Melty, cheesy, savory homemade quinoa pizza bites are such a crowd pleasing easy appetizer or healthy snack recipe!
Why you’ll love these quinoa pizza bites
- Pretty much a guaranteed hit at any game day or brunch party, holiday event, or casual weeknight family dinner. Your next pizza night will never be the same.
- Tastes like cheese pizza in the form of a nutritious, protein packed bite.
- Quick to prepare using basic ingredients, and very easily adaptable to egg free, dairy free, sugar free, low carb, gluten free, oil free, and vegan diets.
- The bites are easily portable, meaning they are a great vegetarian option for potlucks or sports tailgating. (Think, football playoffs, Super Bowl, or March Madness.) Or serve them as a low calorie snack after work or school.
- Their soft, chewy texture delights guests of all ages, and parents appreciate the fiber, iron, and Vitamin C in each quinoa ball. Leftovers? Highly doubtful!
Also try these nutritious Sweet Potato Brownies
Step by step recipe video
Quinoa pizza bite ingredients
The recipe calls for just eight ingredients: quinoa, cooked beans, tomato paste, dried basil, sweetener, salt, garlic, and onion powder.
Quinoa – This can be red, black, or white quinoa, or a combination. Raw quinoa contains a bitter natural coating called saponin, so it is important to always rinse quinoa before cooking.
These bites remind me of a healthier, oil free and baked version of arancini, but I have never tried substituting rice or another grain. If you try it before I do, be sure to report back.
Beans – Use either cooked or canned beans. I like pinto beans or white beans here. While garbanzo beans (chickpeas) technically work, the quinoa balls will be a bit more gritty.
Tomato paste – For best concentrated taste and texture, do not substitute tomato puree or sauce or ketchup for the paste.
Spices – Minced garlic, onion powder, dried basil, and a pinch of salt give these healthy savory snack balls their bold pizza flavor.
Sweetener – Just a teaspoon of your favorite sweetener balances the acidity of the tomatoes. Feel free to use unrefined sugar, brown sugar, stevia, honey or pure maple syrup.
Optional cheese – The recipe is completely delicious whether or not you choose to stuff it with cheese. I’ve found that string cheese works best, and Daiya vegan mozzarella sticks work well for a dairy free option.
While the oven is hot, bake Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
How to make the healthy snack bites
- Begin by rinsing the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer to remove saponins.
- In a small saucepan, bring the water, quinoa, and 1/8 teaspoon of the salt to a boil.
- Once boiling, cover and lower to a simmer for about fifteen minutes, or until water is absorbed and the grains are light and fluffy.
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit or 176° Celsius.
- Drain and rinse the beans, then mash well in a large mixing bowl, using a fork.
- Add the cooked quinoa, tomato paste, spices, remaining salt, and sweetener to the mashed beans. Stir evenly incorporate all ingredients.
- Use clean hands to roll the dough into balls similar in size to meatballs. Place on a nonstick or parchment lined baking sheet, leaving space between the balls.
- If desired, break off a small piece of string cheese and press it into the middle of each quinoa pizza bite before cooking.
- Place the pan on the center rack of the oven, and bake for twenty five minutes or until fully cooked and slightly crispy on the outside.
- Enjoy hot or cold. Once cooled, refrigerate any leftovers in a covered container for up to five days. Or freeze for up to two moths and reheat before serving.
Leftover quinoa? Make Breakfast Quinoa or Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa Bites
I recently made them for a baby shower this past month.
Can confirm, the recipe is a big hit with both vegans and non vegans, alike.
The recipe was inspired by these Vegan Meatballs.
Quinoa Pizza Bites
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup raw quinoa (50g)
- 3/4 cup water (180g)
- 1 cup canned or cooked pinto beans (240g)
- 1/2 cup tomato paste (120g)
- 1 tsp sweetener of choice (5g)
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp dried basil (optional)
- 3 sticks string cheese or vegan mozzarella (optional)
Instructions
- 1. To make the quinoa pizza bites, first rinse quinoa in a fine mesh strainer to remove saponins.
- 2. Bring the water, quinoa, and 1/8 tsp of the salt to a boil in a small saucepan.
- 3. As soon as it begins to boil, cover the pot and lower to a simmer for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy.
- 4. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit (176° Celsius).
- 5. Drain and rinse the beans. In a large mixing bowl, mash beans well with a fork, then stir in the cooked quinoa, tomato paste, spices, remaining salt, and sweetener until evenly mixed.
- 6. Roll the dough into balls. If desired, break off a small piece of cheese and press into the center of each quinoa ball.
- 7. Place on a nonstick or parchment lined baking sheet, and bake on the center rack of the oven for 20 minutes or until slightly crispy on the outside.
- 8. Enjoy these savory healthy snacks hot or cold. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to five days, or freeze for longer storage.
Video
Notes
More healthy meatless recipes
i see pinto beans & am thinking about trying with taco seasoning! MMMM!!!
These are DIVINE! In the same way it’s hard not to eat your cookie dough before it’s baked, it’s hard not to chow down on these pizza bites before they’re baked. So delicious! Thank you!!
I just got my hands on a surplus of quinuoa and wanted to experiment so I made this and it is divine! I’ve made it twice in three days- it is that good. The first time I made it and formed the balls with a bit of cheese but it was too sweet and the cheese didn’t add as much flavor as i wanted. So the next time i made it, i omitted the additional sugar and threw all the ingredients into the same pan that the quinuoa had just finished cooking in. So fast and really, really delicious!
I made them, but my mixture was really soft. Maybe because I used a food processor for mashing the beans. They taste pretty good though!!
Just cook your quinoa longer next time. The first time I made them they were a little soft, so I used drier cooked quinoa the next time and they were perfect!
Can’t wait to try making these…didn’t have a Super Bowl party this year, but they seem great for entertaining because they’re already GF (but don’t seem GF) which is good for my GF-fearing guests.
Made these for dinner tonight. I used treeline cashew cheese in the middle( not melty but delicious) . These turned out great! Will definitely make again. Thanks for the recipe!
I love finding great recipes in the archives… BUT, people might not be reading the comments anymore… Does anyone know if these freeze well? I need to make something ahead of time and then cook it later. I was planning on freezing the little balls to pop in the oven after a 7 hour drive. Experience? Anyone?
These look amazing! I’m interested in making them en mass to use up some beans I have, but am curious to know if folks here have had success with storing them in the freezer and reheating them, and if so, how they suggest reheating them?
At present, I’m thinking the oven would be the best option after a partial thaw on the counter or in the microwave in order to get a good texture, as opposed to microwaving them entirely.I guess I’ll comment again next week once I’ve made them and tested out the reheating process to report my personal experience.
Thoughts? Experiences?
Making these tonight. Just double checking is it 1/2 tsp of fresh garlic or 1/2 tsp garlic powder?
These are delicious! Tried them out on my roommate’s friends a few weeks back. They were going for these over the regular pizza! I added extra basil and parsley when I made them. Word of advice – use string cheese! I tried with shredded and it was super messy and hard to get the cheese in place. Not impossible, but I imagine it would be a million times easier with string cheese.
How do you feel about a different bean, like maybe Great Northern or cannellini, instead of pinto?
Do you think they would travel camping? I don’t see why not, but I defer to your thoughts…
This is one of my favorite recipes! I probably made it dozens and dozens of times.
Hi, what could i use as a bean alternative? It looks great. But we do not gave this bean in beazil. Thanks
You can use any beans – black beans, white beans, etc.
This receipr are 2 good
Revelation I love reading your statements. At such a high level.