Zucchini pizza bites are a great choice if you are looking for low-carb snacks or meals. It’s an instant pizza with all the comforting flavors you would love. These are great as party appetizers; we eat them as a meal it’s filling and comforting!
You might like these low-carb appetizers – cauliflower bread sticks, and Parmesan crisps.

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Why does this recipe work?
- These are healthier and delicious alternatives to carb and calorie-loaded take-out pizza.
- 8 ingredients are all you need.
- With very minimal prep work, low-carb (can easily turn these into Keto-friendly) pizza bites are ready in 20 minutes.
- It’s a great party snack or appetizer. It’s also great as a light meal.
- It has all the comforting flavors of pizza that you may look for, and it comes in bite-size portions.
- It satisfies pizza cravings only that it’s much healthier. You have spicy marinara sauce (which can be substituted with your favorite pizza sauce), stretchy pully bully mozzarella cheese, and cute mini pepperoni slices, everything you want on your pizza is put on zucchini slices.
- One of the favorite and smarter ways to make kids (and fussy family members) eat zucchini.
- It’s quicker than making the regular pizza. Saves you time and trouble of making pizza dough.
- I have great tips to prevent zucchini pizza bites from becoming watery/soggy!
Ingredients
- Zucchini – use large zucchini to make bigger bites (remember large zucchini has more moisture content than smaller ones).
- Sauce – use spicy marinara sauce or pizza sauce. If using store-bought, choose the low-carb sauce.
- Cheese – you can use mozzarella or a mix of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
- Pepperoni – if you can’t find mini pepperoni slices, buy regular pepperoni and cut them into mini rounds using a melon baller. Don’t care about round shapes? Cut pepperoni into quarters.
- Italian Seasoning – use dried oregano or Italian seasoning.
Variations
You can add more toppings to your zucchini pizza bites.
- Substitute marinara sauce with other pizza sauce (homemade or store-bought) or tomato sauce.
- Feel free to use any topping you like – sausages, bell peppers, sautéed mushrooms, sliced black olives.
- For extra kick choose to add red pepper flakes or sliced jalapenos.
- Substitute fresh basil leaves with fresh parsley for garnish.
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Wash zucchini well and pat dry. Slice zucchini ¼ inch thick slices.
Step 2: Place slices in a bowl and add 1 teaspoon salt. Remove the slices and wipe off all the moisture.
Step 3: Toss and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. Zucchini will seep out moisture. You should see a good amount of water left in the bowl. Note: salting zucchini will prevent it from turning soggy or watery when you bake.
Step 4: Drain the liquids out, and pat dry each slice using a kitchen towel.
Step 5: Arrange dry zucchini slices on a greased baking tray. Spray olive oil.
Step 6: Spread ½ to 1 teaspoon of marinara or pizza sauce on each slice (you might need more sauce depending on the size of the slice).
Step 7: Spread the sauce evenly. Sprinkle dried oregano or Italian seasoning on top of the sauce.
Step 8: Sprinkle grated mozzarella on top of each slice.
Step 9: Arrange a few pepperoni slices. Season each slice with freshly ground pepper (skip if you don’t want pepper).
Step 10: Bake in preheated oven at 400°F for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and begin to brown. Serve hot.
Tips
- Just like cucumber, zucchini too has a lot of water content in it. If you bake it directly it will turn watery or soggy. First dry zucchini using salting method or grill/broiling method.
- Zucchini skin is edible. But sometimes the skin of zucchini can taste bitter because of the wax on it. Wash zucchini well using a soft bristle brush.
- Can’t find mini pepperoni slices? Buy regular pepperoni and cut small rounds using a mini melon baller.
- Experiment with more toppings. Slice zucchini a little more thicker than usual. Then using a melon baller scoop off some of the flesh of zucchini on top making a small cavity. Thus more space for more sauce and more cheese. Remember to adjust the baking time to cook thick zucchini.
Recipe FAQs
Just like cucumber, zucchini too has a lot of water content in it. You must dry zucchini slices first before you add the toppings and bake. There are many ways to dry zucchini slices, here’s what I do-
Place zucchini slices in a colander, and sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside for 20-30 minutes. Put it in the fridge while zucchini sits in salt to dry it out. Pat dry with a kitchen towel before use.
Zucchini skin is edible. But sometimes it can taste bitter when baked because of the wax on it. I recommend you wash zucchini well before using a soft bristle brush.
Try organic.
If you want to add more toppings to the slices, try to cut zucchini slices a little thicker than usual. Using a melon baller scoop out some of the center white flesh of zucchini making a small cavity on top.
Now you have more space to add more sauce and more cheese.
I wouldn’t recommend it as they will turn soggy. They are best when served immediately.
I don’t recommend it.
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📋Low-Carb Zucchini Pizza Bites
Ingredients
- 2 large zucchini
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup spicy marinara sauce
- 2 teaspoon oregano or Italian seasoning
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese grated
- ¼ cup mini pepperoni slices
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
Garnish-
- Fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Clean and rinse zucchini well and pat dry.
- Slice zucchini ¼ inch thick slices.
- Salting Zucchini – Place slices in a bowl and add 1 teaspoon salt. Toss and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. Zucchini will seep out moisture. Remove the slices and wipe off all the moisture. You should see a good amount of water left in the bowl.
- Note: salting zucchini will prevent it from turning soggy or watery when you bake.
- Arrange dry zucchini slices on a greased baking tray.
- Spray olive oil of the slices.
- It’s time to add the toppings-
- Start off with sauce. Spread ½ to 1 teaspoon of marinara or pizza sauce on each slice (you might need more sauce depending on the size of the slice)
- Sprinkle generously dried oregano or Italian seasoning on top of the sauce.
- Next add generous amount grated mozzarella on each slice.
- Arrange a few pepperoni slices.
- Season each slice with freshly ground pepper. You can skip adding pepper, but it does seasoning the zucchini well.
- Bake in pre-heated oven at 400°F for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and begin to brown.
- Serve hot.
Video
Notes
- Just like cucumber, zucchini too has a lot of water content in it. If you bake it directly it will turn watery or soggy. First dry zucchini using salting method or grill/broiling method.
- Zucchini skin is edible. But sometimes the skin of zucchini can taste bitter because of the wax on it. Peel the skin off if you want, but mostly once you wash the zucchini well it tastes just fine with the skin.
- Can’t find mini pepperoni slices? Buy regular pepperoni and cut small rounds using a mini melon baller.
- To add more topping slice the zucchini a little thicker than usual. Then using a melon baller scoop off some of the white flesh in the center making a small cavity. You can add little more sauce and more cheese. Remember to adjust the baking time to cook thick zucchini.
Nutrition
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
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I’m Jyothi Rajesh (Jo for short) and I’m the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail where I share my culinary Adventures. I live in Bangalore, India. I’m a mom of two beautiful kids. My passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. I have been blogging since 2007 and many of my recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
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