Very Vegetable Pizza For Baby

Back in January we wrote a post all about the virtues of a well made pizza (Why Pizza Is Not A Junk Food – Well, Not Always).

Today we have for you the most un-junky pizza recipe you can think of – because, instead of an all-bread base, it has one made from eggplant (also known as aubergine)!

Before you think ‘eeww, sounds yucky’, we really do urge you to give this one a try!

All of our children love it, including our 16 month old, and it has a fantastic ‘squooshy’ texture that’s easy for little ones to cope with.

You can serve this to your baby once he is enjoying texture and can already cope with basic finger foods.

You might prefer to offer this pizza later in his first year or even after his first birthday if he’s sensitive to tomatoes… alternatively, you could simply leave the tomato sauce out altogether.

To Make A Very Vegetable Pizza For Baby You Will Need

1 medium eggplant/aubergine
2 fl oz (1/4 cup) homemade tomato puree or canned tomato sauce
around 4 oz (1 cup) dried bread crumbs – whole wheat if possible
pinch dried oregano
around 2 tbsp grated mozzarella cheese
around 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 deg F (200 deg C).

Peel the eggplant and cut it into 1 inch thick slices.

Cover a baking sheet with foil and grease lightly.

Mix the bread crumbs with the oregano.

Spread a small amount of tomato puree on to one side of each eggplant slice.

Press each slice of eggplant into the breadcrumbs, making sure both sides are covered.

Place the slices in a single layer on the baking sheet.

Mix the two types of cheese together, then sprinkle the mixture on to each eggplant slice.

Bake for around 20 mins, until the eggplant is tender and the cheese is golden.

TIP: You can mix a small quantity of other veggies with the cheese – we like to add a little very finely chopped red bell pepper!

Related links…

More eggplant baby food recipes

How to make whole wheat pizza dough

Oregano – the healthy way to add pizazz to baby food