Pizza Bagels are a fun, bite-sized treat everyone (especially the '90s kids) look forward to eating. They're great for entertaining, game-day snacks, and of course, they make for the ultimate kid-friendly dinner.
This is everything you need to know to make perfectly toasty Bagel Bites at home with only 5 simple ingredients: miniature bagels, marinara (or pizza) sauce, melty Mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni!
PIZZA ON BAGELS. YES, PLEASE.
Pizza Bagels are exactly that -- pizza on a bagel. You start with a plain bagel, add sauce, cheese, and of course, pizza toppings. Such a genius concept, really. Take a toasty bagel, one of the world's favorite carby items, and top it with another one of the world's most favorite carby items.
According to Ranker, we have a couple of tennis buddies to thank for this ingenious creation. Bob Mosher and Stanley Garczynski came up with the ultimate foodie concept in 1985 and after just one year, sold $1 million in product. Thanks, guys. Your efforts were not in vain.
While you can still snag a box of frozen Bagel Bites at just about any major grocery chain, you might want to hold off on adding them to the list. As it turns out, Pizza Bagels are better at home. Way better.
INGREDIENTS
- Miniature Bagels
- Marinara or Pizza Sauce
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Pepperoni
- Cooking Spray
STORE-BOUGHT MINIATURE BAGELS
Miniature bagels make these Pizza Bagels the perfect snack. They can be found alongside their cousin, the regular-sized bagel in the bread aisle. If you'd like a grown-up sized portion rather than a bite-sized portion, you could easily sub in regular bagels for the minis. Just be sure to double up on the toppings.
MARINARA OR PIZZA SAUCE
You can make your own sauce or use store-bought. This Weeknight Italian Marinara Sauce is an easy, quick fix and it's perfect for topping your Bagel Bites. However, if time doesn't allow for a homemade sauce, simply purchase a bottle of your favorite marinara or pizza sauce at the store.
TOPPINGS
For these little Pizza Bagels, any white, mildly flavored cheese will do. Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, and Fontina are all excellent choices. As far as toppings go, the possibilities are just about endless, but for simplicity's sake, this recipe calls for only tried-and-true pepperoni.
HOW TO MAKE PIZZA BAGELS
- Halve the bagels and spray with cooking oil.
- Bake for 10 minutes to toast and remove from the oven.
- Top with sauce and cheese and return to the oven for an additional 12 minutes.
TOAST THE BAGEL BEFORE ADDING TOPPINGS
To make a really great Pizza Bagel, the first thing you have to do is toast the bagel. This is not a step one should skip. Toasting the bagel prior to topping knocks out that super chewy texture that comes along with store-bought bagels, and also prevents the top of the bagel from becoming too soggy from the sauce.
To toast the bagel, cut it in half and spray it with cooking oil. If you do not have cooking spray, you can lightly brush olive oil across the top of the bagels.
ADD TOPPINGS AND BAKE AGAIN
After the bagel is toasted, add a dab of sauce, a pinch of freshly grated cheese, a sprinkle of toppings and bake.
Now, at this point, you may find it irresistible not to dive right in, but for the sake of the roof of your mouth...let them cool at least 10-15 minutes.
HOW TO FREEZE, THAW & REHEAT PIZZA BAGEL BITES
Once your Homemade Bagel Bites have cooled, you can either serve right away or transfer them to a rimmed pan and place in the freezer. After a couple of hours, transfer the frozen bagels to a freezer-safe, zip-top bag.
If planning to send them in your kid's lunch, simply pull out the miniature bagel bites the night before, and place them in a plastic container in the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
If using as a make-ahead game day snack or dinner, simply preheat the oven to 350°, transfer the frozen bagel bites to a sheet pan and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until heated through completely.
5 MORE DINNER IDEAS YOU'LL LOVE
- Chicken Marinara Bake combines two Italian favorites: Marinara sauce and melty mozzarella cheese. They come together to spruce up boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a baked dish everyone adores.
- Parmesan Crusted Chicken Tenders feature chicken tenderloins with panko breadcrumbs and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Don’t forget marinara sauce on the side for dipping!
- Baked Spaghetti Casserole is the easiest way to serve spaghetti to the table! It’s made up of spaghetti noodles coated in parmesan and butter, an easy marinara meat sauce, savory cottage cheese, and a topping of stretchy mozzarella!
- Chicken Pot Pie is done up right in this homemade rendition with a buttery, made-from-scratch pie crust and a creamy chicken pot pie sauce.
- Oven Baked Breaded Pork Chops with a crispy, homemade Panko breading are always crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside!
How to make perfect Pizza Bagels at home! Made easy with miniature bagels, tomato sauce, melty Mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni.
- 10 miniature plain bagels
- Cooking spray (olive oil or canola oil)
- 1 ½ cup marinara or pizza sauce
- 2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese
- 2 ounces (about 6 slices) pepperoni, diced
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For the pizza bagel bites, preheat the oven to 350° and have ready one or two sheet pans lined with aluminum foil.
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Cut the miniature bagels in half, and transfer to the sheet pan, using two if necessary as to not overcrowd the pan. Spray generously with cooking spray and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
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Smear about a tablespoon of sauce across the surface of each bagel, add a generous pinch of cheese and scatter the pepperoni evenly amongst them. Transfer back to the oven and bake for 12 minutes longer. Allow to cool slightly and serve.
Makes 20 miniature pizza bagels.
