Gluten-Free Pizza Bites

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FACT: We LOVE Brazilian cuisine. FACT: We can eat about 10 servings of Brazilian Pao De Queijo at a time… each. We ventured to Rio for Carnival in February of 2016. It was the experience of a lifetime! If you have never been to Rio, we totally recommend reading about the best food and things to do in Rio De Janeiro and booking a trip as soon as possible. It is one of our favorite places in the whole wide world.

Since returning from our trip, we have been learning how to make their famous Pao De Queijo at home. Pao De Quiejo literally means cheese bread. How could you go wrong, right?!!? It is a gluten-free bite-sized bread that is so incredibly light and fluffy because it is made of tapioca flour. You should be able to find tapioca flour at most grocers, or you can order what we use online through this link. We made this snack so much that we started to get creative with our recipe a bit. Gavin was the mastermind behind these gluten-free pizza bites. Note: we LOVE gluten and usually think gluten-free recipes taste like garbage, this is NOT one of those recipes. We know that this recipe will become a favorite for both gluten-free and gluten-full folks.

This pizza bite recipe is relativity similar to making the traditional Pao De Queijo Brazilian Cheese Bread, but it substitutes some of the cheese for mozzarella, includes a taste of pepperoni and comes with a side of (you guessed it) marinara. Think of it as a better-for-you pepperoni roll or homemade pizza roll. Plus, each bite only has about 50 calories and is full of flavor.

Gluten-Free Pizza Bites

Makes 24 bites, which likely is supposed to serve 8 people, but we can both put the whole recipe down with no issue! 

400 degrees

Ingredients:

  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup of 2% milk
  • 1/2  cup of canola oil
  • 1 cup tapioca flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup quatro formaggio Italian cheese blend (you could use parmesan or pick up this mix at Trader Joe’s)
  • 12 pepperoni slices, cut in half
  • 1 cup marinara sauce for dipping (we recently started using Rao’s Homemade and love it)
  • Mini muffin pan
  • Blender or food processor

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. This is really important if you want the bread to turn out. Using a paper towel, grease the inside of the mini-muffin pans with the oil. Cut the pepperonis in half. In a blender, combine the egg, milk, oil, and salt. Blend this all together until smooth.  Gradually add the tapioca flour ¼ cup at a time until blended. Finally, add the cheese and give it 5-7 more quick pulses. Pour the mixture into the mini-muffin pan until it is about ¾ of the way full. Then, stuff a half of a pepperoni slice in each pan. Pop it into the oven and cook for 16 minutes until lightly golden brown.

Dunk your pizza bites into a warm bowl of marinara. Note, they are best served fresh out of the oven. We know you’ll enjoy our spin on this classic Brazilian dish! If you think so too, be sure to share this recipe and save it on pinterest!

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