Quick & Easy Pizza Muffins - A Cheesy Little Game-Changer

  

Raise your hands if like me your favorite food group is pizza!  I love pizza, and yet it was not something I had ever tasted or tried until I was well into my teens.  Pizza was just not something which my parents had ever had. Growing up in small towns in Nova Scotia and Quebec, they were used to very simple food. Pizza would have been considered to be too foreign for them I think.

The first time I ever tried Pizza was in Grade 8 at my high school Winter carnival.  As a part of the carnival they had created a folk club in the small gym, with students sharing their own versions of folk music. They were selling slices of homemade pizza as refreshments and as a way to raise funds for the sports teams.

It was love at first bite, and I have never looked back.

 

This Pizza Muffin recipe is a variation on the theme of Pizza.  Instead of a large flat yeasted crust spread with sauce and toppings you get a delicious savory muffin, loaded with cheese and pizza flavors!

I have adapted the recipe from one which I found on Donna Hay. The original recipe made twelve muffins. I downsized it to make only half a dozen, flavor-filled, cheesy muffins.

I added some herbs to give them even more of a pizza flavor, not a lot, but enough to add another flavor note to an already delicious muffin.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE PIZZA MUFFINS

I will put my hand up at the start and let you know, yes, I AM one of those miscreants that thinks ham and pineapple are good on pizza!  I do not apologize for that fact.  We are all different!

• 225g self-rising flour (1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 TBS baking powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic Italian seasoning
• 75g chopped ham (about 3 ounces)
• 75g crushed pineapple, well drained (1/3 cup)
• 1 TBS tomato paste
• 1 large free range egg
• 125ml milk (1/2 cup)
• 80ml vegetable oil (1/3 cup)
• 90g coarsely grated strong cheddar cheese, divided (3/4 cup)
• 1 TBS grated parmesan cheese

 

Her recipe had pineapple, ham and a bit of tomato paste in it, but that didn't shout pizza to me, so I added some Italian Garlic Seasoning and grated Parmesan cheese, along with the regular cheese. (Now we're talking!)

What is pizza without those two things???  You need some Italian herbs and some garlic on a pizza and Parmesan cheese . . .  it is like a Pizza's best friend!

 

I didn't get really high crowns like I usually do on my muffins.  The cheese on top probably hampered their growth. If you look at her recipe and photo, you will see that hers don't have high crowns either. In fact, she baked hers in little paper loaf cases.

I did not bake mine in paper cases. I buttered my medium sized muffin tins really well instead. I have had too many things like pineapple and cheese stick to paper cases and I did not want that to happen.

 

Adding the Italian Seasoning was another good call as I think they would have been rather bland without it. In fact if I make them again I will up it to 3/4 tsp rather than 1/2.

Make sure you cut your ham into a tiny dice. I did it 1/4-inch  which is very easily done. Just cut the ham into strips, stack them and then cut crosswise into the dice.

NOTE - You can easily make your own self-rising flour. For every cup of plain/all-purpose flour add 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt.

 

HOW TO MAKE PIZZA MUFFINS

These go together simply just like any other muffin. You can use papers in the muffin tins if you wish. I did not and they didn't stick.  Just make sure you butter the tin well.

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter a 6-cup nonstick muffin tin really well. Set aside.

Stir the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning and 60g (1/2 cup) of the cheese together in a bowl.  Stir in the ham, mixing all together well.

 

Whisk together the oil, tomato paste, egg, milk, and pineapple to combine.  Add all at once to the dry ingredients and mix together until just combined.  Divide between the six prepared muffin cups.

Mix together the parmesan cheese and the remaining cheddar. Sprinkle over top of the batter in the tin.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean.

Leave to rest in the pan for five minutes before tipping out onto a wire rack. These are beautiful served warm with plenty of butter for spreading.

 

VARIATIONS ON THE THEME

These were really delicious and went very well on their own, served warm with lashings of butter and a salad on the side. I think you could up the ante for these as well by adding a few other pizza ingredients, 

• Add some chopped olives or/and red onions, or peppers. 
• You could use crumbled crisp bacon instead of ham if you wanted to.
• Leave out the ham and pineapple and use chopped pepperoni as well as some onions and peppers.

We enjoyed these warm with a nice salad for lunch! (Italian dressing of course.)  They would also go very well with soup!

 

OTHER RECIPES FOR SAVORY MUFFINS YOU MIGHT ENJOY

Muffins don't always have to be sweet. I enjoy a savory muffin every now and then. They go very well with soups, salads, casseroles, or even on their own! Here are a few more recipes for savory muffins that I enjoy!

CHEDDAR CORNBREAD MUFFINS - These cornbread muffins with cheese are the absolute best cheddar cornbread muffins on the planet! They are moist and delicious. Never dry like some cornbread muffins can be. It is because of the cheese. There is a generous amount of cheddar in these muffins which gives them a ton of flavor! 

BUTTERMILK BISCUIT MUFFINS - If buttermilk biscuits and muffins got together and had a baby, this would be it. These Buttermilk Biscuit Muffins are fabulously tasty with a crusty, buttery exterior, and all of the best qualities of a biscuit, except they are baked in a muffin tin like a muffin. They are a beautiful cross between the two things and oh so delicious!  A real favorite. 

Yield: 6 delicious muffins

Author: Marie Rayner

Pizza Muffins (small batch)

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 40 Min

These are light and delicious and filled with lovely flavors. Ham, pineapple, plenty of cheese, some herbs and a bit of tomato. Scrumptious! They make a lovely light lunch!

Ingredients

• 225g self rising flour (1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 TBS baking powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic Italian seasoning
• 75g chopped ham (about 3 ounces)
• 75g crushed pineapple, well drained (1/3 cup)
• 1 TBS tomato paste
• 1 large free range egg
• 125ml milk (1/2 cup)
• 80ml vegetable oil (1/3 cup)
• 90g coarsely grated strong cheddar cheese, divided (3/4 cup)
• 1 TBS grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 6-cup nonstick muffin tin really well. Set aside.
2. Stir the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning and 60g (1/2 cup) of the cheese together in a bowl. Stir in the ham, mixing all together well.
3. Whisk together the oil, tomato paste, egg, milk, and pineapple to combine. Add all at once to the dry ingredients and mix together until just combined. Divide between the six prepared muffin cups.
4. Mix together the parmesan cheese and the remaining cheddar. Sprinkle over top of the batter in the tin.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean.

Notes

You can easily make your own self-rising flour. For every cup of plain/all-purpose flour add 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt.

Did you make this recipe?

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