Muffin Tin Pizza

Here is one of our favorite muffin tin dinner ideas that my kids absolutely love and they’re great for busy days. Muffin tin pizzas are way better than the old school english muffin pizzas of the past. You only need a few ingredients filled with your favorite pizza toppings and they’re done in just minutes.

So I love making things easy, especially at dinner time. It is nice when kids are also interested in eating what I’ve spent time on. Sometimes that means making the ordinary look a bit different (somehow that makes it yummier to them…lol). Our favorite muffin tin dinner ideas is in the form of pizza! (affiliate links present)

This recipe is easy and cooks quickly for on the go days. From there we went on to create a bunch more and share them on this muffin tin recipes post that has several other muffin tin meals as well as desserts.

Muffin Tin Pizza

All you will need are the ingredients below! Just get the refrigerated pizza dough (any brand), mozzarella cheese, pizza sauce (I use spaghetti sauce in the jar), and any pizza toppings you like! This is a great way to get the kids involved in the kitchen!

1. Refrigerated pizza crust
2. Mozzarella cheese
3. Pepperoni – mini pepperonis are great if you can find them
4. Spaghetti sauce
5. Any other pizza toppings

Pizza in a Muffin Tin

Use a cutting board and roll out the refrigerated pizza dough, fix holes that are created, so that it is the same thickness across the board. Then use a knife or pizza cutter to create 12 pieces. Then spray your muffin pan with non stick spray and push the squares into each muffin hole so that is is on the bottom as well as the sides.

I usually throw that in a preheated oven (use the temp on the dough container) for a few minutes to get the dough a bit cooked.

It ensures that the dough is cooked all the way thru on the bottom I feel, just works better that way. I don’t cook it all the way, just to get the sheen / stickiness done and they are just a touch golden.

Pizza Cupcakes

You could call these pizza muffins too, but those were made differently without the refrigerated dough. You should try both of our methods and let us know which you love the bestest. 😉

1 can typically will make 10 – 12 which is just enough for the 5 of us. If you have hungry boys or more than 5, use 2 cans.

Fill with a bit of sauce, grated cheese & toppings as desired. Cook as directed on tube of pizza dough, watch carefully and remove when cheese is turning brown. Here’s how easy it is.

Mini Deep Dish Pizzas

Muffin Tin dinner ideas like this one are great because you can pick them up easily, and the slight crustiness of the whole outside is great! That is our easy muffin tin pizza recipe!! These are perfect for game day or when your kiddos have sleepovers with their friends.

• Roll out your refrigerated pizza dough on to a non stick cutting board. Use the top rim of a glass or round cookie cutter to make circles in the dough that fit into each hole.
• Spray muffin cups with non stick spray. Push circles of dough into each tin hole so they come up a bit on the sides and cover the bottom.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees and cook dough for 4 minutes, just so it stiffens up a bit. Remove from oven and spoon marinara sauce, cheese and toppings into each one.
• Bake mini pizzas again for another 6 minutes or so until the edges of the dough are golden brown and cheese is melted.

Remove and let them sit inside for a few minutes. Then use a tbsp to scoop them out. If you used mini muffins out of these you’d have to make smaller circles and timing may be cut in half. Total prep and bake time is less than 30 minutes.

Pizza in a Muffin Tin

Want other bite sized items to serve with this? Make mini quiches with spinach and Swiss cheese and without the crust too is great. You could use this same method but make them on the sweeter side filled with peanut butter and chocolate chips too.

• Use this same pan to make fajita cups with shredded chicken or beef with a dollop of sour cream on top when done.
• You can make muffin tin meatloaf too which makes dinner time more fun. Just use this quick meatloaf recipe and fill each cup full. Bake about 12 minutes until done in the middle as you like and enjoy.
• Other finger foods can be desserts like our cherry cream cheese egg rolls!

Make it a finger food kinda’ evening with your family and bring back the fun to dinner time again. We made it a point to eat together more often a few years ago and let me tell you that once you get teenagers in the house you want that connection to be there. Eating together can bring out the best conversations you might not otherwise have.

What else have you made in this pan other than the best muffin recipes? Of course there are tons of those and they shouldn’t be discounted for breakfast and dessert.