Easy Pepperoni Gluten-Free Pizza Muffins
These Pepperoni Gluten-Free Pizza Muffins taste just like pizza, with mozzarella, pizza sauce, and Italian seasoning. Made with almond and oat flour, they’re also packed with hidden veggies and cottage cheese for added nutrition. Perfect for snacks or pizza night, these muffins are a delicious, gluten-free option that’s easy to make dairy-free too!
Why You’ll Love This Grain-Free Pizza Muffin Recipe
- Pizza Flavor in a Muffin: All the cheesy, saucy goodness of pizza in a convenient muffin form.
- Gluten-Free Goodness: Made with almond and oat flour, these muffins are perfect for gluten-sensitive eaters.
- Hidden Veggies: Shredded carrots and zucchini add moisture and texture without being noticeable.
- Easily Dairy-Free: Simple swaps make these muffins adaptable for dairy-free diets.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here is everything you need to make the best-tasting gluten-free pizza muffins:
Oat Flour: You can replace it with brown rice flour.
Almond Flour: You can replace it with brown rice flour.
Cottage Cheese: You can replace it with sour cream, greek yogurt, or ricotta cheese. You can also use plant-based cottage cheese or sour cream to make them dairy-free.
Italian Seasoning: You can replace it with individual spices, including basil, parsley, and oregano.
Garlic Powder: You can omit or replace it with fresh minced garlic.
Pepperoni: You can use any pepperoni variety, including turkey pepperoni and mini pepperoni slices.
Mozzarella Cheese: You can replace it with any meltable cheese, including fat-free mozzarella cheese, vegan mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, monterey jack cheese, and parmesan cheese. You can also use dairy-free cheese for dairy-free pizza muffins.
Green Zucchini: You can use yellow or green zucchini.
Carrots: You can omit and replace them with additional zucchini to achieve the same consistency.
Milk: You can use any milk you tolerate, including almond milk or cashew milk.
Olive Oil: You can use any you like, including virgin olive oil, avocado oil, melted coconut oil, or vegetable oil. Light olive oil is my favorite to use.
Tomato Paste: You can also use pizza sauce, marinara sauce, or tomato sauce.
How to Make My Gluten-Free Pepperoni Pizza Role Muffins Recipe
Step 1: Prep the Vegetables
Preheat your oven to 425°F. Grease a muffin tin or line with paper liners and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Shred the carrots and zucchini. Wrap in a paper or dish towel and squeeze out the excess liquid. Finely dice on a cutting board and set aside.
If using standard-sized pepperoni, chop them down into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
Step 2: Make the Muffin Batter
In a blender, food processor, or chopper cup with an immersion blender, combine the wet ingredients, including cottage cheese, oil, milk, and tomato paste. Blend until smooth.
Pour the cottage cheese mixture into a large mixing bowl and add the eggs. Whisk until combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl, including oat flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Whisk until well combined.
Fold in the grated carrots, zucchini, half the shredded cheese, and half the pepperoni.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about 3/4 full, allowing it to mound higher in the middle. Divide the remaining shredded cheese and pepperoni pieces over the tops of the muffins.
Step 3: Bake the Muffins
To get a higher dome on the muffins, bake at 425°F for 5 minutes. Leave the muffin tin in the oven, reduce the heat to 350°F, and bake for 12-14 minutes or until the muffin tops are lightly brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
Or, you can bake them at 350°F for 22-25 minutes until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve the muffins warm as a delicious gluten-free snack or meal option. Enjoy! They taste best at room temperature.
Gluten-Free Pizza Muffins with Veggies Recipe Notes
Vegetables: Chopping down the zucchini and carrot will make them less detectable in the muffins. Be sure to squeeze the excess moisture with a paper or dish towel, or the batter will be too runny.
Spice Level: Adjust the amount of Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and pepper to suit your preferences. You can also add 1 teaspoon basil to enhance the Italian flavor.
Serving Suggestion: These muffins are delicious on their own but can also be served with marinara or pizza sauce for dipping.
Serving Suggestions
Customize these muffins with your favorite pizza toppings, such as olives, onions, or sun-dried tomatoes, to make them your own.
Do you love muffins? Check out more of my easy and nutritious muffin recipes:
Pepperoni Gluten-Free Pizza Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup milk (almond milk is my fave)
- 1/4 cup olive oil (light olive oil is my fave)
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese
- 3 eggs
Dry Ingredients:
- 1-1/4 cup oat flour
- 1-1/4 cup almond flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- dash pepper
- 1/2 cup grated carrots
- 1/2 cup grated zucchini
- 1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese (shredded)
- 1/2 cup pepperoni (diced)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F. Grease a muffin tin or line with paper liners and spray with non-stick cooking spray.Shred the carrots and zucchini. Wrap in a paper or dish towel and squeeze out the excess liquid. Finely dice on a cutting board and set aside.If using standard-sized pepperoni, chop them down into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
- In a blender, food processor, or chopper cup with an immersion blender, combine the wet ingredients, including cottage cheese, oil, milk, and tomato paste. Blend until smooth.Pour the cottage cheese mixture into a large mixing bowl and add the eggs. Whisk until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl, including oat flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Whisk until well combined.Fold in the grated carrots, zucchini, half the shredded cheese, and half the pepperoni.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about 3/4 full, allowing it to mound higher in the middle. Divide the remaining shredded cheese and pepperoni pieces over the tops of the muffins.
- To get a higher dome on the muffins, bake at 425°F for 5 minutes. Leave the muffin tin in the oven, reduce the heat to 350°F, and bake for 12-14 minutes or until the muffin tops are lightly brown. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Or, you can bake them at 350°F for 22-25 minutes until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.Serve the muffins warm as a delicious gluten-free snack or meal option. Enjoy! They taste best at room temperature.
Video
These pizza muffins are no joke! Saying they are ‘so good’ or ‘yummy’ or ‘delicious’ doesn’t cut it. I doubled the batch and 36 hours later there are only 9 left and that’s because I hid them in the depths of my freezer. My 12 year old son and his friends cannot get enough of them. These are for sure going onto the weekly meal prep list as a regular.
Hi Liz, this makes me so happy!! I particularly had teenagers in mind when I created this recipe. I love that your son (and his friends) gets the flavor of pizza with nutritious ingredients 🙂
My kids and husband devoured these! They actually taste like pizza. Thanks for a great snack recipe! And I love the ‘hidden’ veggies!!!
You’re welcome Rhonda! I’m glad I could help you ‘hide’ some vegetables 🙂