We sometimes call this “Inside-Out” pizza too. They’re garlicky, cheesy little pizza dough balls filled with all of the yummy toppings you’d put on a pizza. To eat, just pop one off and dunk it in marinara sauce. Don’t you love finger food? And don’t you love dunking things? I suppose regular pizza is finger food as well, but for some reason this is way more fun. Must be the dunking factor. You can pick your own fillings. We love Canadian bacon and pineapple, or Italian turkey sausage and chopped peppers. Pepperoni and cheese is always a hit and you could easily make these vegetarian as well. This makes great party food or a fun appetizer, but in our house we often pair it with a salad and call it dinner. It works especially great for little fingers so my boys love ’em!
You’ll need a roll of refrigerator pizza dough (or make your own…or buy some from your favorite pizza shop or Sam’s Club/Costco), pizza sauce (our favorite recipe!), some grated parmesan cheese, olive oil or melted butter, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes, and your favorite pizza toppings of choice (we’re using mini pepperoni).
Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package. Usually it’s 400 F. If you make your own dough, bake it at 400.
Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it’s about 12″ by 8″. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares.
Place cheese and desired toppings on each square.
(Note that you’re not putting the marinara sauce on the dough; it’s for dipping after) It’s easy to overfill these–you want to make sure you can close them, so about a heaping tablespoon of toppings should be plenty.
When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings.
Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).
Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter (I’ve used both and there’s not much difference in result) and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese.
(In lieu of the Parmesan, garlic, and Italian seasoning you could substitute this garlic bread seasoning.)
Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Keep an eye on them! Doughs vary, so I’d check them after even 10 minutes.
Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.
The outsides are like garlic bread and the insides are full of oozing cheese. This might just be a perfect food.
Got a flavor combo in mind? Share it! And try out this variation of Chicken and Bacon Stuffed Ranch Rolls.
Stuffed Pizza Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 pizza crust refrigerated, or recipe linked above
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese cut into cubes
- Desired pizza toppings mini pepperoni always work great(
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or melted butter
- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Pizza sauce recipe linked above
Instructions
- Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package. Usually it's 400 F. If you make your own dough, bake it at 400.
- Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8". Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares.
- Place cheese and desired toppings on each square.
- (Note that you're not putting the marinara sauce on the dough; it's for dipping after) It's easy to overfill these--you want to make sure you can close them, so about a heaping tablespoon of toppings should be plenty.When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings.
- Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).
- Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter (I've used both and there's not much difference in result) and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese.
- (In lieu of the Parmesan, garlic, and Italian seasoning you could substitute this garlic bread seasoning.)Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Keep an eye on them! Doughs vary, so I'd check them after even 10 minutes. Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.
Notes
Questions & Reviews
There is a great place in Reno called Pizza Balls that we love! I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Never made bread and made this recipe…love it and is not hard to make.
I made these tonight with mini pepperonis and diced ham.. they were soooo yummy! My husband said they taste just like dominos 🙂
I have to say thank you. I made several of your recipes this past New Year’s Eve (pizza pulls, lil’smokies, and the meatballs) and they were all a hit! The little kids especially liked the lil’ smokies. And those are so easy, I will definitely be making these again. Thank you so much for posting–New Year’s Eve wouldn’t have been the same without these recipes.
These look yummy! Can’t wait to try them. Can you make them with just cheese in the inside and if yes how much would you use? Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you! I made these to feed 20 high school seniors in an AP Calculus study group and they were a huge hit. I made about 100 and they were requesting more! I will definitely make these a family staple 🙂
These are So good! I’ve made them twice and can’t stop eating them. They are easy to make and my 4 yr old daughter loves to help.
We tried these for the first time last night and struggled with the dough. We bought a tube of pizza dough from the store and had a hard time getting the dough to stay stretched out so we could cut into 24 squares. We were only able to get 11 squares. What did we do wrong? Can you email me at [email protected] because they were so good but would like to be able to get more out of a roll of dough. Thanks!
Made these tonight for dinner and they were a hit! I’m not so good with rolling out dough, yes, even though I used store bought and it is roughly already in the shape, but I made them work. Will use a bit more cheese inside next time. Will definitely be making these again. Thanks for the idea!
I made these pizza rolls tonight with the standard pepperoni and cheese topping and they were FANTASTIC! All 3 of my kids (4,5,& 7) who are PICKY eaters gobbled them up and asked for more! I diced my cheese and pepperoni and served them with your super easy pizza sauce for dipping. THANKS!!!!