Easy Zucchini Pizza Bites (Low Carb Pizza)

5 from 3 votes
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Enjoy these low-carb zucchini pizza bites in 15 minutes. Great as a party snack, appetizer, or light lunch – this combination of baked zucchini with your favorite toppings makes for a tasty and nutritious dish! Plus this recipe is gluten-free, keto, and can be made dairy-free and vegan too!

Baked Zucchini pizza bites on parchment paper

I love pizza – I’ll never understand anyone who says that they don’t (like, is that really a thing?!). Yet, whether you want to cut some calories or looking for a low-carb pizza alternative, these zucchini pizza bites are the answer for you!

I’ve already shared several pizza crust alternatives – including this Butternut Squash PizzaLow-Carb Cauliflower Gluten-Free Pizza (Mini Pizzas), or Sweet Potato Crust Rainbow Pizza. Now, it’s the turn of this zucchini pizza crust – even better, it’s not even just a part of a crust recipe, the vegetable works as the entire crust!

Eight zucchini pizza bites in a blue plate

A zucchini crust is not only low-carb though, but it’s also low-calorie (at 17 kcal per cup!), yet tasty and incredibly nutritious. Zucchini has a fairly neutral taste – perfect for adding a little something to your pizzas without taking over. Plus, they have zero fat, tons of fiber, and are loaded with several important vitamins and minerals – including Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Manganese, and more.

Even better, zucchini is packed with antioxidants – certainly not something most regular pizza crusts can boast! These antioxidants are great for improving skin, eye, heart, and brain health. Just note that yellow zucchini have even higher levels than green ones. In fact, this veggie boasts several other benefits too – from aiding digestion to reducing blood sugar levels – so it’s a great ingredient to incorporate into your diet now.

A close up of zucchini pizza bite

Best of all, these zucchini pizza bites are incredibly simple to make. All you need are just three base ingredients (the zucchini, tomato sauce, and cheese) then load them up with the toppings of your choice. Whack them in the oven and before you know it your mini zucchini pizzas are bubbling with melted cheese and just begging to be eaten.

The Ingredients

The Base Ingredients

  • Zucchini – I like to choose one that is fairly even in width when possible, so the pizza bites are a similar size.
  • Tomato paste – or a little pizza sauce or marinara sauce (best if it’s thickened though). You could even use ketchup – if that’s your style. To reduce carbs further, use a low-carb sauce.
  • Cheese – your choice of mozzarella, cheddar, etc. You could also use dairy-free mozzarella for vegan zucchini pizzas.
  • (Optional) a sprinkling of Italian Seasoning.
Ingredients for Zucchini Pizza

Topping Options

I reached out to my followers on Instagram asking what their favorite toppings would be for these zucchini pizza bites, and here are some of the top answers!

  • Herbs & Spices: basil, parsley, oregano, chili flakes, pickled ginger, garlic, salt & pepper.
  • Nuts & Seeds: pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, omega sprinkle, crushed almonds/pistachios, walnuts, etc.
  • Vegetables: red onion, olives, mushrooms, corn, peppers, jalapeños, etc.
  • Proteins: ham, sausage, pepperoni, bacon, prawns, vegan meat alternatives, BBQ jackfruit, or even tofu.
  • Other dairy: as well as the ‘melty’ cheese you might want to add other cheese like feta (or vegan feta), goat’s cheese, ricotta (or vegan ricotta), etc. You may also want to drizzle the pizza bites with a little sour cream.
  • Other: olive oil, chili oil, or truffle oil, etc.,
  • Salad: rocket, arugula, etc.

Let me know in the comments what your perfect zucchini pizza bite toppings would consist of!

The Method

First, cut the zucchini into slices around 1/4-inch in thickness. For all even sizes then use a mandoline.

Sliced zucchini on a chopping board

You can optionally salt the zucchini before baking, to get rid of excess moisture, for more ‘firm’ results. After slicing the zucchini, liberally salt the slices and leave them to rest for thirty minutes. Once ready, dry with a kitchen towel (which will also lift lots of the salt), and continue with the recipe.

Arrange the zucchini slices on a parchment paper-lined baking tray, leaving a small 1cm or so between each slice. Avoid any slices overlapping.

Add a little tomato paste (or marinara/tomato sauce) to each zucchini slice and spread slightly (not all the way to the edge).

Add your cheese of choice – I also sprinkled it with some Italian seasoning. You can then add whatever other toppings you’d like (check above for suggestions).

Steps for making zucchini pizzas

Bake in the oven at 200ºC/400ºF for 10 minutes.

For bubbling, crispy, brown cheese/toppings then broil (grill) the mini pizzas for a few minutes at the end of the oven time.

To Make Ahead & Store

Make ahead: You can prepare these mini zucchini pizzas up to a day before cooking them and keep them covered in the refrigerator until you’re ready to transfer them to the oven.

