Change up pizza night with poppable, gluten-free Mini Pizza Quinoa Bites! Packed with protein and pizza flavor, they're a fun snack or dinner option!
‘ve got an extremely difficult recipe for you today. Brace yourselves for lots of measuring, dishes, ingredients…NOT.
The recipe for Mini Pizza Quinoa Bites calls for tossing pizza-themed ingredients in bowl, scooping the mixture into mini muffin tins, then baking.
Oh, then reaping the CHEESY PIZZA REWARDS. I am so obsessed with these bites!
Mini Pizza Quinoa Bites are a riff on a couple of my favorite quinoa cups recipes, Mini Ham and Cheese Quinoa Cups and Mini BLT Quinoa Cups. As delicious as those are, though, I think the pizza version is my absolutely favorite.
All the fabulous pizza flavor, but lighter since we’re ditching the crust.
These mini pizza bites are filled with classic toppings like chopped pepperoni and sliced black olives, though you can add whatever you like but you could fill yours with whatever you like – peppers, cooked sausage, onions, etc. Serve with warmed pizza sauce and you’re set.
Change up pizza night tonight!
Like I said, step one: throw some stuff in a bowl.
You’ll need 2 cups cooked quinoa (about 1/2 cup dry quinoa) that’s been slightly cooled or chilled – aka you can make it ahead of time. Make sure you rinse the quinoa under cold running water before cooking to remove the bitter substance it’s coated in. 2 whole eggs PLUS 2 egg whites join the party, along with 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and 2 cups pizza toppings.
Mix!
Spoon the mixture to the top of 24 mini muffin tin cups that have been sprayed VERY well with nonstick spray. The cheese in the mixture WILL stick if you don’t spray it well. Sorry for all the CAPS but this is IMPORTANT. Yikes.
Place the muffin tin on top of a foil-lined baking sheet then bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees, or until golden brown. Let the bites cool for 5 minutes before popping them out of the cups.
Serve with warm pizza sauce then pop away!
Seriously, seriously so yummy. I can’t wait for you to try these — enjoy!
Also check out my Mini Ham & Cheese Quinoa Cups, and Mini BLT Quinoa Cups!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled slightly or chilled (about 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa)
- 2 whole eggs
- 2 egg whites
- 2 cups chopped pizza toppings, pepperoni, black olives, pineapple, ham, onions, sausage, peppers, etc.
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Pizza sauce, for dipping
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line a baking sheet with foil, then spray a 24-cup mini muffin tin VERY well with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Add all ingredients except pizza sauce to a large bowl then stir to combine. Fill mini muffin tin cups to the top with the mixture then place on prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from cups. Serve with warmed pizza sauce.
To freeze:
- Place baked cups on a baking sheet then freeze until solid and transfer to a freezer bag. Microwave for 20-40 seconds depending on how many you're reheating.
Notes
- For regular-sized muffin tins: Bake for 25-30 minutes (Note: I have not tried this myself, although several readers have left comments saying this works!)
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
These look terrific! How do you think they would be if I made them ahead of time (same day) and warmed them up later? I need a make-ahead appetizer.
The texture isn’t EXACTLY the same, since you’re heating egg up twice, but they are still delicious. I had some for lunch the day after I made them and loved ’em!
Use silicon cupcake pans or inserts! They still probably need to be sprayed but you can peel them right off. They are excellent for stuff like this! Check the seasonal clearance section at places like Target.
I have to try these!! What a fun idea, and I love all of that quinioa. :) Have a great weekend, friend!
I can’t wait to try these. Have you tried freezing them? I think they would make a great alternative to chicken nuggets for my toddler when I’m cooking a meal that he won’t be interested in.
Yep I have! Just microwave them for 30 seconds to a minute! :)
These look so good, what a great idea! Can’t wait to try!
Can’t wait to try these!!!
Yummy! Pinning and I can’t wait to try them out sometime this week!
Happy Valentine’s Day! I have been obsessed with quinoa lately, definitely adding this to my recipe list for next week. Yum!
Why do you put the muffin pan on top of a foil lined baking sheet? Couldn’t you just put it directly on the rack? Or is to catch any “runover”? Or is it for an extra layer so the bottoms don’t burn? Just curious…thanks Kristin!
Yep, just to catch anything that might bubble over (pepperoni can have extra grease that runs out.)
How much would you adjust cooking time if you don’t have a mini muffin tin and just used a regular muffin tin? I can’t wait to try these!
I’ve never tried, but people have commented on my other quinoa cups/bites recipes that 350 for 25 minutes seems to do the trick!
What a fun take on pizza night…can’t wait to try these out! Thanks for all of the wonderful recipes…just love your blog. Hope you have a wonderful weekend and Happy Valentine’s Day!
A healthier pizza bite, sign me up!
PIzza. Quinoa. Bite-sized. Sold. This is perfection, thanks for the super easy and delicious idea, can’t wait to try it out this weekend!