When nice and hot, add the olive oil and garlic. Stir and cook for about 30 seconds until garlic is fragrant, then add the eggplant. Season with salt and pepper and stir well. Cook, stirring occasionally, until eggplant has shrunken to maybe 1/3 its original volume. This should take around 10 minutes. Then add balsamic, stir well, and turn heat off. Let cool slightly.

Turn on oven broiler. On a small sheet tray, assemble the toasts. Spread tomato sauce on each slice of bread, pile on the cooked eggplant, and then top with the mozzarella. Obviously divide ingredients equally among toasts.

Place prepped toasts into the oven and let broil for about 6-7 minutes. They are done when the bread is toasty and the cheese is quite melted and has golden spots. Cool slighty, then top with a little drizzle of olive oil and the fresh basil.

Notes: Easily adjust recipe to make more or less. You could save and reheat extras, but I doubt there will be any.