Fried Eggplant Parmesan Pizza

You’re going to love this mashup of two of the best Italian foods- eggplant parmesan and pizza!

With flavorful sauce, melty cheese and crispy eggplant, this pizza hits all the right notes! Top it off with some fresh basil and you’re in pizza heaven.

Ingredients

Pizza dough: You can use store bought or homemade dough for this recipe.

Pizza sauce: The recipe for my light and simple uncooked pizza sauce is below.

Fried Eggplant: This crispy eggplant is the pizza topping you never knew you needed! The best part is that it can be made a day in advance to save you some time on pizza day.

Cheese: Using a blend of cheeses like parmigiano reggiano, mozzarella, and provolone help create just the right flavor for this pizza.

Fresh Basil: I like adding basil under the sauce before the bake, and then garnishing the pizza with a few basil leaves at the end.

Crispy Fried Eggplant

Do we really need to be putting fried eggplant on pizza, you might ask? To which I would answer, ABSOLUTELY YES. Sorry for yelling, but this crispy eggplant is just SO perfect on pizza, I know you’re going to love it. The trick to making sure the eggplant isn’t overwhelming to the pizza is to slice it very thin before frying and to chop the fried eggplant into pieces for the pizza. When I first tested this recipe, I left the fried eggplant slices whole on the pizza and while tasty, it was a bit heavy and I couldn’t taste the cheese and sauce as much. Chopping the eggplant made for a perfectly balanced pizza.

Pizza oven or Home oven?

You can easily make pizza in both a home oven or a pizza oven, but the techniques and cooking times will vary greatly depending on what you’re using. A home oven will typically get up to 500 or 550 degrees F, whereas a pizza oven can reach temps of 900 to 1000 F. If you are using a home oven, I suggest using a pizza steel to get the oven as hot as possible. You can use a pizza stone as well, but I’ve found steels to be much better! The pizza in these photos was cooked in my Ooni pizza oven, which results in those delicious charred spots and only takes a couple minutes to cook!

Recipe FAQ

Can I use leftover fried eggplant?

Yes! That is actually the better option if you happen to have leftover fried eggplant. It will cut down on pizza prep time. You can also make the eggplant a day in advance.

What should I do with leftover eggplant?

I don’t want to tell you what to do…but using the leftover eggplant and pizza sauce to make an eggplant parm sandwich is a fantastic idea.

Can I use store bought dough?

Yes! Both store bought and homemade dough will work. You can even buy dough from your local pizzeria.

How do I choose the perfect eggplant?

A good eggplant will have shiny skin with no dull marks or scratches. It should be firm with a tiny bit of give. The stem should be green and the eggplant should feel heavy for its size. Try to choose a medium sized eggplant, the larger ones can sometimes be bitter.

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Print

Fried Eggplant Parmesan Pizza

You're going to love this mashup of two of the best Italian foods- eggplant parmesan and pizza! With flavorful sauce, melty cheese and crispy eggplant, this pizza hits all the right notes! Top it off with some fresh basil and you're in pizza heaven.

Course Main CourseCuisine ItalianKeyword eggplant parmesan, eggplant recipes, Summer, vegetarian pizza

Prep Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutesCook Time 15 minutes minutesTotal Time 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Equipment

• Pizza steel or pizza oven
• Cooling rack
• Thermometer
• Food processor
• Baking sheets
• Pizza Peel
• Box grater
• Pizza pan

Ingredients

For the fried eggplant

• 1 globe eggplant sliced longways into ¼ inch pieces
• 1 Cup all purpose flour
• 2 Eggs beaten
• 1 Tablespoon water
• 1 Cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 Cup Italian breadcrumbs
• vegetable oil for frying

For the pizza

• 1 pizza dough
• ½ Cup pizza sauce recipe follows
• 1 Tablespoon parmigiano reggiano finely grated
• 1 Cup whole milk, low moisture mozzarella grated by hand
• 1 Deli slice provolone torn by hand
• Fresh basil to taste
• Semolina for dusting

