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.
Pepperoni Pizza Puffs
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 24 pizza puffs 1x
Description
Always a crowd favorite… you will love this Pepperoni Pizza Puffs recipe!
Ingredients
- 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:
- “Hawaiian” – canadian bacon and diced pineapple
- sausage
- green or red peppers
- olives
- onion
- etc….
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!
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
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!!
This is such a good idea. I can’t wait to try them!
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!
Just made these w/out the pepperoni and with spinach and onions!! so delicious! added dried-cut basil and ground garlic- delish!
What an awesome recipe! I have my nieces coming over this weekend, so we are going to try this for sure.
These look great! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I love all things mini!! I will definitely give this a try :)
Those looks delicious, and yep those mini pepperonis are adorable.