Elana's Pantry

New York Times Bestselling author Elana Amsterdam founded Elana’s Pantry, the go-to website for easy, healthy, grain-free, Paleo recipes, in 2006

Pizza Muffins Recipe

Pizza Muffins

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The boys have been going gaga for these gluten-free Pizza Muffins. They eat them for breakfast, in their lunches, and as a healthy after school snack. Since I’ve been cutting back on my sugar intake I’m a big fan of these pizza muffins too. For me, they’re sort of like a savory cupcake. Cute and little, with adorable decorations on top –everything I want a cupcake to be, without the sugar.

In order to make the adorable miniature pepperoni slices that top these Pizza Muffins, I stacked up pieces of pepperoni and pressed down on them with the small side of a metal funnel. Works like magic!

Although my boys are now teenagers, I think they would have loved cutting out the tiny pieces of pepperoni and decorating the tops of these muffins with me when they were small children. Those were the fun types of projects we used to do together. Now when we’re in the kitchen, rather than collaborating on one dish together, we make separate dishes and collaborate on making one big meal. My favorite time with the boys is still kitchen time. I love watching them cook (and clean), and seeing them take pride in everything they make!

Pizza Muffins
Serves: 12
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a food processor, combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda
  2. Pulse in eggs and sauce until combined
  3. Pulse in cheeses and pepperoni
  4. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners
  5. Scoop a heaping 1/4 cup of batter into each cup
  6. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes
  7. Remove from oven; place 1 teaspoon sauce on top of each muffin
  8. Sprinkle cheese over sauce
  9. Sprinkle pepperoni over cheese
  10. Place back in oven and bake for 15 more minutes
  11. Cool for 1 hour
  12. Serve

I based this recipe on one from Pamela Salzman, a private chef in Southern California. I haven’t tried it, but I’ll bet this grain-free Pizza Muffin recipe would be incredible with various vegetable fillings and toppings such as mushrooms, spinach, or zucchini. If you experiment, please let us know what changes you make to the recipe and if you have to adapt any of the other ingredients. When you include vegetables it may be best to saute them first, otherwise they will be very wet.

I tried making these Pizza Muffins with more tomato sauce on top and preferred them with the one teaspoon indicated in the recipe. I found they became a tad soggy when I increased the tomato sauce to two teaspoons.

I haven’t tried making these Pizza Muffins dairy-free as my boys can eat cheese. If you do play with the recipe and remove the cheese please tell us how it goes! How will you customize this recipe to make your very own pizza muffin?

Comments

  3. I made these grain-free pizza muffins tonight and let me tell you they are amazing!! We are more of Italian sausage family so I swapped out the meat. I also added fresh spainsh to the top of the cupcake batter and it turned out perfect. Thanks Elana for the awesome recipe!

    Reply

  5. These look lovely – how would you replace some of the almonds with coconut flour and tapioca starch? i’d like to get the fat (even though it’s ‘good’ fat) down…

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  8. These are fantastic! I did make some changes. I do not have any health issues other than wanting to lose weight so some of my changes won’t be appropriate for everyone. There is only me so I made 1/4 of the recipe. So easy to divide! I hate having to divide an egg. I used pre-cut mini pepperoni so didn’t have to cut them. Also didn’t bother with the food processor, lazy didn’t want to wash it. So the cheese and pepperoni stayed in shreds and pieces. I added Italian seasoning to the tomato sauce. I used mozzarella cheese instead of cheddar. I also made 4 muffins instead of the 3 that 1/4 the recipe would make. I baked them for 17 minutes and then spread the topping cheese on them and put them back in the oven for 3 or 4 minutes for the cheese to melt,( I did this so I could put more sauce on without the top getting soggy) then put on 2 teaspoons tomato sauce and the mini pepperoni and baked an additional 8 or 9 minutes for everything to finish. Absolutely wonderful. I love your recipes! Thank You for everything.

    Reply

  9. What I love about your recipes is they often only use a food processor and I just keep adding and pulsing! So easy! Thanks.