For the pizza sauce

• 1 28 Ounce can whole peeled tomatoes juice reserved
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Small garlic clove minced
• ½ Teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ Teaspoon dried oregano optional

Instructions

For the fried eggplant

• Line a baking sheet with paper towels and lay the eggplant slices on top. Sprinkle the eggplant with salt and let sit for 30 minutes to draw out excess moisture. Pat the eggplant dry with paper towels.
• Set up a dredging station with 3 shallow dishes. In one dish, combine the flour with a pinch of salt. In the second dish, combine the beaten eggs with 1 tablespoon water. In the third dish, combine the panko and Italian breadcrumbs.
• Prepare a parchment paper lined baking sheet for the eggplant. Dredge the eggplant slices in the flour, shaking off any excess, the eggs, and finally the breadcrumbs. Transfer the breaded eggplant to the prepared baking sheet and put it in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. (This is a great time to make the pizza sauce!)
• In a large skillet, heat ½ inch of vegetable oil over medium high heat until it reaches 350 degrees, keeping the temperature between 350 and 375 while frying. Fry the eggplant for 1 minute on each side, or until golden brown. Transfer to a paper towel lined baking sheet to drain the excess oil. Sprinkle with salt.
• To prepare the eggplant for the pizza, chop into 1-2 inch pieces (see above).

For the pizza sauce

• Drain the tomatoes and reserve the juice. Add the tomatoes and the tomato paste to a food processor. Pulse until well combined and desired consistency is reached. I like mine with small chunks, not completely smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add some of the reserved juice to thin it out.
• Transfer the tomato mixture to a bowl and stir in the garlic, olive oil, oregano if using, and salt. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Home oven instructions

• Remove the pizza dough from the refrigerator 2 hours ahead of time in order for it to come to temperature. You want the dough to be between 60 and 65 degrees when it's time to stretch it.
• Place a baking steel or pizza stone inside your oven and pre heat at 500 degrees for at least 30 mins, but an hour is better.
• Dust a clean counter top or work surface with flour and a bit of semolina. Place your pizza dough on the surface and stretch it into a 12 inch circle. Dust the pizza peel with semolina and transfer the dough to the peel.
• Quickly top the dough with sauce, parmigiano reggiano, basil, mozzarella and provolone and then the fried eggplant.
• Transfer the topped dough from the pizza peel to the baking steel and cook for 3 minutes. Then, using the peel, rotate the pizza 180 degrees and cook for another 3 minutes. Finish the pizza under the broiler for 1-2 minutes, until desired browning is achieved.
• Remove the pizza to a cooling rack for a few minutes so that the cheese can set and the bottom stays crispy before slicing.

Pizza oven instructions

• Remove the pizza dough from the refrigerator 2 hours ahead of time in order for it to come to temperature. You want the dough to be between 60 and 65 degrees when it's time to stretch it.
• Pre heat your pizza oven on high for 30 minutes before using to make sure the stone is heated through.
• Dust a clean counter top or work surface with flour and a bit of semolina. Place your pizza dough on the surface and stretch it into a 12 inch circle. Dust the pizza peel with semolina and transfer the dough to the peel.
• Quickly top the dough with sauce, parmigiano reggiano, basil, mozzarella and provolone and then the fried eggplant.
• Turn the flame down to low and then transfer the topped dough from the pizza peel to the pizza oven. Let the bottom set for about 30-40 seconds and then turn. Continue cooking, turning every 20 seconds until the bottom is crisp and the cheese has melted, about 2 minutes.
• Remove the pizza to a cooling rack for a few minutes so that the cheese can set and the bottom stays crispy before slicing.
• Enjoy!

Notes

Hot tip: Unless you’re making a bunch of pizzas (which I totally approve of), you will likely have leftover pizza sauce and fried eggplant. Make an eggplant parm sandwich the next day! 

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