To store: Store the baked zucchini pizza bites, covered, in the refrigerator for 2-4 days (based on the toppings used). I don’t recommend freezing them, as the zucchini can change the texture and become mushy.

To reheat: Place them back in the oven or under the broiler (grill in the UK) until warmed through.

Zucchini Pizza Bites

Recipe Notes & Variations

  • When choosing your zucchini, smaller ones usually contain less water, so it shouldn’t require salting.
  • For larger zucchini pizzas, slice the squash lengthwise instead of into small disks. 
  • For even slices (thus even cooking times), you could use a mandoline. 
  • To cook these in an air fryer: I don’t own one, so these instructions may need slight tweaking, but I suggest heating at 350ºF/180ºC. Cook the zucchini for 3-5 minutes, then add the toppings and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, until bubbling and browned. 
  • The texture of the cooked zucchini will depend on how thick you cut the slices if you salt them, and how long you bake them – if you prefer less ‘soggy’ results, then follow the tip on salting the zucchini and bake them for less time, increasing the broiling time slightly instead. For super firm results, you can omit baking entirely and simply broil or grill (in a pan) the zucchini bites for a few minutes on each side.
  • You can control the number of calories, fat, and carbs used for these zucchini pizza bites by your choice of toppings and how much of each is used.

More Delicious Mains

If you try this zucchini pizza bites recipe, then let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments. I’d also really appreciate a recipe rating and would love to see your recreations – just tag @AlphaFoodie.

Zucchini Pizza Bites (Low-Carb Pizza)

5 from 3 votes
By: Samira
Enjoy these low-carb zucchini pizza bites in 15 minutes. Great as a party snack, appetizer, or light lunch – this combination of baked zucchini with your favorite toppings makes for a tasty and nutritious dish! Plus this recipe is gluten-free, keto, and can be made dairy-free and vegan too!
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 13 minutes
Servings: 4 people

Equipment

Ingredients  

Extra toppings (optional) – for more ideas, check the blogpost:

  • herbs and spices (parsley, basil, oregano, etc)
  • seeds and nuts
  • vegetables (peppers, onion, etc)
  • protein (ham, tofu, BBQ jackfruit)

Instructions 

  • Cut the zucchini into slices around 1/4-inch in thickness. For all even sizes then use a mandoline.
    You can optionally salt the zucchini before baking, to get rid of excess moisture, for more 'firm' results. After slicing the zucchini, liberally salt the slices and leave them to rest for thirty minutes. Once ready, dry with a kitchen towel (which will also lift lots of the salt), and continue with the recipe.
  • Arrange the zucchini slices on a parchment paper-lined baking tray, leaving a small 1cm or so between each slice. Avoid any slices overlapping.
  • Add a little tomato paste (or marinara/tomato sauce) to each zucchini slice. and spread slightly (not all the way to the edge).
  • Add your cheese of choice – I also sprinkled it with some Italian seasoning. You can then add whatever other toppings you'd like (check above for suggestions).
  • Bake in the oven at 200ºC/400ºF for 10 minutes.
    For bubbling, crispy, brown cheese/toppings then broil (grill) the mini pizzas for a few minutes at the end of the oven time.

To Make Ahead & Store

  • Make ahead: you can prepare these mini zucchini pizzas up to a day before cooking them and keep them covered in the refrigerator until you're ready to transfer them to the oven.
    To store: store the baked zucchini pizza bites, covered, in the refrigerator for 2-4 days (based on the toppings used). I don't recommend freezing them, as the zucchini can change the texture and become mushy.
    To reheat: place them back in the oven or under the broiler (grill in the UK) until warmed through.

Video

Notes

  • When choosing your zucchini, smaller ones usually contain less water, so it shouldn’t require salting.
  • For larger zucchini pizzas, slice the squash lengthwise instead of into small disks. 
  • For even slices (thus even cooking times), you could use a mandoline. 
  • To cook these in an air fryer: I don’t own one, so these instructions may need slight tweaking, but I suggest heating at 350ºF/180ºC. Cook the zucchini for 3-5 minutes, then add the toppings and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, until bubbling and browned. 
  • The texture of the cooked zucchini will depend on; how thick you cut the slices if you salt them, and how long you bake them – if you prefer less ‘soggy’ results, then follow the tip on salting the zucchini and bake them for less time, increasing the broiling time slightly instead. For super firm results, you can omit baking entirely and simply broil or grill (in a pan) the zucchini bites for a few minutes on each side.
  • You can control the number of calories, fat, and carbs used for these zucchini pizza bites by your choice of toppings and how much of each is used.

Check the blog post for tons of pizza ‘topping’ suggestions!
Course: Appetizer, Main, Party Food, Side, Snack
Cuisine: American
Freezer friendly: No
Shelf life: 4 Days

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 59kcal, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 7mg, Sodium: 181mg, Potassium: 422mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 516IU, Vitamin C: 21mg, Calcium: 72mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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