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
We made these tonight – using your pizza dough and breadstick recipe (which I have made no less than 5 times this week). I rolled the dough and cut it, and let my girls put the toppings on and roll them up. They were so fun and delicious. We will be making these on a regular basis for sure.
These make such a fun dinner. Thanks! I have to agree about the cubed cheese. I used shredded and thought it wasn't cheesy enough and it was messy pinching the balls together. I will be using cubes next time. Also, the middles turned out doughy. The tops were golden brown, so I didn't want to bake it longer. Next time I will roll the dough out thinner.
YUMMY! I made these for our family a few nights ago and they were a hit with the entire family (does't happen every often with a picky husband,and a 3 & 2 year old) I love following your blog, I'm so glad you take the time out to share your yummy recipes with us mother's that like to mix things up a bit. Needless to say they are on our menu for this next week as well! Thanks! 🙂
These were amazing! I am a beginning cook (these were the first things I have ever made besides mac n' cheese) and these were so easy & delish! My boyfriend wanted seconds so I went out and bought more pizza dough and filled it with the leftover toppings 🙂
Another easy idea-use Rhodes rolls or biscuit rolls and just flatten them and then fill. I use whole wheat ones to make a little healthier. Try stuffing with shredded chicken, mozzerella, diced artichokes,and sundried tomatoes. Dip in pesto! SO GOOD!
Made these for my son's birthday and served with a couple of different flavors of sauce. All the kids loved them! So did my husband and I 🙂
I am making these tonight! I got the pizza dough and I am ready to roll…no pun intended : )
I made these for dinner last night and we all LOVED them. This is definitely being added to our monthly meals. So good. So easy. And so many possibilities… Yum!
These are the best ever. I saw this recipe and immediatly went to the store to get the ingredients. They turned out FANTASTIC. Everything cooked perfectly and the looked awesome! I will make these a million times more.
I made these last night and my husband and I loved them! Thanks!