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
Ingredients
- 1½ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup tomato sauce, plus ¼ cup for topping
- ½ cup cheddar cheese, plus ½ cup for topping
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, plus ½ cup for topping
- 2 ounces pepperoni, plus 2 ounces for topping
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda
- Pulse in eggs and sauce until combined
- Pulse in cheeses and pepperoni
- Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners
- Scoop a heaping ¼ cup of batter into each cup
- Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes
- Remove from oven; place 1 teaspoon sauce on top of each muffin
- Sprinkle cheese over sauce
- Sprinkle pepperoni over cheese
- Place back in oven and bake for 15 more minutes
- Cool for 1 hour
- 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?
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Denise says
Is this recipe in one of your books? Thanks for all your work in making “grain free” recipes!
Elana says
Denise, no it’s not. The recipes in my books are different than those on my website 99% of the time. I hope you are loving these muffins as much as we are! :-)
Grandi says
I don’t understand… at the top of the post, your boys have been eating these, and near the bottom of the post, you haven’t tried the recipe yet? What did I miss?
Elana says
Grandi, here’s what I wrote at the bottom of the post, “I haven’t tried making these Pizza Muffins dairy-free…” I hope you love these as much as we do!
Denise says
Can you use finely shredded mozzarella?
Elana says
Denise, I haven’t tried that :-)
Theresa says
I love this so much
Elana says
Thanks Theresa!
Kathy says
I notice you use a lot of almond flour. What can I use instead of almond flour. For those of us who are prone to kidney stones. I use to eat all the superfoods, spinach, chocolate, almonds etc but all high in oxalates and ended up in the hospital too many times. Last year was with 3 stones stuck in my ureter tube, 7mm and (2) 5mm, with a bad kidney infection that made me really sick. Dr told me to stop eating these things. Kidney stones are on the rise for women so I was told by kidney specialist. What else can I use? Thank you, love your recipes.
Elana says
Kathy, here’s a link to my Nut-Free recipes page for you:
https://elanaspantry.com/recipes/?diet-type=nut-free-diet&recipe-type=desserts&ingredients=&page=2
I think you’ll love the Nut-Free Carrot Cake!
Elana
Karen says
I don’t eat pepperoni. So I substituted for sliced mushrooms.
Elana says
Karen, that sounds yummy!
Paula A Reed says
These muffins came out amazing! I am diabetic so carbs (and Pizza) are my worst enemy. I am going to try Ham, Mushroom and Onion for New Years when the rest of my family is eating regular pizza. I will let you know how they come out. They are crazy good as is so I have every expectation ones with my favorite toppings will be that much more awesome!! Thank you so much for all of your wonderful recipes and the time you take to share each one with us. Your cookbooks and website get non-stop use at my house.
Elana says
Paula, thanks for letting me know these are amazing and crazy good! I’m so happy to hear my cookbooks and website get non-stop use at your house, and I’m so happy to help :-)
Kate says
Hi, I’m British and I’m not sure what you mean by tomato sauce, over here that means Ketchup do you mean chopped tomatoes or like a tomato based pasta sauce?
Elana says
Kate, thanks for your comment! It’s not ketchup, it’s similar to a tomato based pasta sauce. If you click the green text in the ingredients portion of the recipe you will be taken to the exact product I use :-)
Chris says
I apologize if I’m being dense but are you supposed to eat this cold? If so, why? Letting them cool for an hour feels long to me. Thanks in advance!
Elana says
Chris, no problem! Almond flour breads and muffins hold together very well when they’re completely cooled, that’s why I have a lengthy cooling time for these :-)
Chris says
Thanks much!!!!
Elana says
Chris, you’re very welcome! I hope you love these muffins as much as we do :-)
Sabrina Brown says
I have a question. What are the Marcos on these?
Elana says
Sabrina, thanks for your comment! For more on that please go here:
https://elanaspantry.com/nutrition-information/
Have a great day!
Elana