Ditch the delivery (and the slice!) tonight in favor of the ultimate stuffed pizza bites. Grab all your favorite pizza toppings for these pillowy pizza dough pockets that are baked until golden brown, cheesy perfection. They’re easy to make, endlessly customizable and perfect for dunking into warm marinara sauce.
I originally published this recipe in 2014, and have since updated it with new photos and even more tips and tricks to guarantee success every single time.
Table of Contents
Pizza dough, marinara sauce and cheese have taken on many forms around here, from pizza pull-apart bread to homemade focaccia pizza. But my latest version skips the slice entirely in favor of a bite-sized alternative. Welcome to the pizza party, stuffed pizza bites!
Imagine pockets of pizza dough stuffed with marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese and pepperoni, which are then pinched closed, topped with Parmesan cheese, and baked until golden brown and bubbly. The best part? This recipe can be as homemade or as store-bought as you want it to be, from the pizza dough to the marinara the creative combinations of toppings-slash-fillings.
Hosting a football-watching party? Searching for after-school snacks? Needing a late-night bite? Stuffed pizza bites have you covered.
Make These as Homemade or as Store-Bought as You Like
One of the reasons I’ve been making these pull-apart pizza bites on repeat for years is how flexible they are. I’ve made them fully homemade, fully store-bought, and every combination in between. Use what you have, lean on your favorite shortcuts or go all-in from scratch.
Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Pizza dough: You’ll need 1 pound of pizza dough for this recipe. I love using my homemade pizza dough when I have the time, but store-bought dough absolutely works, too.
- Marinara sauce: Use your favorite marinara or pizza sauce here. If you’re looking for an easy homemade option, my homemade marinara sauce comes together in just 10 minutes.
- Cheese: I stick with shredded, low-moisture mozzarella for inside the pizza pockets and sprinkle a little shredded Parm on top for extra flavor.
- Egg: Brushing the dough with an egg wash helps the pizza bites bake up golden brown and gives the Parmesan something to stick to. You can also brush them with melted butter or garlic butter instead (the garlic butter from my homemade garlic knots is especially good here!).
- Italian seasoning: For that familiar pizza flavor. If you don’t have Italian seasoning on hand, dried oregano works just fine.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Before You Start, Here Are My Top 3 Tips
- Start with room-temperature pizza dough. Cold dough is harder to roll and seal, which means it’s more likely to pop open while baking. Letting the dough sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes relaxes the gluten, making it softer, easier to shape and much more cooperative overall.
- Roll the dough thin. Each piece of dough should be rolled into about a 3-inch circle. Thin dough is key here—it bakes all the way through while still getting golden on the outside. If the dough is too thick, the centers can turn doughy once you add the sauce and cheese.
- Seal the seams really well. Taking a few extra seconds to seal the dough keeps the filling inside (where it belongs!) instead of turning into a cheesy pool at the bottom of your pan.
Lightly flour your work surface, then divide your pizza dough into equal portions. A sharp knife or dough cutter works well here—I ended up with 19 pieces total (below, left). Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten it into a circle about 3 inches wide (below, right).
Add a small spoonful of marinara to the center of each dough round, followed by a sprinkle of mozzarella and a slice of pepperoni. Resist the urge to overfill. It’s tempting to stuff these like a calzone, but less really is more here. Too much sauce or cheese makes sealing difficult and increases the chances of leaks in the oven.
Pull the edges of the dough up and over the filling and pinch everything together firmly, like you’re closing a little pouch. You want a tight seal.
Arrange the filled dough balls seam-side down in a greased 9-inch cake pan, starting in the center and working outward. The bites should be snug but not squished—this helps them bake evenly and pull apart easily once they’re done.
Once the pan is filled, brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake until the dough is puffed, golden brown and bubbly, about 25 minutes. You can check for doneness by lifting one bite slightly—if the bottom is lightly browned, you’re good to go.
As soon as the pizza bites come out of the oven, sprinkle with Italian seasoning and serve warm with extra marinara sauce or homemade pesto for dipping. These are best enjoyed fresh, while the cheese is melty and the dough is soft and pillowy.
Stuff Them with Your Favorite Pizza Toppings
One of the best things about these cheesy rolls is how easy they are to customize with all your favorite pizza toppings turned fillings. From cooked Italian sausage to sliced black olives and chopped green peppers, if you’d put it on a pizza, you can stuff it inside these pizza rolls.
A quick note: Make sure any add-ins are fully cooked and finely chopped before stuffing. Smaller pieces seal more easily inside the dough and bake evenly, which means fewer leaks and better bites all around.
Serve With
These pizza bites are one of my all-time favorite Super Bowl foods, especially alongside other crowd-pleasers like buffalo chicken meatballs, pizza dough soft pretzel bites and, of course, Mama Kelce’s cookies.
But you don’t have to wait for game day to make them. They’re the perfect shareable appetizer for any ol’ party or any night when you want something warm, cheesy and guaranteed to disappear fast.
Ingredients
- 1 pound homemade or store-bought pizza dough, at room temp
- Flour, for rolling out dough
- 1/2 cup homemade or store-bought marinara sauce, plus more for serving
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup sliced pepperoni
- 1 large egg
- 3 Tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
- Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray.
- Lightly flour your work surface then divide the dough into 19 equal portions. Roll each piece of dough into a small circle about 3 inches in size. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of marinara sauce into the center of each piece of dough then sprinkle the marinara with a small portion of the cheese and one slice of pepperoni. Pull all of the sides up to meet in the center, firmly pinching to seal the fillings inside the dough pocket. Repeat the filling and sealing process with the remaining pieces of dough.
- Beginning in the center, arrange the filled dough balls seam side down in a single layer in the prepared pan. (Do not overlap the dough balls.)
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg with 1 tablespoon water. Brush the eggwash all over the tops of the dough balls then sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.
- Bake for 25 to 27 minutes until golden brown and bubbly. (You can check if the dough is fully baked by lifting one piece to see if the bottom has browned slightly.)
- Remove the pizza bites from the oven, sprinkle the tops with the seasoning and serve with additional marinara sauce for dipping.
Kelly’s Notes
- Pizza dough is much easier to roll out when it’s at room temperature than when it’s cold.
- It’s important to roll each piece of dough out to 3 inches in diameter so that the dough is thin enough to bake completely during the specified time.
- For best results, bake and serve the pizza bites the same day. They’re at their best when fresh and warm.
- Try my homemade pizza dough and quick marinara sauce if you want to go fully from-scratch.
- Make them vegetarian: Simply omit the pepperoni.
- Add your favorite fillings: Cooked sausage, olives, green peppers or onions all work well. Just be sure any add-ins are fully cooked and finely chopped so the bites seal easily and bake evenly.
- ★Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint or repost this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
Thanks for recipe. Any left overs, how long can I keep them in the fridge or freezer? Thanks.
So glad you enjoyed it! You can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to a month. Enjoy!
Very yummy!
So glad you enjoyed it, Laura!
Adding it to the weekly lineup! Going to try new ingredients inside!
I’m so thrilled to read this, Shantel!