I decided it was time to update my popular Pizza Quinoa Casserole by turning it into bite-sized snacks. The casserole is delicious as a larger dish, but making mini pizza quinoa bites is more fun and perfect for parties or lunchboxes. I’ve seen variations of these around for years, so I adapted my recipe to mini muffin form—and they turned out great.
I boosted the veggies by folding in fresh spinach. Spinach is easy to add when kids don’t want smoothies, and it blends into dishes like these without much fuss. My daughter noticed at first and wanted to pick it out until I explained what it was—then she accepted it.
Speaking of extra veggies, I couldn’t resist sharing a photo of a tiny hand helping out. I used a baby spoon to pop the bites from the mini muffin tin—my new pan didn’t stick, but the spoon still made removal easier and helped avoid scratching the pan.
If you haven’t tried pizza quinoa bites, give them a go. They’re tasty fresh from the oven and reheat well (though reheated bites lose a bit of the initial quinoa crunch). Kids love anything bite-sized, and you can involve them in assembling the toppings—let them sprinkle small amounts of their favorite pizza toppings and then add cheese. If children are helping, let them add toppings before the bites go in the oven so nothing is too hot.
Enjoy!
Mini Pizza Quinoa Bites
Ingredients
- 1 C uncooked quinoa, cooked in 2 C water (about 3 1/2 C cooked quinoa)
- 4 large handfuls fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste
- 3-4 large cloves garlic, finely minced, grated or pressed
- 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp fennel seed
- 1 tsp marjoram
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- dash black pepper
- 1/2-3/4 C mozzarella cheese (omit or replace with nutritional yeast for a vegan version)
- 1-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
Toppings:
- pepperoni (omit for vegan)
- green or colored peppers
- mushrooms
Instructions
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Rinse the quinoa well. Combine quinoa and 2 cups water in a small pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is tender. Stir in the chopped spinach, replace the lid, remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease two mini muffin tins and set aside.
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In a small bowl, mix the tomato paste with garlic, chopped onion, 2 tablespoons water and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add oregano, fennel seed, marjoram, basil, dried parsley, sugar, sea salt and a dash of black pepper. Stir until well combined, then fold in the cooked quinoa and spinach. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
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Divide the mixture evenly among the 48 mini muffin cups, press down gently, and bake 10–15 minutes. Remove from the oven, top each bite with your preferred toppings and a sprinkle of mozzarella (or nutritional yeast for a vegan option), then return to the oven 5–10 minutes until cheese is golden and bubbly.