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Ok – I’ve found a new favorite ingredient at the store. They’ve probably existed for years, and I somehow missed them. But hey — they’re new to me. :) I’m talking about….
Mini-pepperonis!!!!
Have you seen these?! Oh my goodness — they’re too cute for words. I actually forgot to take a picture before I tossed them in this recipe, but they’re just a tiny about 1-cm wide version of regular pepperonis. Granted, you can of course achieve the same taste and effect by just dicing regular ones, but these are so cute and fun. So of course, I had to bring some home!
To put them to use, I decided to try out a recipe I’ve had bookmarked for awhile. Talk about too cute for words — these little pepperoni puffs were a fabulous success!!! Super simple. Super quick. And super delicious. Perfect for an appetizer, an after-school snack, or just a fun alternative to pizza!!
So give them a try — either with diced regular pepperonis, or with my fun new favorites — and enjoy!! I’ve also included some other fun ingredient substitutions for your other favorite pizza toppings below.
Always a crowd favorite… you will love this Pepperoni Pizza Puffs recipe!
Ingredients
Scale
3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
3/4 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
4 oz. pepperoni, diced (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup pizza sauce (homemade or store-bought)
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, finely diced
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and oregano; whisk in the milk and egg. Stir in the mozzarella and pepperoni; let stand for 10 minutes.
Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
Warm the pizza sauce, then stir in 1 tablespoon basil. Sprinkle the puffs with the remaining 1 tablespoon basil. Serve the puffs with the pizza sauce for dipping.
Ali’s Tip:
These would of course be fun with tons of other ingredients! Some possible ideas that come to mind (all of these diced pretty small!) might be:
I just discovered the mini pepperoni too and find that they are perfect for tossing in my pasta salad. Am definitely going to try these pepperoni pizza puffs with the kids.
I made these pepperoni pizza puffs when I first saw then in RR Mag. The kids love them. I do love the idea of the different “toppings” they are great for a picnic!
AHH – I made these for the Glee Season Finale (needed something awesome! Clearly, this was the choice!) and we ate these so fast that I considering going to the store to get more pepperonis to make another batch! They were THAT amazing!
Thank you for this great recipe! I blogged about it here:
https://whatabigtodo.blogspot.com/2010/06/pepperoni-pizza-puffs.html
I just made these for my kids and they loved them! I made half with pepperoni, half without and they were both delicious. Thanks for a quick and yummy recipe.
My friends called and wanted to come over, but I didn’t have any food in my apartment. I found this recipe purely by accident, and to my delight I had everything it called for! My friends LOVED them! I ended up making no less than 4 batches.
I cannot believe I found this recipe. I have lost 32 pounds and now I will have to forgo a pound or two to try the recipe. Looks to good. Any nutrition count available? Thanks.
I just made these tonight- They were DELISH. I put cubed ham in them, just because I have a love-hate relationship with pepperoni. Definitely going to be a staple for when I have to make food. My siblings love them.
Just goes to show that 15-year-olds can cook, too. :)
So simple, I love it!
I made these for my boyfriend as a game day snack (GO COLTS!). =] I baked them in a regular-sized muffin tin since I don’t have one of those cute lil mini ones, but they still turned out AWESOME. They looked so perfect that my bf asked me “So did the sauce come with these?” as if they were ordered in from somewhere. Ha, and he thinks he knows me?! Anyway, bottom line…these looked AND tasted amazing. I added some red pepper flakes for a little spice, and also some fresh grated parmesan to the the tops of the muffins right before putting them in the oven. So good!
Linda – I definitely made these with some garlic in em! At my house, garlic goes into just about anything other than ice cream. I do not feel guilty about this. :)
These sound great. I would like to make them for a cocktail party. Has anyone made these ahead? Just wondering if you have any advice on reheating or freezing and cooking. Thanks!
Just made these and they turned out amazing! I put pineapple, onions and peppers in them as well, but with no pepperoni and they are so good! Good for lunches and such, I’ll be making these again. :)
I just made these tonight and were a HUGE hit…I have been dying to make them and so glad I did! Definitely have to make these again sometime. So easy! :) Thank you for the recipe!
I made these but I used ham, pineapple, pepper jack cheese and unflavoured almond milk (that is what I had). I also used regular sized muffin tins. My husband and I both thought they were delicious!
Do you think these would still work in a regular sized muffin pan? I know cook times would change but just asking for your opinion on it since I REALLY want to make these but don’t have a mini muffin tin! =] Thanks
These look delicious! Can they be made ahead of time and then reheated in the microwave. I’m needing something to take out of town and then reheat once we get there. Thanks!
I just discovered the mini pepperoni too and find that they are perfect for tossing in my pasta salad. Am definitely going to try these pepperoni pizza puffs with the kids.
Lovely Pizza puffs!
Great idea.
Thank you.
Very cute!!
So cute and bet my boys (old and young!) would love ’em!
And I’ve never seen the mini-pepperoni… I’ll be on the look out now!
Just discovered your website, and I’ve bookmarked no fewer than 20 recipes to try as I went backward! I look forward to reading regularly!
Too cute ! Can’t wait to try these with the mini-pepperonis – who knew?!
I’ve never seen mini peps! Totally going to look for them now though :)
Wonderful! Definitely giving this a shot, thank you.
I made these pepperoni pizza puffs when I first saw then in RR Mag. The kids love them. I do love the idea of the different “toppings” they are great for a picnic!
