Baked Zucchini Crust Pizza
While this recipe may sound like a healthy dish, it’s entirely about the delicious flavor. Sure, there are health components to a zucchini crust, but the real reason to make this is because it’s super tasty! Think of this as combining a casserole and pizza and a perfect weeknight meal!
Servings 8 servings
Calories 371kcal
Ingredients
For the crust
- 4 cups shredded zucchini
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¾ tsp garlic granules
For the toppings
- 1 lb sausage
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp salt
- 14 oz tomato sauce
- 1 medium red bell pepper chopped
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
For the crust
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a quarter-size sheet pan, and set aside.
- Place the shredded zucchini in a large bowl. Separately, in a small bowl, whisk the eggs until combined. Add the whisked eggs, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt, black pepper, and garlic granules to the zucchini. Stir together until incorporated and pour into the sheet pan (or a 9x13 baking dish). Spread the mixture out evenly and push up the sides of the dish approximately 1 inch, creating a crust edge.
- Place the crust in the preheated oven. While the crust is baking, prepare the sauce. Bake until the crust is set in the middle and the edges begin to brown, 12-15 minutes. Once baked, remove the crust from the oven.
- Pour the prepared meat sauce mixture on the crust and spread evenly. Sprinkle on onion and red pepper. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
- Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown, 15-18 minutes.
For the sauce
- Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat and add 1 tbsp of neutral oil. Add the ground sausage and cook. Break up the sausage into small pieces and cook until completely browned, 8-12 minutes.
- Once the sausage is cooked, add the red pepper flakes, oregano, basil, and salt. Stir and add the tomato sauce. Bring the tomato sauce and meat to a simmer. Cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, 4-6 minutes. Once cooked, remove from heat and finish the pizza.
Video
Notes
- If your zucchini is large, make sure to cut them in half and scoop out some of the seeds. This will eliminate some excess water content that is prevalent on larger-sized zucchini. Since this is forming a crust, you do not want an overabundance of water content, which is not an issue with smaller-sized zucchini.
- For the crust, use either a quarter-size sheet pan or a 9x13 baking dish to form the crust. A quarter-size sheet pan will provide a bit more of a “crust” effect, especially if some of the zucchini batter is pushed up the sides.
- When cooking the sausage (or beef), if there is a lot of fat or grease pooling in the bottom of the skillet, make sure to drain this off.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 371kcal