Mini pizzas are the perfect finger food for kids, and they make cute little appetizers, too. This mini pizza recipe is easy to customize with your favorite pizza toppings!
After making my dipping bread sticks last week, I knew I wanted to bake up some mini pizzas that are perfect for little guys. I practically used the same dough that I did for the bread sticks for these pizzas. It's nice when a recipe can be transformed into several different things, isn't it?
I don't want to get too crazy on my site, but I did want to do expand my baking. Don't worry, I'll still be doing more than enough desserts, but I want to do the occasional savory recipe, too. That's acceptable, right? Of course it is!
Customizable Mini Pizzas
As a kid my mom used to make large pizzas with tiny pepperoni and grated parmesan cheese. I'm not a huge fan of parmesan cheese on my pizza, but I loved the miniature pepperoni. This is where my idea comes from. I don't know if you've noticed, but I enjoy doing recipes that are customized to me and my life that I grew up with. Obviously I don't do a ton of savory recipes, but we did have some baked goods and candies. I think my very favorite was the rock candy we made every year. You should probably check out the recipe for it too. It makes the perfect Christmas gift.
I used a muffin top pan(aff. link)
to make my pizzas. They made the perfect size. I also bought some mini pepperonis which are so stinkin cute. My husband says I find anything miniature adorable. I think that's a common thing though, isn't it?
The crust is puffy and soft. If you're into a thinner crust, by all means press less dough into the pans. But this dough is naturally fluffy. Instead of using a pizza sauce, I chose to go with the Ragu pasta sauce. It taste just as good if not better than any pizza sauce. Plus, pasta sauce is a stable in everyone's else isn't it? It's something that's always in the cupboard.
Mini Pizza Recipe:
Mini Pizzas
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 1 cup warm water 105 - 110 degrees
- 1 ¾ oz . package rapid rise yeast
- 1 teaspoon . granulated sugar
- 1 + ½ tsp. salt
- 2 cups + 1 T. all-purpose flour divided
- 2 teaspoon . olive oil
- 16 teaspoon . Regu Traditional Pasta Sauce
- 8 - 12 T . mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup mini pepperoni
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add in the water, yeast and sugar. Give it a stir and let it sit for 10 minutes until foamy. The foam means the yeast has been activated.
- In a large mixing bowl, add in 2 cups of flour and salt. Give it a stir to combine.
- Pour the yeast mixture into the mixing bowl and mix with a dough hook until the dough ball forms.
- Once the dough ball forms, turn out onto a floured surface. I used the 1 tablespoon of flour and just kneaded the dough a couple of times.
- Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil onto the bottom of the bowl you used to mix the dough.
- Place the dough on top of the olive oil and just make sure the bottom is coated with olive oil.
- Pour the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil on top of the dough and spread it over the top of the dough.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap on the bowl and let it set for about 20 minutes or until doubled.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray the muffin top pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Punch it down and divide it into 8 balls. Press each ball into the prepared muffin top pan.
- Add 2 teaspoons of spaghetti sauce to each mini pizza and spread. I left a tiny edge of the dough bare.
- Add 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of mozzarella cheese on top of each mini pizza. Spread to the edge of the sauce.
- Place 6 - 10 mini pepperonis on each pizza.
- Place into the oven and bake for 14 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is puffy and golden brown.
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
There's a contest at food.com called "Ready. Set. Cook!" and it challenges home cooks to create new and unique recipes featuring Ragu sauce plus a set list of other ingredients. If this sounds like a contest that you can get in on, head over to Food.com now!
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