These are so adorable! They remind me of the pizza bites I keep seeing all over blogs these days. I’ll definitely be giving these a try.
OMG pepperoni is one of my favorite things in the world. these are fantastic. i must make them immediately. thanks!
there is such a great happiness in my heart today
thank you, ali!
oh my! cuteness overload!
Tia @ buttercreambarbie
Goodness! I must make these as soon as my mouth is back in session haha.
AHH – I made these for the Glee Season Finale (needed something awesome! Clearly, this was the choice!) and we ate these so fast that I considering going to the store to get more pepperonis to make another batch! They were THAT amazing!
Thank you for this great recipe! I blogged about it here:
https://whatabigtodo.blogspot.com/2010/06/pepperoni-pizza-puffs.html
:) yayyy thanks for all the amazing recipes!
Hey Madeleine,
I LOVE GLEE!!!!! Ahh – that’s so fun that you all enjoyed this recipe during the finale (which, btw, I loved!!). :) Glad you liked them!
~A
I just made these for my kids and they loved them! I made half with pepperoni, half without and they were both delicious. Thanks for a quick and yummy recipe.
Thanks, Tracie! Glad you and the kids enjoyed them! :)
~A
This recipe just saved me!
My friends called and wanted to come over, but I didn’t have any food in my apartment. I found this recipe purely by accident, and to my delight I had everything it called for! My friends LOVED them! I ended up making no less than 4 batches.
Thank you!
very simple and perfect for the party i went to! thanks
I just wanted to tell you how much I LOVED this recipe. We made it for a party this evening, and they were DELICIOUS! Thanks for posting!
I cannot believe I found this recipe. I have lost 32 pounds and now I will have to forgo a pound or two to try the recipe. Looks to good. Any nutrition count available? Thanks.
I made these last night and they were gone in an instant…very yummy. I plan to make again and try a variety of ingredients.
Hey Bectoria!
So glad you enjoyed these! Would love to hear how they turn out if you experiment with some different ingredients – fun!! :)
~A
oh these look delish. i’ll have to make them. my bf would friggin die for these. thanks!
I just made these tonight- They were DELISH. I put cubed ham in them, just because I have a love-hate relationship with pepperoni. Definitely going to be a staple for when I have to make food. My siblings love them.
Just goes to show that 15-year-olds can cook, too. :)
So simple, I love it!
Yum. What a fabulous idea and it make way less of a mess than normal pizza. My 4 year old would love this.
Has anyone tried adding garlic to them I love garlic and was just curious.
Oh my word these are DELIGHTFUL!! Found your recipe last night and made them for dinner today…sooo yummy!!
Love this idea!!–defineately tasty, but they always turn out on the dry side. Any suggestions?
Yummy. I just want to reach over and pop one into my mouth.
I made these for my boyfriend as a game day snack (GO COLTS!). =] I baked them in a regular-sized muffin tin since I don’t have one of those cute lil mini ones, but they still turned out AWESOME. They looked so perfect that my bf asked me “So did the sauce come with these?” as if they were ordered in from somewhere. Ha, and he thinks he knows me?! Anyway, bottom line…these looked AND tasted amazing. I added some red pepper flakes for a little spice, and also some fresh grated parmesan to the the tops of the muffins right before putting them in the oven. So good!
Linda – I definitely made these with some garlic in em! At my house, garlic goes into just about anything other than ice cream. I do not feel guilty about this. :)
These sound great. I would like to make them for a cocktail party. Has anyone made these ahead? Just wondering if you have any advice on reheating or freezing and cooking. Thanks!
Just made these and they turned out amazing! I put pineapple, onions and peppers in them as well, but with no pepperoni and they are so good! Good for lunches and such, I’ll be making these again. :)
I made these last night for my sons and our friend’s twins and they loved them. We (the adults) did too. So easy and very yummy.
These are absolutely delicious.
You have described well about this pepperoni pizza puffs recipe. I am gonna try this at home for my kids. Thanks
Very nice. We love everything pizza around our house and this looks like a wonderful alternative to original same ole!
I just made these tonight and were a HUGE hit…I have been dying to make them and so glad I did! Definitely have to make these again sometime. So easy! :) Thank you for the recipe!
can you use regular muffin tins?
I am overwhelmed by how adorable these little pizza puffs are. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
these would be all gone within the night, if I made these
Those looks delicious, and yep those mini pepperonis are adorable.
I love all things mini!! I will definitely give this a try :)
These look great! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
What an awesome recipe! I have my nieces coming over this weekend, so we are going to try this for sure.
Just made these w/out the pepperoni and with spinach and onions!! so delicious! added dried-cut basil and ground garlic- delish!
I made these but I used ham, pineapple, pepper jack cheese and unflavoured almond milk (that is what I had). I also used regular sized muffin tins. My husband and I both thought they were delicious!
This is such a good idea. I can’t wait to try them!
In Canada we call them pepperettes, they are very popular, but usually don’t last long enough to use for cooking, the kids eat them up as a snack!!
Do you think these would still work in a regular sized muffin pan? I know cook times would change but just asking for your opinion on it since I REALLY want to make these but don’t have a mini muffin tin! =] Thanks
These look delicious! Can they be made ahead of time and then reheated in the microwave. I’m needing something to take out of town and then reheat once we get there. Thanks!
Sure, these can be reheated. Good luck!