Your favorite pizza toppings in a scrumptious muffin. Portable and portioned and as many ideations as you can imagine. Serious YUM and you probably have all of the ingredients in your pantry and fridge already!
Back in the days of endless school functions and choir concerts and and and…these pillowy muffins were a regular on our table. Leftovers packed perfectly into lunches. Fresh ones provided a drive-thru-free dinner on a busy night. Because most of the ingredients are likely ones you keep on hand, you can whip these up almost anytime.
These days, our calendar and fridge and pantry look very different than they did back when these were in the regular dinner rotation. But that doesn’t stop me from seeing how they can fit back into our meal plan. Recently, my daughter Maia said she whipped up a batch on a busy night and used alfredo in lieu of the red sauce with some chicken. If you have chicken alfredo fans around your table, that may be music to your ears!
This week I am reminded that those last minute dinner grabs can turn out to be a very bad idea for those of us with food sensitivities! I grabbed two bags of a frozen chicken meal thinking “why are there 2 of these in here? Perfect!” and into the air fryer they went without so much as a glance at the package. That night I was ok…but I definitely paid for it. 3 days later and I am still not feeling 100%! So just a gentle reminder, use your go-to safe foods and substitutions. This recipe is very forgiving. GF? use your gluten free mix in place of the dry ingredients. Dairy issues? Plant-based milk works fine and you can omit the cheeses. Low-sodium? Swap in salt-free or low salt versions of the sauce and seasonings. Processed meats give you problems? Use a ground protein of your choice and just add in some flavor with seasonings. Vegetarian? Just use the cheeses and veggies you love.
This week, pizza muffins are making their comeback to our table. Let me know if you try out the recipe and what twists you added in. My plan is to make 1/2 the batch with cheese and veggies and ground pork that I will season myself and the other 1/2 will have the seasoned pork and some diced pepperoni with black olives.
I am excited to welcome back this old friend to our dinner table this week! Real Food. Real kitchens. Real love. –The Food Civilian
Pizza Muffins
Equipment
- muffin tin
Ingredients
Whisk together:
- 2 c All-purpose Flour *for GF version, see notes*
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- 1 TBS Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Sea Salt
- 1 TBS Italian Dressing Mix see recipe here
- ¼ c parmesan cheese
Whisk together:
- 1 whole Egg
- 1 c Milk *non dairy works fine*
- ¼ c olive oil for an extra flavor kick, use garlic olive oil
- 4 TBS tomato sauce this is 2oz, so ¼ of an 8oz can. I eyeball this!
Fold in (gently mix):
- 1 c shredded cheese mozzarella and cheddar are great ½ and ½
Optional:
- Pepperoni slices diced, if using large size
- Sausage 3/4-1lb, cooked and drained
- ¼ c Green onion sliced
- 1 small onion diced **
- ½-1 Green or Red pepper diced **
- ½-1 Zucchini diced**
Instructions
- **If using veggies, sauté in olive oil first for extra flavor and softer texture. Ok to leave raw too**
- Pre-heat oven to 375˚F degrees
- Measure the first six ingredients (DRY) into a large bowl. Stir until well mixed, make a well in center.
- Using a medium bowl; combine the next four ingredients (WET), add to well in large bowl.
- FOLD in (gently mix) shredded cheese (and any meats or other ingredients). Stir until just moistened.
- Grease (or Pam spray) your muffin tin. Use a largish ice cream scoop and fill each muffin cup ¾ full.
- Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes* until wooden pick in center of muffin comes out clean
- Let stand in pan for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool. These freeze wonderfully.