These Lunchbox Pizza Muffins are an easy kid-friendly lunch recipe made with ready-made pizza dough, pizza sauce, gooey mozzarella cheese, and sliced olives baked into fun little pizza cups.
These savory pizza muffins are great for school lunches, after-school snacks, work lunches, and game day parties. They also work really well for meal prep because they store and reheat well.
I love adding this to lunchboxes with fresh fruits or cookies for kids.
How to Make Lunchbox Pizza Muffins
Ingredients you’ll need for this recipe
Step-by-Step Guide
1. Preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C).
2. Generously grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin with olive oil, including the sides.
3. Divide the pizza dough into 12 equal pieces.
4. Flatten each piece into a small disc about 3–4 inches wide.
5. Press each dough disc into the muffin cups, pushing the dough up the sides to create shallow pizza cups.
6. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of pizza sauce into each cup without overfilling.
7. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese generously into each cup.
8. Add sliced olives or save fresh basil for after baking.
9. Bake for 15–18 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and golden and the dough edges are crisp.
10. Let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Garnish with basil or parsley if desired.
Serve & Enjoy!
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Muffin pan for cupcakes and muffins
Piping bags for decorating
Important Recipe Notes
- Grease the muffin tin really well to keep the pizza muffins from sticking.
- Do not overfill the muffin cups with sauce or the dough may become soggy.
- Use thick pizza sauce because thinner sauces can make the muffins watery.
- Let the muffins cool for about 5 minutes before removing them from the pan so they hold their shape better.
- Shredding mozzarella from a block melts more smoothly than pre-shredded cheese.
- You can easily customize the toppings with mini pepperoni, cooked sausage, bell peppers, or mushrooms.
- These pizza muffins taste best reheated in the oven or air fryer to keep the edges crispy.
- If freezing, allow the muffins to cool completely before storing to prevent excess moisture.
- For lunchboxes, pack them in a thermos or insulated container to help keep them warm longer.
Lunchbox Pizza Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ball ready-made pizza dough about 1 lb / 450 g
- ¾ cup thick pizza sauce
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup sliced black olives
- Fresh basil or parsley optional
- Olive oil for greasing
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C).
- Generously grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin with olive oil, including the sides.
- Divide the pizza dough into 12 equal pieces.
- Flatten each piece into a small disc about 3–4 inches wide.
- Press each dough disc into the muffin cups, pushing the dough up the sides to create shallow pizza cups.
- Spoon about 1 tablespoon of pizza sauce into each cup without overfilling.
- Sprinkle mozzarella cheese generously into each cup.
- Add sliced olives or save fresh basil for after baking.
- Bake for 15–18 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and golden and the dough edges are crisp.
- Let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Garnish with basil or parsley if desired.
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