Pizza Cupcakes

I was intrigued when I first heard about Pizza Cupcakes, so obviously I had to create my own version.

 

How can you go wrong with pizza in the form of a cupcake?! You get to have your very own little handheld pizza that's not only delicious, but easy to make, a great snack for game day, movie night, and perfect for packing along in a lunch bag! They can also be made Weight Watchers friendly  with 2 ingredient WW dough and/or lactose-free!

 

Since cupcakes are often associated with sweet, I'll admit it's not easy for me to get my head around savory cupcakes. If you feel the same, I can guarantee that when you try these Pizza Cupcakes, you'll have no problem making that mental shift!

 

🍕🧁What are Pizza Cupcakes?

They are made with pizza toppings, in the form of a filling (much like a deep dish pizza), encased in a quick and simple pizza dough (because homemade is always the best.) Although, you can use store-bought pizza dough if you prefer or are really pressed for time. Essentially, these guys are mini pizzas, in the form of a savory cupcake!

But pizza cupcakes are different than pizza muffins because they are not a muffin! These are made with a rolled pizza crust that's molded into a muffin tin and filled with pizza toppings, then topped with cheese. Pizza muffins are made with a batter and have the texture of a muffin.

🍽 Equipment

Because pizza cupcakes are made in muffin tins, they are also known as muffin tin pizza. I love to make stuff in muffin tins because they are portable, individual servings, not to mention quick and easy. 

📋More Muffin tin recipes

Easy Mediterranean Chicken and Wild Rice Cups, 

Gluten-free Ham & Rice Benedict,

Greek Lasagna & Garlic Toast cups

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

 

I've always been a fan of individual servings, especially when it comes to party food. I've personally had some bad experiences with 'communal food, ' hence the reason I also created these  Individual Cheesy Party Pull Aparts!  Plus it's like having a mini pizza all to yourself! 

 

📖 Variations and Substitutions

Dairy-free: I love this pizza dough recipe and I've been using it for years, but this is the first time I've shared it! It's super quick and easy, and it's also dairy-free! We recently discovered that my daughter is lactose intolerant so I've been trying to make as many lactose and dairy-free recipes as possible. This pizza dough is dairy-free and I used a lactose-free cheese in this pizza cupcake, although you could use any type of cheese if you don't need the recipe to be lactose free.

🍕Which Pizza Dough to use?

You could also use any pizza dough you wish with this recipe, such as my Bread Machine Pizza Dough Recipe,  or lighten it up and make it WW friendly with my 2 ingredient Weight Watchers Pizza Dough.  If you're in a hurry, store-bought pizza dough will also work! But I love this pizza dough because it's so quick and easy!

And you can make these pizza cupcakes with whatever 'toppings'/'fillings' you have on hand. I made them with red onion, bacon and sliced black olives (my kids LOVE it when they get REAL bacon!)

• meat: bacon or turkey bacon, ham or pepperoni (or turkey pepperoni) NOTE: *If I'm using bacon, I use the Costco pre-cooked bacon because you can take it out of the freezer in individual pieces, microwave it and it's so much less messy and greasy!
• make them vegetarian/meatless
• onion (green, red or white onion)
• cheese: mozzarella, cheddar, marble, feta
• black olives
• jalapenos
• green peppers
• mushrooms

🌶️Can I make them spicy?

Yes, you can make these spicier by adding crushed red pepper in the filling or sprinkle it on afterwards. You can also use jalapenos in the filling to spice it up!

✔️Make them Weight Watchers Friendly

• 2 ingredient Weight Watchers Pizza Dough
• use turkey bacon, turkey sausage or turkey pepperoni
• use low- fat cheese

* Using turkey bacon and low-fat mozzarella cheese they are instantly WW friendly!

🥗 Side dishes

It's not that you need a side dish with pizza, but I think it's always good to get some veggies with any meal. I serve these with cucumber slices and/or baby carrots and maybe some fruit, especially if they're going in the lunch box! They are just as tasty cold, as they are warm. Just keep them refrigerated (but only for up to 4 days.)

💭 Can these pizza cupcakes be frozen and reheated?

Yes! They freeze really well and taste freshly baked when they are reheated. Remove them from the muffin tins after they are baked, allow them to cool 10 minutes, then place them in a freezable airtight container, or in a plastic freezer bag. They can be frozen for up to 3 months. When you go to reheat them, 30-40 seconds is about the right amount of time, but that will also depend on the wattage of your microwave.

👪 Serving size

You can also cut this recipe in ½ by adjusting the serving size on my recipe card. Just click on the serving size ( it's highlighted in blue.) But you'll probably end up wanting to double the recipe. My kids couldn't get enough so I made sure to make double the next time. As I noted, they freeze and reheat really well and are also great cold!

