Pizza Balls

Pizza Balls are a delicious and fun twist on traditional pizza that everyone will love. Made with homemade dough, pepperoni, and full of cheesy goodness, you won't regret making them!

These bite-sized treats are perfect for parties, game nights, or just as a tasty snack. They're also the perfect size for popping in your mouth and enjoying on the go. However, if you are looking for something a little different, try this Sloppy Joe Pizza recipe.

What goes in pizza balls

This recipe uses a simple homemade dough that can be prepared by hand or in a stand mixer. A yeast dough is made by first mixing the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, garlic powder, basil, salt, and yeast), then adding the wet ingredients (water, milk, butter, and eggs).

The dough is divided into 20 small balls that can be stuffed with your favorite pizza fillings. Here, I chose the classic pepperoni and cheese. Garlic butter is brushed on top for that garlicky goodness.

Pizza Balls Appetizer

Delicious from scratch pizza balls perfect for movie night, game day, potluck and parties. Soft, buttery with a touch of garlic and herb, these balls are going to be your next hit.

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Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Diet: Halal

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 20 balls

Author: Amira

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast 1 packet
• ▢ ½ Tablespoon sugar
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon dry basil or Italian seasoning
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons butter melted
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ ½ cup whole milk warm 110F
• ▢ ¼ cup warm water
• ▢ 2 ½ cups bread flour or all purpose flour (310g)
• ▢ 4 Mozzarella cheese sticks or your favorite cheese
• ▢ 40 Pepperoni slices

Optional:

• ▢ Egg wash 1 large egg, 1 tablespoon water, a pinch of black pepper
• ▢ or milk for brushing

Garlic butter:

• ▢ 2 Tablespoons butter melted
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon dry basil or Italian seasoning

Serve with:

• ▢ Pizza sauce

Instructions

• In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add yeast, sugar, salt, garlic powder, dry basil and 2 cups of flour. Mix well with a fork or a spoon.
• In a small bowl or measuring cup mix milk and water together then add to the dry ingredients.
  
• Add melted butter and crack the egg over.
  
• Turn your mixer on and beat for 2 minutes. If the dough seems too wet then add flour by the tablespoon until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl but still slightly sticky.
  
• Grease a separate bowl with olive oil or an oil spray, place the dough in and cover.
• Let the dough rise for an hour or until doubled in size.
  
• Grease a 13x9 glass baking dish with olive oil or nonstick spray and set aside.
• Cut each mozzarella stick into 5 equal parts, so you have 20 pieces and chop pepperoni into small pieces.
  
• After the dough has risen, punch it down lightly then divide the dough into 20 balls about 27-30g each.
• Take one dough ball in your hand, making sure to cover the rest so they won’t dry out, and flatten it a bit in your fingers then stuff with a mozzarella piece and some chopped pepperoni.
• Close the dough ball pinching it to seal well and place on the baking dish seam side down.
  
• Repeat with the remaining dough balls until done.
• Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and let them rise again for 15-20 minutes.
  
• Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350F.
• In a small bowl combine egg wash ingredients together.
• Uncover the baking dish and brush with egg wash or milk.
  
• Bake in the middle of your oven for 25-30 minutes.
• In a small bowl combine brushing garlic butter ingredients together.
• Remove balls from oven and brush with the garlic butter.
• Serve with pizza sauce on the side.

Notes

For the first rise it depends on kitchen temperature mine took less than 30 minutes in a 79F kitchen.

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Amira's tips

• The rising time can vary depending on your kitchen. If your kitchen is more fabulous, it will take longer, so keep an eye on the dough while it rises. Once it's doubled in size, it's ready.
• You can also make this dough ahead of time. Just punch the dough down, cover it, and store it in the fridge overnight.
• I've found that using string cheese is so easy. If you don't have string cheese, you can use mozzarella cheese cubes or shredded cheese.
• Make sure to pinch the dough tightly closed so your melted cheese does not leak out of the pizza balls.

FAQs

How to Store and Reheat

Storage - Store the baked rolls in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Reheat - The best way to reheat these pizza balls is in the oven. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, place the desired number of rolls on a baking sheet, and bake for 5-7 minutes.

Serving suggestions

Turn these savory bites into a full meal by pairing them with a simple green salad Panera Bread Greek Salad, or this Fattoush Salad. And, everything tastes better with a sweet treat like this Key Lime Pie.

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Want more pizza recipes? If so, don't miss this Garlic Bread Pizza, Pizza Burger, or Pizza Tater Tot Casserole recipe. They are great to add to your next meal plan.