As the weather heads into fall, I’m collecting recipes that are perfect for cooler days with football/ultimate frisbee in the backyard or a gathering of friends and family for the Super Bowl. I plan to triple this recipe often and freeze these delectable pizza bites for impromptu use.
As we’ve thought more about going in the direction of Gluten-Free, we discovered quinoa, and we’re crazy about it!
We love the taste and the texture – it has a nutty feel to it making it a little crunchy. Our sons love it because they have read about its high protein content, the fact that it contains all the 9 essential amino acids including lysine, and that it helps them rebuild after a workout.
Quinoa is a superfood.
This easy and hearty finger snack is perfect if you love the flavors of pizza, and who doesn’t!
By putting quinoa and the components of Italian pizza together you get all the nutrition of the whole grain packed with fiber and protein and a savory, gluten-free snack that is more like a comfort food.
I have modified the original recipe from So Very Blessed.com a bit, upping the cheese and a few other things. The fresh basil adds great flavor, and the combination with oregano, onions, paprika, and garlic blend perfectly to bring yummy pizza flavor in each little pizza bite, but feel free to play around with the spices to accommodate your family’s tastes!
Pizza Bites Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa (which makes 2 cups cooked quinoa when following directions below)
- 4 eggs
- 1 – 1 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup of any garden veggies on hand such as tomatoes, red peppers
- 2 cup (or more) shredded mozzarella cheese (I used Parmesan and mozerella)
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano or add extra Italian seasoning to taste
- optional: a dash or two of ground cayenne for some heat
- optional: add browned ground beef or pieces of chicken or bacon
- your favorite pizza sauce for dipping
Directions:
Soak 1 cup uncooked quinoa 12 hours to remove phytic acid and saponins. Place the soaked, rinsed quinoa and two cups of water into a pot. Cover and bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender. Fluff and stir occasionally. Cooks much like rice.)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix together all the ingredients (minus pizza sauce) in a medium mixing bowl (or larger if doubling/tripling).
- Distribute mixture, one heaping tablespoon at a time, onto parchment-covered trays and press together gently to compact.
- Option: use a well-greased mini-muffin tin, filling each cup to the top
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly golden with crispy edges.
- Cool for 10+ minutes before removing from trays.
Serve warm with sauce for dipping.
Makes 40-42 pizza bites.
Pizza bites are perfect to freeze for reheating.
Does your family like pizza?
“Gratitude can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~M. Beattie
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Toni
Those quinoa pizza bites look and sound delicious. We absolutely love pizza and crunchy snacks so those quinoa pizza bites look and sound delicious. I’ve heard of quinoa, but I’ve never tried it. After reading this post I’m intrigued and will look for it next time I’m in the big city. Thank you for sharing another information packed post.
Jill's Home Remedies
These look so good!!
carol peterson
THANKS SO MUCH for passing on this recipe. I have heard about and seen this super food and have been anxious to find delicious ways to bring it home.
Sheila at Longings End
YUM! These look great. I love quinoa and have been voluntarily gluten free since July so I want to make these. Thanks for sharing. Vising from What Joy is Mine…Thanks
Renee
Thank you for sharing this recipe! It sounds delicious & healthy! I may try making this snack/meal for tomorrow. 🙂
Linda
This looks so good. Will be trying it. Quinoa is a complete protein so no need to worry about upping the protein level. Adding the extra cheese does taste great and probably holds the bite together better.
Emily from Reaching Beyond My Reach
These sound so great! I’m new to the quinoa scene, but I’ve been really pleased with the recipes I’ve tried so far. Thanks for sharing this awesome variety. I can’t wait to try it!
Sheila
Thanks for sharing!!! These quinoa bites look so tasty!!! Can’t wait to try this recipe. Even my husband might approve of this healthy treat! 😉
Rhonda Devine
Thanks for sharing this recipe–gonna give it a try as we like quinoa!
Nancy
Thank you for sharing this great recipe. I’ve tried quinoa in hearty soups and liked it, and on its own as a cereal. This is a combination of flavors that I would never have come up with, so thanks again for your generous sharing! Hope you have a marvelous week.
Katie Mae @ Nourishing Simplicity
This look amazing! I love twists on pizza. Thank you for sharing with Simple Meals Friday, we featured you this week! Blessings!
Tasha
Does anyone know if these would be good cold in a kids lunch kit? I’m always looking for healthy options for my kids.
Jacqueline
Tasha, you could super chill them over night, and I think they’d keep just fine through lunch time. You can add some antimicrobial herbs to the recipe when you make them and that will give them some staying power: garlic, (cloves and cinnamon when used in small amounts won’t be detected), and sea salt, too. hope that helps! We like the cold…like cold pizza 😉
Blessings!
Kathleen
This sounds like a great recipe and handy little snacks. We have been gluten free and low carbohydrate for a couple of years and we both feel so much better for it.
Kathleen
Fridays Blog Booster Party #17
Tina at Mommynificent
These look so yummy, and even though Booknificent Thursday is only for posts related to books, I’m kind of glad you shared these! I can’t wait to try them.
Tina
Jacqueline
Oh, dear..I wasn’t paying attention obviously! I’ll do better, Tina -sometimes I do a lot of link-ups in a row and forget what’s what! 🙂 Glad my mistake was your blessing 😉
Have a great day, friend!
Beth Willis miller
That looks delicious! So healthy and easy to make…many blessings to you ❤️
Rebecca
Oh wow theses looks yum! I’ll have to make some for my friend as she’s on a gluten free diet. Thanks for linking up with #FridayFrivolity
Audrey
Luckily I just picked up some quinoa this week so I can give this a try. Thanks for sharing on #FridayFrivolity
Lisa/Syncopated Mama
Oooh! We love quinoa around here! I’m totally trying this for dinner tomorrow!
Jeannette
Can you please clarify the instructions on soaking, and then cooking? Do you soak in separate water, and drain first? Do you cook in the same water that you soaked in? My tired mind isn’t quite making sense of it. Thank you!
Jacqueline
Hi, Jeannette,
I made a change on the ‘Ingredients’ list: “1 cup uncooked quinoa (which makes 2 cups cooked quinoa when following directions below).
Then under ‘Directions’, you will soak that 1 cup uncooked quinoa for 12 hours to remove phytic acid and saponins. Then place the soaked, rinsed quinoa into two cups of water into a pot. Cover and bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender. It will make ~2 cups of cooked quinoa. Fluff and stir occasionally. Cooks much like rice.)
I hope I am answering your question!
Enjoy!
Blessings to you, friend!
Jacque
Jeannette
Perfect, thanks!