Meat Lovers Mini Deep Dish Pizzas (Low Carb Option)

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cooked Perfect® Meatballs. All opinions are 100% mine.

Meat Lovers Mini Deep Dish Pizzas – perfectly seasoned meatballs wrapped in pizza dough and sauce, topped with ham, pepperoni and bacon with some melted mozzarella cheese!  AHHH- mazing!  These cheesy meatball bombs will sure to be the MVP of your game day spread.

We are just a few days away from the biggest food holiday of the year – the Big Game!  Ok, so maybe Thanksgiving trumps this special game day, but not by much in my book.  I know I’ve shared this before, but a spread of cheesy, meaty, saucy goodness just sends me to my happy place.

Maybe it’s because every January I’m doing my best to stay on track and eat healthier, and then boom!  It’s like Christmas morning all over again.  A cornucopia of savory, salty decadence that I’ve been avoiding for the last month.  They’re all bite-sized, so I can eat a little of this and some of that.  Just the thought makes me all warm and fuzzy.

You’ve got tacos, nachos, cheesy dips, sliders, rollups, yummy treats wrapped in bacon or drenched in buffalo sauce.  My, oh my – mouthwatering moment happening over herrr!

And then there’s probably my most favorite game day appetizer ever – meatballs!  Don’t you just love them?  Bite-sized, protein-infused, perfectly-seasoned, hearty bombs of goodness!  Dunked, wrapped, stuffed, or grilled – whatever you do to them they are always delicious!

I love meatballs so much a few years ago on the blog I dedicated the entire month of March to them, and called it March Meatball Madness – get it??  March Madness basketball tournament + meatballs look like basketballs = Meatball Madness.  Get it???  Not so much??

Ok, moving on.

So today in honor of those glorious meatballs I’ve created an insanely delicious game day recipe: Meat Lovers Mini Deep Dish Pizzas (with a low carb option of course)!!!  See, it is like Christmas morning!

But it gets even better my friend!!  There’s virtually no work involved – just some assembly required.  I know, it’s almost too good to be true – right!?

I just figured you could use a bit of a break.  If you’re hosting a big football soiree you probably need to hit the “easy” button.  Although entertaining is fun, it’s a lot of work.  Amiright???

I used Cooked Perfect® Meatballs for this recipe. With a name like that why wouldn’t they be your go-to premade meatball!??

They’ve got all kinds of frozen meatball options to fit your dietary requirements: Italian, Turkey, Chicken and Angus Beef!  Say whaaaa!???

True story!  These little guys are crafted using select meats, real cheeses, and aromatic herbs and spices, then flame-broiled to sear in the flavor for a delicious tasting meatball.  Drooling!

You can see why these little guys are the star of today’s game day recipe.  Just think about it: perfectly seasoned meatballs wrapped in pizza dough and sauce, topped with ham, pepperoni, bacon and some mozzarella cheese!  AHHH- mazing!

AND so easy!!!  Trust me my friend you won’t be stuck in the kitchen, toiling away, while your friends and family eat themselves into a food coma.

But let’s talk more about these tasty Mini Meatball Pizzas!!

How to make the most delicious Meat Lovers Mini Deep Dish Pizzas:

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Grab your ham, pepperoni and cooked bacon and chop those babies up.  Roll out your pizza dough or your low carb dough.  I’ve made these using premade pizza dough from the grocery store, and using my own low-carb pizza dough.  Whichever route you take, they will be sensational.

Next, for the pizza dough I used a round drinking glass and cut out sixteen 3-1/4 inch circles.  For the low-carb dough, I rolled the dough into 20-ish round balls.

Spray your muffin pan with cooking spray and place the dough into each cup – making an indentation in the middle for the meatballs and pressing the dough up the sides of the muffin cups.

Now add a rounded teaspoon of your favorite pizza/pasta sauce and a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese.

Next, drop a meatball into each cup.

Now, sprinkle on your ham, pepperoni and bacon.

Bake for 20 minutes and top with a little more cheese. Bake for 2 more minutes and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

So easy and soooo good!

These little personal pan pizzas will surely be the star of your game day spread.  You’ll be relaxing and sitting on the couch cheering on your team…  or just standing next to these Meat Lovers Mini Deep Dish Pizzas making sure they don’t get (ahem) lonely.

Happy game day eating!!

5 from 2 votes

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Meat Lovers Mini Deep Dish Pizzas

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

perfectly seasoned meatballs wrapped in pizza dough and sauce, topped with ham, pepperoni and bacon with some melted mozzarella cheese! AHHH- mazing!

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings: 12 mini pizzas

Calories: 220 kcal

Ingredients

For The Pizzas:

• 5 slices center cut bacon, cooked & finely chopped
• 2 ounces pepperoni (I used turkey pepperoni)
• 3 ounces ham (I used Canadian bacon)
• 12 Cooked Perfect Italian Style Meatballs
• ½ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup of your favorite pizza/pasta sauce
• One 13.8 ounce tube of pre-made pizza crust dough (I used “regular,” not “thin crust.”)
• Chopped Italian parsley for garnish

For The Low Carb Dough (Optional):

• 6 ounces cream cheese (block, not whipped)
• 2¼ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, low moisture - part skim
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 cup almond flour
• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

For The Pizzas:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Chop ham, pepperoni, and cooked bacon.

2. Roll out pizza dough to 11 X 15 inches, then cut out twelve 3.25-inch circles. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray, and place a circle of dough into each cup. Press the dough up the sides of the muffin cups (if using low-carb dough, see below).

3. Add a rounded teaspoon of your favorite pizza/pasta sauce and a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese.  Then place a meatball into each cup and lightly press into the dough.  Next sprinkle ham, pepperoni, and bacon on top.

4. Bake for 20 minutes, top with a little more cheese, and bake for 2 more minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with the remaining pizza sauce for dipping.

For The Low-Carb Dough:

1. Melt cream cheese and Mozzarella cheese in microwave in 30 second intervals. You may need up to 60-90 seconds to fully melt it.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, & garlic powder together then add to the cheese mixture.
3. Add eggs and work the ingredients into the melted cheese (you may need to use your hands).
4. Form into 12 equally-sized balls and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

5. Spray the muffin pan with cooking spray, then place dough into each cup.  Make an indentation in the middle of the dough for the meatball, then continue with the Pizza instructions above.

Recipe Notes

If using the low-carb dough, the carbs per serving will be 6g and the calories will be 420.

If using regular dough, the carbs per serving will be 18g and calories will be 220

Browse more meatball recipes on Cooked Perfect’s website.  And before you hit the grocery store, grab this coupon to Save $1 compliments of our friends at Cooked Perfect!