    Reply

  10. Love these muffins! We are dairy free so I omit the cheese except for a bit of Dayia (dairy free) mozzarella “cheese” on top – and they disappear from the breakfast table. This one is a winner!

    Reply

  11. Hi I just made my third batch of these because they’re so yummy! Just wanted to share a tip. If you’re baking them in the regular foil+paper muffin tin liners, trust me, if you peel them while warm you will peel off half of the muffin. Put them in the fridge overnight and then peel. Even then you have to be careful because some pieces you have to pick off. I just ordered a silicone pan and can’t wait to eat an entire muffin for once lol!
    Another thing I do differently is that I only fill the cups halway. Otherwise they puff up to the edge and when I add the extra sauce and toppings it floats onto the muffin pan. First time I didn’t have pepperoni and it really needed that spice. Next time I want to use sausage. Eggplant plus red pepper flakes might be good too! I just love these as a snack because I can grab one and it’s very filling. It has me thinking what other savory muffins I can make.
    PS even my parents who eat regular (unhealthy) food love these and couldn’t believe it was almond flour!

    Reply

      • have you tried to use the flax seed meal egg substitute you use 1Tbsp of the flax seed and 3 Tbsp of water to replace one egg. I have not used this with coconut or almond flour as i am just looking into going GF but have used it in making breads and using it as a base to coat chicken and what not before dipping it in flour to fry it and it has worked well for those. GOOD LUCK.

        Reply

  13. This is by far my favorite of the reduced carb bread-type recipes I have tried.

    I accidentally added 1/2 cup of tomato sauce to the batter, instead of 1/4 cup, and it still turned out fine.

    Many thanks!

    Reply

  14. These pizza muffins are FANTASTIC!!! Have made them and love them so tonight we are switching it up a little. We have made this as a pizza crust… . Put it on a 13X9 pan and it just came out of the oven Perfect!! We are just adding the fixins and then its going back in to finish! I am actually so excited about this. Can’t wait to eat it! Thank you for sharing this recipe Elana!!

    Reply

  16. Wow, these are amazing!!! I made them without pepperoni and without following the final steps of putting sauce and cheese on top, and they were still so yummy… Thanks!

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  19. These are awesome!! I used left over bacon instead of pepperoni and added a little garlic powder to the mix, YUM! Great for breakfast.

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    • I make most of her recipes by hand. The only difference is you mix your dry and wet separately and add the dry to the wet slowly.

      Reply

    • Hi Ann, I haven’t tried that as the boys gobble them up so fast. If you do, please let us know if they freeze well :-)

      Reply

  22. I just made these for my 3 year old, she said they were really good! They were also very easy to make. I haven’t tried them as I am following the Autoimmune Paleo protocol, but they looked delicious, I was very jealous of my daughter as she was eating then.

    Reply

  23. Hi, my muffins are cooling and the allure is huge! I measured everything carefully, including the ice cream scoup with which I doled out the dough. It measured precisely 1/4 cup, and the directions said a heaping quarter cup. Maybe mine were too heaping, because I only got seven muffins out of the recipe! Did I do something wrong? Really, I can’t wait to taste these. I am a huge loyal fan of your Paleo Brownies! thanks so much! Mary Ann

    Reply

    • I had the same experience and came here to read the comments to see if it’s addressed. They’re in the oven now so I’ll see how they turn out!

      Reply

  24. HI Elana
    Thanks so much for your site. Great recipes. Am making Pizza Muffins today. Wondering do these freeze well? How long do they keep fresh?
    Thanks
    Julia

    Reply

    • Hi Julia, if stored in the fridge in a pyrex container with a lid they will last 3-4 days. I haven’t ever frozen them so not sure about that. If you do please let us know if they are still good when thawed :-)

      Reply

  26. I’m going to have to try these. I went wheat free about 4 months ago when I found out I have a wheat sensitivity. I have now gone grain free (day 9 – no grains). I don’t miss sweets, but what I have been missing is a decent sub for pizza. Before going grain free – all the gluten free pizza crusts I tried – homemade and store bought- were awful.

