Kids will love these nutritious pizza bites, which are full of veggies and quinoa, yet taste like pizza! Vegan & gluten-free.
Author: Mary Ross Fowler | Daily Dose of Greens
Recipe type: Entree or Snack
Cuisine: Kids' Food
Serves: 18 bites
Ingredients
2 cups cooked quinoa (optional: grate carrot into pot before cooking)
3-4 crimini or button mushrooms, roughly chopped
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup chopped broccoli florets
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt & pepper, to taste (use sparingly if for small children)
1-2 t. fresh oregano or basil leaves (optional, but recommended)
¾ cup pizza sauce (read labels & buy lowest sodium) or tomato sauce, plus more for topping
3 T. GF flour (for binding)
Optional: nondairy cheese shreds (I prefer Daiya brand mozzarella)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a muffin tin with grapeseed or olive oil spray.
In about ¼ inch of water in a medium saucepan, cook the mushrooms, onion, broccoli, and garlic over medium heat until soft. If the pan starts to look dry, add another splash of water to prevent burning.
Without pouring much of the cooking water, transfer the vegetables into a food processor. Season with salt, pepper, and the fresh herbs. Pulse until veggies are basically pureed (see photo).
In a mixing bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, veggie puree, and ¾ cups pizza sauce. Taste for seasoning and add the flour. Stir well to combine.
Add about 1 heaping Tablespoon of the mixture into each well of the muffin tin and use the bottom of the spoon to roughly smooth out the tops.
Place muffin tin in the oven and bake 12 minutes, remove from the oven and add a small circle of pizza sauce and a pinch of nondairy cheese, then return tin to the oven for about 2 mins to melt the cheese.
Allow the pizza bites to cool at least 10-15 mins. The longer you let them cool, the more they will set and the easier it will be to get them out of the tin. To remove them, run a knife around the edges of each bite and use a fork to gently press in one side and lift up. The bites should come out easily. If you try to remove one and it doesn't hold together at all, there may be too much liquid in your quinoa-veggie mixture. Just return your pizza bites to the oven for a few more minutes and let them cool again. They should look dry with slightly golden edges.
Serve immediately, or pop into the fridge or freezer for later.
Recipe by Daily Dose of Greens at https://dailydoseofgreens.com/2015/07/29/quinoa-pizza-bites/