These easy-to-make pizza cupcakes are a fun appetizer for parties or as a game-day snack.
I made these on a whim this weekend and they were a huge hit with FH and my brother. I love how they look and they taste just as yummy.
Technically it’s not really a cupcake. It’s a savory muffin with mini pepperonis and mozzarella cheese inside. But FH took one look at them as said “Hey, it’s Pizza Cupcakes” and I didn’t have the heart to correct him. When I finished baking them, they tasted good but didn’t look so pretty. So then I got the idea to top them with more mozzarella cheese and pepperonis for a more finished appearance like adding streusel to a muffin or frosting to a cupcake.
I think these would make great party food. And they are super easy to make.
Please find an updated version of this recipe here.
Here is also a video I made when making the updated version:
Pizza cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup +2 tbsp low-fat milk
- 1/2 cup mini pepperonis
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
For the Topping
- 1/3 cup mini pepperonis
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a 12 cupcake pan with liners (see note).
- In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add in vegetable oil, egg, and 1/3 cup milk into flour mixture and stir until batter is smooth. It will be sticky. (Add in another 2 tbsp milk if desired.) Fold/stir in cheese and pepperoni. Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full.
- Bake for about 18 minutes until muffins turn out golden and a knife inserted comes out clean. Right before eating, top muffins with more cheese and about five slices of mini pepperoni and bake for 4-5 minutes at 350°F until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Back again a year and a half later to say these are still delicious and a easy loved go to qk dinner—tonight I made them into mini loaves to offer larger serving size ????
wow, mini loaves. I’ve never tried that.
I don’t eat eggs. Could you suggest any alternative?
sorry i dont have one
Hi, I’m going to try your recipe as those cupcakes really look great! What kind of milk did you use? Thanks in advance. 🙂
I used fat free, but you can also use low fat or whole milk.
I know these will be a hit at our monthly family get-together. Has anyone tried the mini muffin tins? I’m thinking bite-size would be easier for the littlest grandchildren to handle.
I dont know of anyone who has done a mini version. Mini sounds great!, You just need to make sure not to overbake and make sure each one gets pepperoni.
Going to make these today! Hope they turn out GREAT! Using a side of pizza sauce for dipping, maybe ????
Side of pizza sauce is great. A lot of people have done that
Omg can I use one of your pictures as my Facebook profile picture? I’ll put a link up to the page s2g
Hi, thank you for your interest. Unfortunately, I cannot grant you permission to use my photo for your FB profile. There is quite a high rate of copyright and photo stealing and even though you may put a link to it, it will likely lead to someone else using it, and then others, etc. I hope you understand. I’ve seen my photos ends up on company’s product labels, without my permission, which gets very frustrating.
Do you think self rising flour will work for the ap,salt,and baking powder. It’s all I have and I want to try these with my kids. Thanks
Hmm, I think it should work. The measurement conversions are about the same
Had for dinner tonight. It was super easy and quick which says a lot cuz I had a 5 yo and 3 yo helping make it. They were very excited. Everyone …including 16 yo & hubby loved it. We had sauce on the side. I used turkey pepperoni. 1 batch with sprayed liners and 1 w/out liners and we had no sticking. This will be a staple & I look forward to trying variations (ie Veges, diff cheeses etc). Posting a link to you with our own pics to FB highly recommending this recipe.
So happy to hear your family enjoyed these =)
People — you can spray paper liners! Makes them easy to remove from the muffin, and less messy to clean up.
good tip!
Thank you for such a great pizza cupcake recipe…I did never taste of this one….but I will try…
Forget the pizza cupcakes–give me some zucchini pizzas! Harvest a huge gigantic overgrown zucchini from the vege garden, slice it into quarter inch thick discs, press them between paper towels to remove some moisture, then add the pizza sauce and toppings! Put in the toaster oven until the zucchini is cooked but still firm and the cheese is golden! Yummm! And healthy!
I agree making vegetable based pizzas are great. I did a mushroom one recently, using them to hold the cheese and pepperoni. Though I don’t think we should forget about these cupcakes. They still are pleasing to the the eye and make a nice party treat.
Has anyone tried them cold? I’m thinking these would be awesome to pack in my daughter’s school lunch, which will obviously be either cold or room temp by lunchtime.
For everyone having issues with liners sticking, simply spray the paper liners with cooking spray. The paper liners will look really wet, but it works perfect. I’ve made them several times this way with no sticking problems. : )
Thanks for the tip!
Made them last evening. I found I needed some kind of sauce to spread on or dip in. After my first one, I tried one with some Wholly Guacamole; not bad. Next I used Hidden Valley Ranch; also not bad. That’s what I had around, so that’s what I tried. I used foil liners, but they stuck a little, so next time I’ll do without. I look forward to trying this again and incorporating some of the other folks suggestions. Thanks for posting this recipe.
I am going to make for a pool party , I really liked the cream cheese tomato paste idea (Steves idea) I will try that in my recipe. Thanks for the recipes. let ya know how they turn out.
Did anyone try making them and freezing them? I’m making them for my son’s birthday party so will need a lot and I don’t want to be doing them all last minute. I just wonderednhow they would turn out. Thanks!
Se ven Riquisimos los voy intentar hacer para mis chicos, Tambien los publique en mi pagina de facebook de Mommys Cupcakes y en el Blog de Mommyscupcakesmore.blogspot.com
can you use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose….and can I prep these a day ahead and leave them in the fridge…
I’ve never made them with wheat flour. I imagine it won’t be exactly the same. I’m sure a version can be done with wheat flour but I don’t know if other ingredients would need to be adjusted. I also haven’t tried leaving the batter in the fridge. My concern would be that the batter may get dry or hard.
Just reaffirming the rest of the commenters — these cupcakes are fantastic! Made a batch (no liners) for a kids’ sleepover birthday party. Didn’t change a thing, and they were a huge hit! Might be interesting to try the marinara filling suggested above, but not for awhile–I ate waay too many the first time.
I’m happy they came out well for you!