Quinoa Pizza Bites

Cheesy….

Savory…..

Protein-Packed?

You may describe your favorite slice of pizza cheesy and savory but rarely do you think of pizza being protein-packed. There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s a time and place for all foods to fit in your diet. In fact, even this dietitian knows exactly where to go for a great slice of pizza that is worth every calorie.

This recipe I’m sharing with you today gives you the best of both worlds: the savory and cheesy goodness of a slice of pizza and the filling, protein-packed meal we desire when you’re truly hungry.  You’ll keep hunger at bay with the high fiber carbs and protein that the quinoa provides.

I’ve been making this recipe for several years now and I think I finally perfected the recipe for taste and convenience.  Let me explain….

When I first came across a similar recipe to this, it was just flavored with cheese and spices, which just tasted fine. Nothing exciting though. I enjoy having pepperoni on my pizza but most brands of pepperoni are so heavily processed, there’s nothing nutritious left.

That is until I came across Applegate Naturals Pepperoni. All of the products I’ve tried from them are full of flavor! And the fact that EVERY SINGLE ONE of the products is made from humanely raised animals, I know I’m getting the best quality meat. This makes it easy because I don’t have to hunt the grocery shelves or website for how my food was raised. When I buy Applegate Naturals, I know I’ve made the right decision.

Convenience was another lesson learned. I’ve seen a lot of similar recipes to mine that are made in a mini muffin pan. Yes, they’re truly bite sized. Yes, they’re adorable. However, no matter how much I spray the mini muffin tin with oil prior to baking, they would not come out of the pan! Then it took me as much time cleaning the pan as it did to make them. NOT COOL. NOT my kind of recipe.

That’s when I finally invested in silicone muffin cups. And when I mean “invested”, I mean I spent $10. This was a game changer!! Baking my quinoa pizza bites in the silicone muffin cups made clean up so much easier. All I have to do now is run a spoon or knife along the outside edge of the muffin cup and they pop right out! Sometimes I don’t even have to do that much work.

I am much more inclined to make these on the regular now that I can add delicious, humanely-raised pepperoni and the clean-up process is a breeze. These bites reheat beautifully so they’re an excellent option for leftovers the rest of the week.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! Let me know in the comments about other favorite foods you’d like me to health-ify!

AuthorMeganCategoryEasy Lunches, EntreesDifficultyBeginner

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