My kids LOVED these Pizza Cupcakes. Seriously, they even fought over them. Since they are picky teenagers, I always feel pretty flattered when they think my food is fight worthy. And if there's one thing we know teenagers love, it's pizza! So if you love pizza too, then give these a try! 

Enjoy!

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5 from 6 votes

🍕 Pizza Cupcakes Recipe

These Pizza Cupcakes are like individual deep dish pizzas, baked in a muffin tin. They are not only delicious, but easy to make and the perfect snack for game day, movie night and packing along in a lunch bag! And they can be made Weight Watchers friendly by using 2 ingredient WW pizza dough!

Course Appetizer, lunch, Snack

Cuisine American, Canadian, North American

Keyword cupcakes, homemade, pizza

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 12 cupcakes

Calories 231kcal

Author Terri Gilson

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

Pizza Dough

• 1 -25 ounce -package active dry yeast (8 grams) *I use Fleischmann's pizza yeast
• 1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 ½ cups bread flour * can substitute all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon olive oil * add more (by ½ teaspoon full) if it's a little dry
• 1 teaspoon salt

Filling

• ¾ cup pizza sauce * your favorite brand- I use Primo's traditional
• ¾ cup bacon (or any meat) chopped * you can use ham, pepperoni, turkey bacon, sausage
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• ⅓ cup red onion, chopped
• 200 ml -can sliced black olives

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Quick and Easy Pizza Dough:

• Heat oven to 375°F/190 C. Spray 12 regular-size muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray. * do NOT line the muffin tins with liners!
• In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
  
• Stir in flour, salt and oil.
  
• Beat until smooth. Then get your hands in there to get it mixed really well. Let rest for 5 minutes. *if dough is still dry, add a little more olive oil (by ½ teaspoon full)
  
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
  
• Roll out dough to about ⅛ inch thick.
  
• Cut with a round cutter (a mug or anything round about 4 inches in diameter).
  
• Press each circle into muffin tin.
  
• Roll out remaining dough to get as many circles as you can out of the dough. You should have no problem getting 12 out of it.
  

Filling:

• In small bowl, mix toppings (sauce, onion, olives, meat and only ½ cup of the cheese, reserving the other ½ of the cheese for topping.)
  
• Spoon about 2 tablespoons mixture into each dough-lined cup, dividing evenly by all 12. Sprinkle remaining ½ cup mozzarella cheese on top, dividing evenly by all 12.
  
• Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until lightly browned.
  
• Immediately remove from muffin tins and serve.
  

Notes

*NOTE: 📖 Variations and Substitutions

Pizza Dough

I love this dough because it's quick and easy, but you could also use any pizza dough, such as my Bread Machine Pizza Dough Recipe,  or lighten it up with my  2 ingredient Weight Watchers Pizza Dough. Or if you prefer (or are short on time) you can use store-bought.

Toppings/Fillings

I make these with whatever 'toppings'/'fillings' I have on hand:

• any meat: bacon or turkey bacon, ham or pepperoni NOTE: *If I'm using bacon, I use the Costco pre-cooked bacon because you can take it out of the freezer in individual pieces, microwave it and it's so much less messy and greasy!
• make them vegetarian/meatless
• onion (green, red or white onion)
• cheese: mozzarella, cheddar, marble, feta
• black olives
• green peppers

Make them Weight Watchers Friendly

•   2 ingredient Weight Watchers Pizza Dough
• use turkey bacon, turkey sausage or turkey pepperoni
• use low- fat cheese

* Using turkey bacon and low-fat mozzarella cheese they are instantly WW friendly!

**NOTE:

• Can be refrigerated for up to 4 days

💭 Top tip: Can these be frozen and reheated?

Yes! They freeze really well and taste freshly baked when they are reheated. Remove them from the muffin tins after they are baked, allow them to cool 10 minutes, then place them in a freezable airtight container, or in a plastic freezer bag. They can be frozen for up to 3 months. When you go to reheat them, 30-40 seconds is about the right amount of time, but that will also depend on the wattage of your microwave.

Need a new muffin tin? My Amazon recommendations (affiliate links)

Nutrition Facts

🍕 Pizza Cupcakes Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 cupcake)

Calories 231 Calories from Fat 117

% Daily Value*

Fat 13g20%

Saturated Fat 4g25%

Trans Fat 1g

Cholesterol 16mg5%

Sodium 690mg30%

Potassium 127mg4%

Carbohydrates 22g7%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 8g16%

Vitamin A 183IU4%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 90mg9%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 231kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 690mg | Potassium: 127mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 183IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 1mg

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📋More Pizza Recipes

• Healthy Pizza Dippers
• Dill Pickle Pizza
• Weight Watchers Pizza with 2 ingredient Weight Watchers Pizza Dough
• Greek-style Veggie Phyllo Pizza 
• Carrot Cake Dessert Pizza