Gluten Free Pizza Muffins Recipe

Tempted to make delicious gluten free pizza muffins? All the flavours of pizza in a baked soft, savoury muffin. These herby cheese-filled muffins, topped with sieved tomato passata and cheese are perfect for parties, picnics and lunch boxes.

Post originally published 11th January 2015… Updated 12th December 2019

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Gluten Free Pizza Muffins (or is that Muffin Pizza?)

If you love pizza and you love muffins, you’ll love these delicious gluten free pizza muffins. Packed full of Mediterranean flavours… rich tomato passata, herbs and cheese, but in a handy savoury muffin… One bite and they will transport your taste-buds to the warmth of Italy on a summer’s day. 

With flavours so distinctly ‘pizza’ however, the question has to be asked… ‘Are these Pizza Muffins or Muffin Pizza?’ And who really cares? They are so tasty you could call them ‘Bob’ and still devour a basket full.

When to eat Pizza Muffins

One of the best things about these gluten free Pizza Muffins is their versatility. Without a doubt, they are perfect picnic and packed lunch fodder (and may be exactly what you need to get some healthy stuff into the kids at lunch time). But they also make welcome party food (for kids and adults alike) and an equally welcome healthy snack.

Use mini muffin cases to make bite-sized party pizza muffins for a bit of extra fun.

Let’s not stop there though. These babies can be served with soup or salad and have even been enjoyed at GFHQ on many an occasion as a grab and go breakfast! They are fabulously versatile as well as being incredibly flavoursome. You have to try them… really!

How well do gluten free Pizza Muffins keep?

Gluten free muffins and bakes are notorious for losing their soft texture within hours of baking. It can be so frustrating. So when developing a recipe, I always aim for bakes which equal their glutenous counterparts for freshness.

What I love about this recipe is that it produces a wonderful, fluffy, soft gluten free crumb, which stays perfectly squidgy for several days. And whilst pizza muffins are incredible warm straight from the oven, they are also yummy cold.

If there are any left on the day you bake them, store in the fridge. Just bring back to room temperature for softness. Of course, if you prefer your gluten free pizza muffins warm, just zap in the microwave for a few seconds to heat up. That is my absolute favourite way to enjoy them.

And if you want to batch-bake for packed lunches, simply freeze for another day!

Can I change the ‘topping’ ingredients of this Pizza Muffin recipe?

For sure! This gluten free pizza muffin recipe is as adaptable as you want to make it.

If your favourite pizza topping is pepperoni, throw it into the muffin mix. Want a veggie version? Forget the meat and load it with sweetcorn, peppers, fried onions, mushrooms, or anything else that takes your fancy. Want to go Hawaiian? Add ham and top your pizza muffins with pineapple! And if you prefer them spicy, ditch the herbs and chuck in some chilli.

Seriously… Pizza Muffins may become your new love. The balance of flavours is bang on and they really do taste just like pizza. Herby, cheesy, tomatoey yumciousness… although of course, the variations are endless…

If you have any, it’s also worth noting that kids absolutely love them (I’ve checked). So if you want to avoid the sugary snacks, these pizza muffins are ideal for the after-school hunger slot.

What Flour Blend Should I use to make gluten free Pizza Muffins?

I am sure some people read my recipes and get frustrated because I don’t use a single bog-standard supermarket gluten free flour blend. I make no apology. Gluten free flours are not straight forward and in my experience, need to be combined with care both for texture and nutrition.

If you are going to achieve bakes which rival their wheat counterparts, don’t need to be ‘refreshed’ because they are stale, and won’t crumble as soon as they are lifted from the plate, the flour blend matters.

Sure you can make recipes on Gluten Free Alchemist (including gluten free pizza muffins) with most gluten free flour blends. But you may need to add more liquid (particularly if the blend is heavy in rice flour). Equally, the texture will be altered and may be gritty, dry, crumbly or go stale more quickly.

Want to know more? Take a look at the Gluten Free Alchemist guide to gluten free flours and flour blending to learn more about the qualities of various gluten free flours.

The recipe for these gluten free pizza muffins uses a flour blend which is unique to the bake. The balanced blend of rice, sorghum, tapioca and oat flours ensures the best quality and texture. If unable to eat any of them, check out the flours page for good substitutes or contact Gluten Free Alchemist for advice if unsure.

