Low-Carb Eggplant Pizza Bites

When a pizza craving hits but you're watching carbs, eggplant makes a surprisingly satisfying stand-in for crust. Sliced into rounds and roasted until tender, it holds sauce and cheese just like a mini pizza should, with a bit of that same crisp-edged, chewy bite you get from a thin-crust slice.

Swapping bread-based crust for eggplant is a simple way to keep this dish within a low-carb diet, and roasting the slices first drives off extra moisture so the topping doesn't turn soggy once the cheese melts. A sugar-free marinara keeps added sugars in check, and fresh basil at the end brings a little brightness to cut the richness of the melted mozzarella.

These make a fun appetizer for a crowd or a light dinner alongside a simple green salad — pile a few onto a plate and they disappear fast.