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 1/2 cup marinara or pizza sauce
- 2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese
- 2 ounces (about 6 slices) pepperoni, diced
- 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.
I love this idea! I have teenagers and they would LOVE these, especially because I refuse to buy the store-bought version. Pinning!
I can see me snacking on waaaaaaay too many of these!! Can’t wait to give them a go 🙂
I certainly did. But, no shame in this game 😉 Snack away!
Growing up bagel bites were my favorite! I have to make homemade ones for my kids! Love it!
Same! Thank you Kelsey!
Homemade is always the better option. I’ll have to make some of these for my kids once school starts back. Great idea!
I agree! Thanks, Jill!
I love bite sized anything. These pizza bagel bites meets the criteria and is all shades of yum
Ha! Thanks so much, Chichi! I agree!
I love that you re-created a pre-packaged favorite into a healthier version! They sound delicious and easy to make too!
Thank you so much, Anne! They’re SO delicious!
These look so fun to make and I bet they taste delicious!!! I’ve never made bagel pizza, but if I spot any mini bagels in my grocery shop, I’m getting them to make this!!!
Thank you, Anna!!
This is it – my husband is addicted to those frozen pizza bites/ pizza bagels. I think this recipe will do the trick to wean him off that frozen stuff.
These pizza bagel bites look so delicious! I remember eating something similar many years ago. Why has it been so long since I have eaten them? I have no clue! But now with your recipe, I can have them again and I can’t wait!
This sounds like a fun treat the kids would enjoy making and eating. My kids love chipping into the kitchen so this would be a great project. We do love bagels too. Saving this for later. Yum!
Wow, I never saw these growing up but thanks for bringing them back to life. I could eat so many of those, just looking at them is making me super hungry (:
Thanks, Nicolas! Maybe it’s an American thing 😉
I would have pizza any time of the day! Love your cutie bagel pizzas! and especially that you can freeze them! cannot wait to try them out!!!
Wahoooo! Thanks, Veronika!
I totally grew up eating bagel bites and these look even better. The inner-child in me would totally gobble these up!
Ha! Mine did 😉
This sounds like interesting combo. My lil one will loveThis. So yummy. Pinned!
Thank you, Sri!!!
Love this idea for weekday lunches and love that you can freeze them!!
Thanks, Kathryn! Freezer-friendly is a must with little ones!
I love the idea of making pizza bagel bites at home! WSO easy and delicious and perfect for upcoming football season.
A total hit for game day parties! Thank you, Sharon!
This is literally my childhood in one recipe! Thanks you so much for this!
Ha! Thanks, Lorie 🙂
I used to love bagel bites as a kid!! I love that these are homemade… they just look and sound amazing! I can’t wait to try these out!
Thank you, Dominique!!
These pizza bagel bites are so easy to make! And I love that you can freeze them for later. So handy!
Thanks, Daniela!!
I am not going to make this!! I am not going to make this. I will eat it all myself… O, two of my favorites. Love bagels and love pizza.. definitely going to make this soon. Looks yum.
Ha!! That is too funny, Veena!
What a great idea to make ahead and freeze. The kiddos are always hungry and something homemade like the pizza bagel bites are idea. It’s just as easy to make a double batch and freeze than to just make one batch. This recipe is certainly a keeper.
Thank you, Marissa!
I can see myself finishing most of these even before they are out of the kitchen! LOL such a great idea to make snacking better.
They can be dangerous 😉 Thank you, Prasanna!
My son would go insane for these! He loves little foods that he can pop in the toaster oven. Kind of a grab-and-go kind of thing. These would be perfect!
That is so fun! And, who could blame him 😉
Oh this looks so delicious. I love pizza EVERYTHING. My family love it too. This will be perfect for family’s Friday movie night.Saving this!
Ah, family movie night! Genius!!!
Bagel bites are a favorite in this household, but I would have never thought to make them myself! I’m definitely going to have to give these a try. I love the idea of being able to add the toppings I like that they don’t typically come with.
I love this idea! Of course, bagel bites were a staple of my childhood. Lately, I’ve been trying to meal prep more. Definitely adding these to our schedule next week!
Thank you, Jessica! Enjoy 🙂
Mmm, these look yummy! This is such a fabulous quick and easy appetizer or even dinner!
Thank you, Holly!
I’ve always loved those pizza bagel bites. These look so yummy! I love that you have instructions on freezing them. My son would love these packed in his lunches.
Well I love bread and pizza. Putting them together is fantastic. I could make a meal on this tasty little bites.. Perfect for appetizers and as an item on the weekend brunch menu too. The kids would love these for dinner any night of the week.
My kids love pizza bites and they are really great to freeze for later as well, great idea!
This recipe makes me feel all kinds of nostalgia. I love bagel bites, and I bet it’s even better homemade. Definitely pinning!
I’m not American and have never seen these pizza bagel bites before. However, I think yours look really good and really easy to make too! And I like that you added a section about other nostalgic food 🙂
I am where melty Mozzarella cheese is! I just love it and there is no way I can miss such a great recipe 🙂 I think it will serve as an appetizer to one of my game nights just perfect – thank you!
Thanks, April!
What a great simple idea is this pizza bites I bet my grandson would love this while watching movies this weekend =) Love that they are cheesy too yummy!
I love the idea and cooking from my childhood has always been something that I am interested in as well. Great job.
Your pizza bagel bites look delicious. Such a great idea and perfect for families with school age always hungry children!
These bagel pizza bites are so cute. I love the fact that they look like they can be served for any occasion. Definitely interested in trying them.
there is a place here in NYC called pick a bagel and they have many unique toppings and when I was in college used to go there all the time for my pizza bagel – you are filling me with nostalgia reminding me of those days
These look so delicious! I don’t think I was ever into these as a kid but I bet the homemade ones would be SO good! I always say things taste better when you make them yourself!
This is sooo good. The perfect appetizer or snack for any occasion.
We totally need these in our lives as we have growing teenagers eating everything in the house! Great origin story – tennis players for the win!!
My husband would fall in love with me all over again if I made these! Obviously, my kids would love them too. This is the perfect snacking recipe.
Would it be overkill if we have this as our movie snack instead of the usual popcorn? Of course not! Gonna make a batch of this for our weekend movie date night in. Thanks for sharing, Kelly. 🙂
What an awesome way to serve pizza! Definitely be knocking these up on the weekend 🙂