Ditch the delivery (and the slice!) tonight in favor of the ultimate stuffed Cheese and Pepperoni Pizza Bites. Grab all your favorite pizza toppings for these pillowy pizza dough pockets that are baked until golden brown, cheesy perfection. Don’t forget the marinara sauce for dunking!
Pizza dough, marinara sauce and cheese have morphed into many iterations on this site, from Pepperoni Pizza Pull-Apart Bread to Homemade Focaccia Bread Pizza. But the latest iteration skips the slice entirely in favor of a finger-friendly alternative: Cheese and Pepperoni 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. And this recipe can be as homemade or as store-bought as you desire, from the pizza dough to the marinara sauce to the creative combinations of toppings-slash-fillings.
Hosting a football-watching party? Searching for after-school snacks? Needing a late-night bite? Cheese and Pepperoni Pizza Bites have you covered.
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
- Dried oregano or pizza 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 dried oregano and serve with additional marinara sauce for dipping.
Kelly’s Notes:
- It’s important to roll each piece dough out to 3 inches in diameter so that the dough is thin enough to bake completely during the specified time.
- Pizza dough is much easier to roll out when it’s at room temperature than when it’s cold.
- ★ 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.
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!
Made these last night. Had to much dough so we made the 19 circles larger and added olives, jalapenos and finely chopped onion, mushroom and sundried tomatoes! Used a square baking tin as we didn’t have a round one. all in all just amazing!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
My husband and I have made this several times, it’s so addictive and easy!
Thrilled you’re enjoying the recipe, Elizabeth!
Can these be prepared ahead of time
Hi Zita! I would definitely make and bake them on the same day.
Hi, I need to take an appetizer to a party. Can these pizza bites be served cold?
Hi there! I wouldn’t recommend serving them cold, but room temp could work. :)
Do you have a recipe of a pizza dough Ms.Kelly?can you share them please?i really wanna know how to make a a pizza dough but i don’t have the time to search it.thank you Ms.Kelly!
Hi Marifi! Here is the link to my Ultimate Pizza Dough recipe: https://www.justataste.com/the-ultimate-pizza-dough/ Enjoy!
i find all recipes very nice
thank you
panos
Kelly, you never say what size pan you use, just “a prepared pan”. It looks like a 9″ cake pan, is it? How is it prepared?
Hi Gail! The recipe references a 9-inch cake pan :)
Love these recipes
Thank you, Julie!
Can you make this in a 8×8 square pan?
Hi there! I’ve never tried this recipe in an 8×8 pan, so I can’t say with certainty if the baking time would be impacted.
I have a question. Could the canned bisquits be used? The small ones rolled out?
Hi Linda – I’ve never tried this recipe with canned biscuits so I can’t say with certainty if it would work. Let me know if you give it a shot!
Yum!
Would they still taste great without the egg wash? Could I use something like melted butter instead (for browning) or nothing at all?
Definitely! You could use melted butter :)
These look amazingly gooooood! I am making them right now! Its for a party tomorow, so i was wondering…can i make them now and bake them tomorow??? Or should i bake them now? Please reply asap :-)
Hi Sabrina – I would definitely make and bake them on the same day. Enjoy!
What a great idea! I remember when I was little eating little rolls that looked like this (without the sauce, of course); sooo good!
Brilliant idea! Looks scrumptious.
Craving these right now!
These are genius, Kelly! I want 298437238572342 right now.
Looks like both had pepperoni and cheese on our minds! Love these pizza bites! This will go fast here! Pinned!
These are so cute and yummy looking! Cheese and pepperoni are the tastiest bites together!
Love pizza and anything pizza-esque. Looks yummy!
These just look amazing! Perfect for snacking! :)