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
I finally made these & it was a huge hit! I lost track of how many my son ate, everytime I turned around he was asking for more! I bought the ingredients to make these again this week! Hooray!
Okay, so my post is late but the memories of how absolutely delicious our house smelled after I made these for a Saturday afternoon lunch for my husband and I, ring as fresh in my mind as dew on a blade of grass!!!
Oooohhhhh Sooooooooo Yummy are these tiny little bites of gooey goodness!
We will definitely make these again!
Brock and Melissa- (I'm assuming Melissa 🙂 Yes, they should freeze fine. Make the rolls in a disposable pie tin and cover well with plastic wrap. You can probably bake them from frozen at the same temp, or let them thaw in the fridge overnight first. I need to try this out to make sure, so I'm just guessing! I will put it on my menu for next week so I can test it for ya.
how did it work out freezing these?
Thanks
I'm wondering if there is a good way to freeze these for future use. You know, make 2 pans and freeze one for after the baby comes…Has anyone tried that yet?
Hmmm…Pizza Night Friday just got a new groove! Asking the hubby if he'd like to try these tonight, FOR SURE!!!
Thanks a bunch!
Mmm… I think I need to try chicken and mushroom dipped in Alfredo, too!
Holy Cow! My mouth is totally watering! I'm going to try these this week!!! Yum! I just found your site today. I have spent the last hour searching through some seriously awesome recipes! Soooo glad you have a blog. I will return often!!
I'm not sure how I came across this site but I'm glad I did! I made the creamy corn chowder on Sunday (BIG hit) and this recipe today. It made my house smell delicious. I didn't have any mozzarella so I had to use pepperjack and sharp cheddar. Yum-my! My husband has already put in a request for these at EVERY football party. Thanks!
I made these, tonight, and they were delish! My 3 and 4yr old gobbled them up. One mistake, though… I had them all balled up and in the pan looking pretty and ready to bake when I realized I forgot the cheese! I had to unroll and cheese them, re-roll and re-pan them. Even so, they were wonderful and I have lots of ideas for fillings that I'm going to try, now. I put the link for this blog on my facebook account. My new favorite recipe site! Nice pictures, fun blog, delicious food. Thank you thank you!
SOOOO yummy! Once again you made me feel like the best cook ever because my husband loved this! Thank you!!!