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.
If I use mushrooms, do I need to cook them first
Can’t. Stop. Eating. These! Hot, cold – doesn’t matter. So adaptable to individual tastes.
SO EXCELLENT & NICE IDEA. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. BUT I’M THINKING OF USING OAT INSTEAD OF THE Quinoa AFTER PREPARING IT WITH WARM WATER. WHAT DO YOU THINK?IS IT POSSIBLE?
Hi Taha! I’m not sure cooked oatmeal would work. I’d stick with the quinoa if you’re able.
I am trying these out tonight and I can’t wait. I have one question though. I’m low on eggs, can I get away w/o using the extra two egg whites and just use two whole eggs?
Yep, that should work just fine!
Love these mini bites! I’ve made them several times with pepperoni and hamburger. Tonight I tried them with ham and pineapple. Yummy!
Made these last night and they were delicious! My 2 year old LOVED them! Thanks for a great healthy dinner! Easy too!
I’ve been gluten free for 6 days now and made these tonight for dinner. Delicious! My 18-year old son and I both loved them!!! Quinoa is new to us, but I’m definitely going to try some of your other variations. Thank you for the wonderful pictures on your posts and your easy to follow instructions! :)
Why do people make comments without actually trying the recipe? Try it then, let us know how it turned out.
I made the receipt with rice, delicious
Made these Monday night for the game with a variety of other finger foods. They were a huge hit! We did spinach, roasted red peppers, onions, and sun dried tomatoes as our ingredients. They took a little longer to bake, probably due to the moisture of our ingredients, but were fabulous! Thank you!
I doubled the batch and pressed them into a baking sheet and baked 30 minutes. After they were done I cut them into bars and froze! It worked great and easier to clean then all the muffin tins. Yum!
I was wondering if you had a pizza sauce recipe that you recommended. I’ve tried just using marinara sauce, but it just isn’t the same! I have a feeling it’s the process of cooking the sauce WITH the crust that gives it the yumminess that I’m looking for, sadly – just wondering if you have any ideas!
(When I order pizza, I always ask for extra, EXTRA sauce because ordering more sauce on the side is NEVER the same – that’s how I came up with the idea that it’s the cooking process that makes pizza sauce taste so good)
I used Ginos pizza sauce, if you’re local!
I made theses a few nights ago. Had to sub dairy free cheese and cut the amount in half. Realized after I had baked them that I forgot to put the eggs in. Oops! They didn’t stay together so I just dumped it all into a container. My husband raved the next night about how delicious this was. It’s on the menu again this week as quinoa pizza. Thanks for the genius idea!
I could use a plate of these right about now! These look amazing! Can’t wait to try them!