Delicious Bite-Sized Deep Dish Pizza Cupcakes (Print version)
Mini deep dish pizza cupcakes baked in a muffin tin with golden crust, melty cheese, sauce, pepperoni, and crisp edges.
# Ingredients:
For the pizza cups
01 -
1 tablespoon olive oil or nonstick cooking spray, for the pan
02 -
1 lb (450 g) refrigerated pizza dough, or one 13.8 oz tube
03 -
1 1/2 cups (170 g) shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese, divided
04 -
1/2 cup (120 ml) thick pizza sauce
05 -
1/3 cup (35 g) mini pepperoni
06 -
1/3 cup (50 g) cooked crumbled Italian sausage
07 -
2 tablespoons finely diced green bell pepper
08 -
2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
09 -
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
10 -
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
11 -
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
For serving
12 -
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or parsley, optional
13 -
Extra warm pizza sauce, for dipping
# Instructions:
01 -
Heat the oven to 400 F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin well with olive oil or nonstick spray, including the top edges of the cups.
02 -
Cut the pizza dough into 12 equal pieces. Flatten each piece into a 4-inch round and press it into a muffin cup, letting the dough come partway up the sides.
03 -
Place about 1 tablespoon of mozzarella in the bottom of each dough cup. This helps keep the sauce from soaking into the crust.
04 -
Spoon about 2 teaspoons pizza sauce into each cup. Add pepperoni, sausage, bell pepper, red onion, and the remaining mozzarella, keeping the filling just below the dough rim.
05 -
Sprinkle the tops with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and parmesan. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling.
06 -
Let the pizza cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen with a small spatula or butter knife, lift out, and serve warm with basil and extra sauce if desired.
# Good to know:
01 -
Best served warm after a 5-minute rest in the muffin tin.
02 -
Use cooked toppings when they release moisture, especially mushrooms or sausage.
03 -
Freeze baked and cooled pizza cupcakes for up to 2 months.