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
These are great: kid-friendly and a good way to get extra protein into a vegetarian or vegan meal. I make them with dried oregano because I prefer it to basil, and as a resident of the U.K. I find it easier to get hold of cannellini than pinto beans, but they work just fine.
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Hi Katie, do you know if it’s ok to freeze these?
You can!
Made a version of this for dinner tonight. Didn’t have tomato paste so I cooked quinoa in a veggie broth & strained tomato sauce in place of water. & used pinto beans cooked from dry. I wanted a larger volume to I doubled the recipe. I also wanted to add a veggie so I finely diced steamed broccoli, dried it out with a towel, seasoned and tossed with cheddar cheese. Because of this the filling was a lot and I ended up shaping them like a gordita or chubby pupusa. They were delicious but a bit dry, probably because I had to cook them longer. I will try this again following the recipe closer except I will use canned re-fried beans instead to make it a bit more easy/fast.
Would LOVE to know (and others would too after reading the comments so far) what brand of vegan cheez was used so that a chunk could be broken off and inserted in the center and then be melty as shown in the photos. Thanks!
Hi do you have a link to a vegan cheese recipe that would work for this amazing sounding recipe?
We do! If you are feeling ambitious and want a homemade option, Katie’s melty vegan cheese works really well here. It’s in her ebook: https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/healthy-breakfast-cookbook-food-blog/ Or for a very easy option, the Daiya mozzarella sticks actually melt surprisingly well (we were shocked). They are not the easiest to find, but we finally tracked some down at Whole Foods.