So there you have it! Gluten free Pizza Muffins. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Remember to snap a picture of your bakes and let me know how you get on

Other Savoury Lunch Box and Party Ideas you Might Like :

• Sun-Dried Tomato, Parmesan & Walnut Puff Pastry Swirls
• Mini Toad in the Hole
• Best Buttermilk Cheese Scones
• Gluten Free Tartlets with Hot Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese
• Gluten Free Pizza Rolls
• Gluten Free Gougères – Cheesy Choux Buns/Cheese Puffs
• Savoury Summer Upside Down Cake
• Two Cheese, Chorizo & Walnut Biscuits
• Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Tarts
• Mini Sausage Pasties
• Mini Quiches
• Homity Pies
• Asparagus & Stilton Scones
• Puff Pastry Party Bites
• Or explore our gluten free Party, Picnic & Lunchbox Index

This recipe features in Twinkl Picnic in the Park Blog

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5 from 5 votes

Pizza Muffins

All the flavours of pizza in a baked soft, savoury muffin. These herby cheese-filled muffins, topped with sieved tomato passata and cheese are perfect for parties, picnics and lunch boxes.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Breakfast, lunch box, Party, picnic, Snack

Cuisine: British, Gluten Free, Italian

Keyword: muffin, pizza, savoury

Servings: 18

Calories per serving: 174.9kcal

Author: Gluten Free Alchemist – Kate Dowse

Key equipment

• Kitchen scales
• Mixing bowls
• measuring spoons
• mixing spoon/spatula
• cheese grater
• small heat-proof bowl + microwave (or small saucepan & hob)
• sharp knife
• muffin trays
• muffin cases
• teaspoon
• Oven
• wire rack

Ingredients 

0.33x0.5x0.66x1x2x

MetricUS Customary

• 80 g brown rice flour
• 80 g sorghum flour
• 80 g tapioca starch flour
• 25 g oat flour
• 1 tsp ground psyllium husk or xanthan gum
• 2 tsp GF baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ¾ tsp fine sea salt
• ¾ tsp dried oregano
• ¾ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 30 g fresh parmesan cheese finely grated
• 250 g soured cream (or full fat yoghurt if soured cream unavailable)
• 3 large eggs at room temperature (UK large)
• 55 g melted butter
• 80 g passata (sieved tomato)
• 110 g mature cheddar cheese cut into tiny cubes
• 90 g sweetcorn kernels
• 100 g grated mozzarella pizza cheese (topping)
• 110 g passata in addition to the above (for topping)

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4. Prepare a couple of muffin tins with muffin cases. 
• Weigh and mix together the flours, xanthan gum/psyllium husk, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and herbs, making sure any lumps are completely broken down (Tip : Weigh into an airtight container and shake vigorously to mix)
• Add and stir in the Parmesan cheese.
• In a large bowl whisk together the soured cream, eggs and melted butter until fully combined and smooth.
• Add 80g Passata and whisk again.
• Add the dry ingredients, cheddar cheese and sweetcorn and fold-in until evenly combined.
• Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases (about two-thirds full) and smooth the tops. Then make a small dip in the centre of each with the tip of a knife/handle of a teaspoon.
• Divide the remaining passata between the muffins, spooning a little on to the top of each (the dip will help to hold it).
• Divide and sprinkle the mozzarella on top of the muffins.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until well risen and the top springs back to the touch (use the tip of a spatula or wooden spoon to test, so that you don't burn yourself on the cheese or tomato topping. Be careful not to over-bake.
• Remove and place on a wire rack to cool or enjoy warm, fresh from the oven.

Notes

* Note: nutritional information is an estimate & may vary according to portion size/ingredient variants.

The recipe above is for a basic veggie pizza muffin (with a little added sweetcorn). You can adapt the ‘pizza’ to taste by adding (or topping) with chopped ham; chopped pepperoni, other chopped veg or anything else you like.

Nutrition

Calories: 174.9kcal | Carbohydrates: 15.1g | Protein: 6.2g | Fat: 10.4g | Saturated Fat: 5.9g | Cholesterol: 61.2mg | Sodium: 306.6mg | Potassium: 180.1mg | Fiber: 1.1g | Sugar: 1.7g | Vitamin A: 395.6IU | Vitamin C: 1.5mg | Calcium: 136.1mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Take a pic & tag @glutenfreealchemist on Instagram & Facebook (GFAlchemist1 : Twitter) ~ #glutenfreealchemist ~ I love seeing your posts x

© 2019-2023 Kate Dowse All Rights Reserved – Do not copy or re-publish this recipe or any part of this recipe on any other blog, on social media or in a publication without the express permission of Gluten Free Alchemist

Gluten Free Pizza Muffins shared with :

• Full Plate Thursday #462 with Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
• What’s for Dinner #130 with The Lazy Gastronome
• Fiesta Friday #306 with Angie