Stuffed Pizza Bites With Garlic Butter

Whether you serve them as a fun dinner entrée or a game-day appetizer, these cheesy stuffed pizza bites are guaranteed to be a hit! They’re brushed with garlic butter and paired with marinara for dipping, making them extra delicious.

Anything pizza-inspired is bound to be a winner. Zucchini pizza bites? Yes. Pizza burgers? Of course! Pizza baked pasta? Oh heck yeah! These stuffed pizza bites are also impossible to resist.

They’re a great snack for parties (you’ll want to double the recipe because they will be devoured), but I’m more likely to make a batch for an easy, kid-friendly weeknight dinner. English muffin pizzas are another big hit with kids.

The pizza bites are made from regular pizza dough, divided into 16 parts and rolled flat. You don’t have be fancy with this; they can be pretty rustic looking. My husband, who says he could eat these every day, calls them pizza “balls” if that gives you a picture of how fancy they are.

Simply place a tablespoon of filling onto each round of dough and fold it over. Pop them in the oven until they’re nice and toasty brown—oh, and don’t forget that garlic butter, which takes this cheesy app to the next level!

Reasons to Love Pizza Bites

• They’re quick and easy to make. Using store-bought dough makes these baked pizza bites practically effortless. The hardest part is done for you! From start to finish, you can get this recipe on the table in under an hour.
• There are endless possibilities. While I went with the ever-popular combo of mozzarella and pepperoni, you can switch things up and make this recipe with your favorite pizza toppings. Sometimes I make a vegetarian version with spinach, ricotta, and Parmesan; try swapping the pepperoni for sausage or add diced green peppers and onions. Anything goes!
• A crowd-pleaser! Kids flip for this recipe, adults go wild for it at a party, and no one will realize how easy it was to make these homemade pizza bites!

Ingredients You’ll need

• Frozen Pizza Dough: Fresh pizza dough is great, too, if your grocery store or local pizzeria sells it. Another option is to make your own with my easy pizza dough recipe. (I like to double or even triple the recipe and freeze some for later!)
• Mozzarella Cheese: If you have time, I recommend shredding your own, as it melts more smoothly. Of course, if you don’t have time, a bag of shredded mozzarella is just fine too!
• Pepperoni: You’ll need to chop the slices so the pepperoni mixes with the cheese and can be portioned by the tablespoonful.
• Butter: Melt the butter in the microwave or a saucepan. 
• Italian Seasoning: Just a bit for the garlic butter topping.
• Garlic Powder: Garlic powder adds lots of garlic flavor to the butter without the bite of freshly crushed garlic cloves.
• Parmesan Cheese: Again, freshly shredded is best here because it melts better, but store-bought shreds will also work.
• Marinara Sauce: Or use a batch of my homemade pizza sauce.

How to make it

Preheat your oven to 375ºF and coat a baking dish with non-stick spray.

Cut the pizza dough into 16 pieces, roughly equal in size.

In a small bowl, combine the mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. 

In a second bowl, whisk together the melted butter, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.

Stretch a piece of dough into a 3-inch round (roughly) and place a heaping tablespoon of the filling in the middle. Bring the dough around the filling and press the edges to seal. You don’t have to fuss with these; just make sure the edges are sealed well so the filling doesn’t leak out.

Place the finished roll in the pan with the seam side down and repeat with the rest of the dough and filling.

Brush the tops of the mini pizza rolls with the butter mixture, then sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.

Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes, then serve the pizza bites with marinara sauce.

FAQs

What to Serve With Pizza Bites

How to make these Pizza Bites your own

• Add pesto: Skip the pepperoni and add a quarter teaspoon of pesto to each pizza bite before wrapping them up. Pesto adds bright flavor and gives your pizza bites some gourmet flair.
• Make it gluten-free: Swap in your favorite gluten-free pizza dough and you’ve got gluten-free pizza bites!
• Go plant-based: Use vegan cheese, pepperoni, and butter to make these pizza bites plant-based. (You can also use regular cheese and swap in veg pepperoni for vegetarian pizza bites.)
• Make dessert pizza bites: Follow the overall blueprint of this recipe with a second batch of pizza dough, but fill them with a teaspoon of Nutella and diced bananas or strawberries. Brush the dessert pizza bites with butter and sprinkle them with coarse sugar.

Make Ahead Ideas

Make a batch of pizza bites, cover the pan tightly, and refrigerate them to bake later. They’ll keep in the fridge up to 24 hours. Take them out of the fridge while you’re preheating the oven. Add 5 minutes extra baking time since they are chilled.

Unbaked pizza bites can be frozen, too. After forming the rolls, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze them until they’re solid, then transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag. Let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then bake them according to the recipe instructions.

Storage & Reheating Tips

• Refrigerate: Store these pizza bites in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
• Freeze: You can also freeze leftover pizza bites. Store them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months and thaw them at room temperature before reheating according to the instructions above. (Thawing them first allows them to reheat more evenly.)
• Reheat: For best results, reheat pizza bites in 350ºF oven (preheat oven first) or air fryer until warmed through. They can be reheated in the microwave but they won’t be as good.

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Additional Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 55 minutes mins

16 pizza bites

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Whether you serve them as a fun dinner entrée or a game-day appetizer, these cheesy stuffed pizza bites are guaranteed to be a hit! They’re brushed with garlic butter and paired with marinara for dipping, making them extra delicious.

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375ºF. Spray an 8×8 or 9×9 inch baking dish with non-stick spray.

• Cut pizza dough into equally-sized 16 pieces.

• In a small bowl, combine mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. In another small dish, combine melted butter, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.

• Stretch a piece of dough into a 3 inch round (it doesn’t have to be perfect!). Fill with one heaping tablespoon of the mozzarella cheese mixture and bring dough around the filling, pressing edges firmly to seal. Place in pan, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining dough and cheese.

• Brush tops with butter mixture. Sprinkle shredded Parmesan on top.

• Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with marinara sauce for dipping.

Notes

• Use whole wheat pizza dough or make your own pizza dough if you like.
• Be creative with the filling. For vegetarian pizza bites, omit the pepperoni and substitute spinach, olives, diced bell pepper, etc.
• Try making your own pizza sauce. It’s easy and can be made ahead.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1pizza bite, Calories: 128kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 14mg, Sodium: 341mg, Potassium: 19mg, Fiber: 0.5g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 104IU, Vitamin C: 0.003mg, Calcium: 56mg, Iron: 1mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.