TGIF!
In addition to being excited that it’s Friday (and Valentine’s Day!) I’m also jazzed that warmer weather is on the way. We’re only talking 35 degrees here, give or take a few degrees, but up until this week we haven’t been above freezing since January. Wretched. However, like a friend recently mused on Facebook – what the hell would we talk about if the weather was just average? Seriously, like…what? The Olympics? For some reason I just can’t get into them this year. Oh, except #sochiproblems. Kills me!
Aaanyway, I’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 is so easy that an infant could make it. Or try anyway. Lincoln kept lunging at the bowl as I was making these irresistible bites. Honestly I can’t blame him – they’re insane!
Toss some pizza-themed ingredients in bowl, scoop the mixture into mini muffin tins, and then bake. Oh, then reap 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.
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Friday night is pizza night in my house. Last Friday Ben was out of town so I took the opportunity to go a little crazy with my order. I ended up with a BBQ sauce pizza with chicken, bacon, black olives, tomatoes, and banana peppers. I know. The freedom clearly went to my head.
I reigned it in with these pizza bites and filled ’em with classic toppings like chopped pepperoni and sliced black olives, but you could fill yours with whatever you like – peppers, cooked sausage, onions, etc. I’m thinking Hawaiian Pizza Bites would be awesome (that’s Ben’s favorite!) Serve with warmed pizza sauce and you’re golden.
Change up pizza night tonight!
Like I said, step one:Â 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!
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Mini Pizza Quinoa Bites
Description
Change up pizza night with poppable, gluten-free Mini Pizza Quinoa Bites!
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled slightly or chilled (about 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa - be sure to rinse well before cooking)
- 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:Â 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.
- For regular-sized muffin tins:Â Bake for 25-30 minutes (Note: I have not tried this myself, although several readers have left comments saying this works!)
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
Seriously, seriously so yummy. I can’t wait for you to try these. If you’ve got kids, I bet they’d love these special treats for Valentine’s Day dinner! Enjoy!
Also check out my Mini Ham & Cheese Quinoa Cups, and Mini BLT Quinoa Cups!
Hayley 02.14.2014
These look amazing and so simple! My toddler is going to love making and eating these!!
Ashley @ My Midwest Table 02.14.2014
With two little boys, I am always looking for tasty easy-to-eat finger foods. Pizza is a favorite at our house, so I could see these quinoa bites being a big hit!
Happy V-Day | thinkandrunjade 02.14.2014
[…] I also will be cooking this as pre-race fuel: Â Mini Pizza Quinoa Bites […]
Mollie @Sprinkles of Life 02.14.2014
It’s just me and my daughter tonight since the man of the house has a dinner meeting obligation (on V-day even, :( ) and papa murphy’s pizza was on the menu. However, I think I may save a few bucks and make these babies instead! With a dessert of chocolate molten lava cakes, of course! :)
Brittany 02.14.2014
Genius woman. Pure genius.
Maggie 02.14.2014
Any ideas for how to modify this recipe to take out the eggs? My kids would love these, but my oldest has a pretty severe egg allergy. Thanks!!
Kristin 02.15.2014
Hmmm…unfortunately I can’t think of anything off the top of my head! Anyone reading this that could help?
Amy 02.15.2014
I would try flax eggs. 1 T. Ground flax and 3 T. Water. Mix together, let sit 10 min before adding to recipe. An rgg white is about half an egg, so one flax egg for the two egg whites.
Total for this recipe I’d use 3T ground flax and 9T (1/2 cup plus 1T) water.
Claire 02.23.2014
I can’t wait to try this! This sounds like a good snack. I’m going to try it both ways….with eggs and flax seed eggs. I really like the flax seed egg idea.
Friday Favorites: Things I Am Pinning | The Simple Things 02.14.2014
[…] Girl Eats. It has some amazing recipes I feel like I have pinned almost every one! This week her Mini Pizza Quinoa Bites look so yummy. I can’t wait to make a […]
Michelle 02.14.2014
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.
Kristin 02.15.2014
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!
Jennifer 02.14.2014
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.
Ali | Gimme Some Oven 02.14.2014
I have to try these!! What a fun idea, and I love all of that quinioa. :) Have a great weekend, friend!
Kim Chapman 02.14.2014
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.
Kristin 02.15.2014
Yep I have! Just microwave them for 30 seconds to a minute! :)
Jess @ The Dreaming Foodie 02.14.2014
These look so good, what a great idea! Can’t wait to try!
Jackie 02.14.2014
Can’t wait to try these!!!
Elizabeth @ Positive Change 02.14.2014
Yummy! Pinning and I can’t wait to try them out sometime this week!
Chicago Jogger 02.14.2014
Happy Valentine’s Day! I have been obsessed with quinoa lately, definitely adding this to my recipe list for next week. Yum!
Dena 02.14.2014
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!
Kristin 02.15.2014
Yep, just to catch anything that might bubble over (pepperoni can have extra grease that runs out.)
Dana 02.14.2014
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!
Kristin 02.15.2014
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!
Molly 02.14.2014
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!
Madison 02.14.2014
A healthier pizza bite, sign me up!
Chelsea @ Delipsch 02.14.2014
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!