    Reply

  27. Great recipe! For those asking about an alternative option to almond flour, I have used an already prepared gluten free flour special for baking gluten free bread. I’m in Spain, so I don’t think you have the same brand in US, but the flour that I have used have corn as a main ingredient, so maybe it helps if you look and try something similar :)
    By the way Elana, this is the first tiem I comment your blog, but I have been following you since almost 3 years ago and I have to tell you that you are always an inspiration for healthy and tasty recipes. We are all celiacs in the family and this blog has being very useful! Congratulations for your lovely work!

    Thank you!

    Reply

  28. I am very excited to try these muffins in my sons lunch box this week.
    They just came out of the oven, and we are waiting for them to cool…

    Reply

  29. I saw these and knew I wanted to make them and I even had all of the ingredients! I added a little bit of garlic and Italian seasoning, and used pizza sauce instead of tomato sauce. Delicious :) These will be tasty for breakfast this week.

    Reply

      • I thought about mozzarella but it is a wetter cheese and I was concerned it might make the muffin soggy. I used a sharp white cheddar which gave the muffin just a bit of tangy flavor. My husband also loved them. A real hit.

        Reply

  31. How to prepare for a possible hurricane: make these muffins! Elana, one of your best recipes yet. I just had my first taste (couldn’t resist). I used Asiago and Parmesan freshly grated for the topping with the funnel cut pepperoni. I am ready for any storm or flooding here in coastal NJ. Thanks!

    Reply

  32. Thanks for the recipe which will slow down insulin spikes, and thanks for this formatting. I print out in black & white because it is less expensive.

    Reply

  33. Hi Elana,

    These look great! They would be perfect for my son to take to school. Unfortunately, my son’s school (as well as many other schools and preschools nowdays) has a nut free policy. Have you by any chance tried to make these with coconut flour?

    Thank you

    Reply

    • I have tried Chia seeds as a substitute and it works really well. You grind up 1 tablespoon of Chia seeds, mix in 3 tablespoons of water and you’ll get a mixture with the consistency of a raw egg.

      Reply

  35. I am allergic to almonds as well and need GF as well and would like to know of a substitute. I do a lot with coconut but I realize you would need something else with it but I am not knowledgeable enough to know what to do with this.

    Reply

    • Hi Cindy, I wish it was that simple! By removing any of the main ingredients and replacing them with another you are creating a new recipe that will need testing. If you do undertake this project I hope you’ll stop back by to let us all know how it goes :-)

      Reply

    • Try the recipes from Ine Reynierse – Low Carb Is Lekker (South African). She also uses almond flour, but it can be substituted with pecan nut flour, ground pumpkin seeds, … . She has a blog, but also a hard copy cook book which has been in the top selling list for non-fiction for weeks here in SA.

      Reply

    • Sarah, I haven’t ever cooked with buckwheat flour. I’ve been grain-free since 2001 and during this time have avoided all grains and grain-like foods. If you try it though please let us know if it works!

      Reply

    • Buckwheat flour will be very heavy, and give this a nutty flavor that may not sit well. Although I know buckwheat is a seed, it still sits very heavy in my tummy.
      I would recommend cassava root flour, or tapioca, but not the same as tapioca starch. You can try Chebe “bread” mixes (just look up “Chebe” on Amazon). Also, teff flour is pretty good too.

      Reply

  37. Elana,these muffins look and sound delicious! Friday night is pizza night at our house. I’m looking forward to trying them.

    Reply

  39. Elana, thankyou for your timing in publishing this. Term 3 starts for us next week here in Australia. I am new to the Paleo diet and am searching for recipes that I can include for my children’s lunchboxes. These Pizza Muffins sound ‘delish’ and will be introduced with great hopes. Wish me luck…

    Reply

    • Other people have successfully substituted almond flour for sunflower seed flour (1:1) in their paleo bread recipes. I have not tried it with this recipe, but could be an option. Put in a bit of lemon juice to avoid getting green muffins due to the reaction between sun flower seeds and baking soda

      Reply

    • I bought some millet flour. You would have to determine how much to use for this recipe. It is Bob’s Red Mill.

      Reply

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