Pizza Muffins!

Here is a fun recipe that I came up with one day. I thought, the girls like pizza and they like muffins, so why not make pizza muffins! I always like to come up with recipes that my kids will be excited about eating and that will involve them in the food preparation. This recipe was great since they LOVE pizza and we have already tried pizza in various forms, such as pizza rolls and different pizza crusts.

These are yummy and great for lunches if you send your kids to school or just need a quick meal or snack to go. My husband likes to take them to work for lunch too. They are also a lot of fun for the kids.

The first batch I ever made of these, I put cheese in the muffins and thought that it would be fun for the girls to also sprinkle some cheese on top of the muffins before baking. It was a good idea and looks nice, but it does make it harder to clean the pan after so the recipe I am posting is versatile. You can put all of  the cheese in it, or reserve 1/4 cup of cheese for sprinkling on top.

Pizza Muffins

This recipe packs all the flavor of pizza in a fun and kid-friendly muffin. A great easy lunch for kids served with salad or raw vegetables or for a quick and satisfying snack. I like to take these muffins on the road or make a batch ahead of time to have as an easy meal when I know I won’t have much time to cook.

Makes 17 muffins

Ingredients

Dry –

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dehydrated minced onion flakes
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme

Wet –

• 1 flax egg (2 tablespoons ground flax seed + 3 tablespoons warm water)
• 1 3/4 cups your favorite pizza sauce (I use Kraft)*
• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/3 cup sunflower oil
• 1 cup grated vegan mozzarella cheese (I use Earth Island)
• 1/2 cup diced green pepper

* You will need 1 1/2 cups of pizza sauce if you want to spoon a teaspoon sized amount on top of the muffin before sprinkling with cheese and baking.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line two muffin pans with 17 paper baking cups.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the ground flax seed and warm water and let sit for a few minutes until thick and egg-like in consistency.
4. In a separate medium mixing bowl, combine the pizza sauce, milk, oil, flax egg, grated cheese (reserve 1/4 for sprinkling on top if you wish) and diced green pepper.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the large mixing bowl and mix until combined.
6. Spoon the batter into a lightly greased or lined muffin tin 3/4 of the way full. Spoon some more pizza sauce on top and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese if desired. Bake for 18-20 minutes (broil an additional minute or so to melt the cheese). Muffins are ready when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Food can be so fun! 🙂