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    Home » Recipes » Appetizer and Snack Recipes

    5 Ingredient Pizza Cups (Kid-Friendly)

    Published: Feb 22, 2025 · Modified: May 6, 2025 by Kathleen Hansen · This post may contain affiliate links · 1 Comment

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    These easy Pizza Cups use only 5 simple ingredients, are made in a muffin pan, and will be loved by both kids and adults! These are such a fun, crowd pleasing spin on pizza that are great served as an appetizer at a party or even as a main meal with a big salad on the side.

    5 Ingredient pizza cups with pepperoni in the muffin pan.
    Jump to:
    • ⭐Why I Love It:
    • 🥘Ingredients
    • 🔪 Step by Step Instructions
    • 💭Recipe Tips
    • 🧀Related Appetizer Recipes...
    • Recipe
    • Reviews

    ⭐Why I Love It:

    • 5 Ingredients - You only need a handful of easy-to-find ingredients!
    • Kid Friendly - These are a great option for picky eaters that love pizza! Another fun kid-friendly recipe to check out is this Mini Cheesy Monkey Bread!
    • Customizable - I like to use pepperoni in this recipe, but I love to mix it up with different pizza toppings.

    🥘Ingredients

    Pizza dough, shredded cheese, marinara sauce, pepperoni, and spices in prep bowls.
    • Pizza Dough - I used the kind that is sold in a tube in the refrigerated section near the canned biscuits, but you can use any pizza dough.
    • Marinara Sauce - You can use your favorite store-bought jarred marinara sauce or make it from scratch!
    • Shredded Mozzarella - Pre-shredded or you can shred it yourself using a box grater.
    • Pepperoni Slices - I like to chop up the pepperoni slices into small bits for cleaner bites.
    • Italian Seasoning Blend - If you don't have this in your pantry, you can also use a mix of equal parts Dried Basil, Dried Parsley, and Dried Thyme.
    • Optional - Red Pepper Flakes - If you want to add a kick of spice!

    See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

    🔪 Step by Step Instructions

    Making a Pizza Cups in a Muffin pan is so easy! Just slice up the pizza dough, layer in the toppings in the muffin pan, and bake.

    Pizza dough cut into squares.

    Photo 1 - Start by preheating the oven and rolling out the pizza dough then cutting into 12 squares.

    Pizza dough pressed into a muffin pan.

    Photo 2 - Grease a muffin pan with cooking spray and press one of the squares into each cup.

    Unbaked pizza cups in a muffin pan with pepperoni and cheese.

    Photo 3 - Layer in the cheese, marinara, and pepperoni. I like to start with cheese so the bottom doesn't get soggy. Finish with a little Italian seasoning on top!

    Baked pizza cups in a muffin pan.

    Photo 4 - Bake until golden brown and the cheese is melty.

    Pepperoni pizza cups on a plate.

    💭Recipe Tips

    • Use Foil to Prevent OverBrowning - If the tops of the pizza crust is getting too brown, loosely cover with a piece of foil.
    • Check the Bottoms for Doneness - To make sure the pizza cups are done baking, gently and carefully lift one up with a spoon to make sure the bottom is cooked and golden as well. The tops brown the fastest, so it's important to check.
    • Mix up the Toppings - We love pepperoni, but you can mix it up with different pizza toppings! Other favorites are: Cooked and crumbled sausage, sautéed finely diced peppers and onions, or even just sticking to plain cheese.
    Close up of pepperoni pizza cups.

    🧀Related Appetizer Recipes...

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      Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels (4 Ingredients)
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      Spicy Seasoned Pretzels (Baked)
    • Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Wings tossed in a sauce with fresh Parmesan Cheese.
      Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Wings
    • Baked brie with fig jam and bread slices.
      Baked Brie with Jam

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    Print

    Recipe

    5 Ingredient Pizza Cups

    5 Ingredient pizza cups with pepperoni in the muffin pan.
    Print Recipe

    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    5 from 1 review

    These easy Pizza Cups use only 5 simple ingredients, are made in a muffin pan, and will be loved by both kids and adults! These are such a fun, crowd pleasing spin on pizza that are great served as an appetizer at a party or even as a main meal with a big salad on the side.

    • Author: Kathleen Hansen
    • Prep Time: 10 minutes
    • Cook Time: 20 minutes
    • Total Time: 30 minutes
    • Yield: 12 cups
    • Category: Appetizer, Main
    • Method: Oven
    • Cuisine: American

    Ingredients

    • 14oz tube of refrigerated pizza dough, I used Pillsbury
    • ~½ cup marinara sauce
    • ~1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
    • ~½ cup diced pepperoni slices
    • Italian seasoning for topping
    • *Optional - Red pepper flakes, for spice

    Instructions

    1. Prep - Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a standard 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray.
    2. Cut Pizza Dough - Roll out the pizza dough and use a rolling pin to roll it thinner into about 1 10 x 13 inch rectangle. This doesn’t need to be exact. Cut the rectangle into 12 squares. Try to make them as even in size as possible, but it’s okay if they’re not perfect 🙂
    3. Press in Muffin Pan - Press the squares of pizza dough into the greased muffin tin cups.
    4. Layer - Layer the fillings! This is very customizable, but I always like to start with cheese so the bottoms don’t get soggy. Order I do with rough amounts (again, doesn’t need to be exact).  Cheese (~1 tablespoon). Diced Pepperoni (~1 teaspoon. Sauce (~1 tablespoon). 2 teaspoons Cheese (~1 tablespoon). Diced Pepperoni (~1 teaspoon).  Small dollop of sauce
    5. Season - Sprinkle them all with some Italian Seasoning. If you like spice, you can also do red pepper flakes.
    6. Bake - Bake for 18-22 minutes until the pizza dough edges are golden brown. I like to use a metal spoon to gently lift one cup up to check the bottom and make sure the crust is cooked. After about 10-15 minutes of baking, you may need to place a piece of tin foil on top to keep the edges from getting too dark.
    7. Enjoy - Serve and enjoy warm!

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 1 pizza cup
    • Calories: 156
    • Sugar: 2.3 g
    • Sodium: 610.3 mg
    • Fat: 7 g
    • Carbohydrates: 15.5 g
    • Fiber: 1 g
    • Protein: 8 g
    • Cholesterol: 9.2 mg

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    1. Kathleen Hansen says

      February 22, 2025 at 8:19 am

      This is such a fun spin on your regular pizza ingredients! We've made this recipe both for a snack/appetizer when friends were over and as a dinner with some veggies on the side.

      Reply

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    Hi! I'm Kathleen and welcome! My favorite place to be has always been in the kitchen and I love creating recipes that are easy and approachable. Simple ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions!

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