vegan deep dish pepperoni pizza muffins

Look, it’s no secret that pizza is one of the most universally loved foods. And luckily in 2019, vegan pizza is easy AF to make in all sorts of shapes and sizes!

If you’re no stranger to the hot for food kitchen, you’ll know I’ve done my DUTY to bring y’all some kickass vegan ‘za recipes. There’s my stuffed crust pizza, pizza pockets, mini cheeseburger pizzas… the list goes on and on! And if you haven’t tried making those before, be sure to bookmark ‘em!

So you’ll be stoked to know that this recipe is yet ANOTHER pizza-licious creation from my hungry ol' mind. I just wrapped up my 3-part back to school breakfast recipe series, but still had some creative juices flowing! So I figured an awesome make-ahead snack idea would be the perfect recipe to share… and trust me, it’s a doozy! And by doozy, of course, I mean… a portable, deep dish pizza muffin with a levelled up crazy bread vegan garlic parm crust. Say WHAAAAAT?!

Let me break it down for ya! We’re taking my well-loved that dough recipe (found in recipes like my donair pizza and strawberry caramel sticky buns), then kicking things up a notch by smothering it in garlic parmesan buttery goodness. Then we’re layering it with all the good stuff: pizza sauce, vegan cheese, and sliced pepperoni. We’re using a muffin tin for these cuties to make things HELLA EASY, too! Boom, extra scrumptious deep dish pizza muffins at your service.

PSSST… if you decide to only make 12 muffins, you’ll also have leftover ingredients to make a personal pan pizza, too. I mean, who doesn’t love a bonus recipe?! Keep scrolling to unveil all my DEEPEST cooking secrets. (Get it? Because they’re deep dish? Yup, I'm still full of cheesy puns...)

vegan deep dish pepperoni pizza muffins

Up your pizza game by making these mini deep dish pizza muffins! They're the perfect snack for after school or when you're cravin' something cheesy.

4.17 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Snacks

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: pepperoni, pizza, vegan cheese

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Proof Time: 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 deep dish pizza muffins + 1 (8-inch) mini pan pizza

Author: Lauren Toyota

Ingredients

that dough

• ▢ 3 C all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoon quick-rise yeast
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 ½ C warm water (between 120°F to 130°F) 

deep dish pizza

• ▢ ¼ C vegan butter, melted
• ▢ 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vegan parmesan cheese + extra for garnishing (we used Earth Island Parmesan)
• ▢ 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 C pizza sauce
• ▢ 1 ½ C vegan cheddar shreds
• ▢ 1 pkg vegan pepperoni slices (about 40 slices - we used Yves vegan pepperoni)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• To make the dough, in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, combine flour, sugar, yeast, sea salt, vegetable oil and warm water. Start the speed on low to combine flour with the liquid. Gradually increase the speed until the dough comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl. When it’s done, the dough will be soft and slightly sticky. If it’s very sticky incorporate 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and let it rest for 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl, add melted butter, garlic powder and 1 tablespoon of the vegan parmesan cheese.
• Prepare your muffin tray by brushing vegetable oil into each cup including the sides.
• Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough into a 10 x 14-inch rectangle. Use a 3-inch cookie cutter to punch out 12 rounds. Use a silicone brush to coat the top of each round with about half the vegan garlic butter parmesan mixture. Reserve the rest for brushing onto the baked pizza muffins.
• Gently press each round into the muffin tray cups. Use a fork to prick 4 or 5 rows into just the bottom center of the dough, leaving about ⅛-inch bare from the edges. Use the leftover dough to make a mini 8-inch personal sized pan pizza.
• Layer the rounds with a small spoonful of pizza sauce, a small pinch of vegan cheese shreds and a pepperoni slice. Layer again 2 more times, so you have 3 layers total. Finish with a little more vegan cheese shreds. Cover the tray with a damp tea towel and let them proof for about 30 to 45 minutes until the edges are very puffy. 
• Bake for 15 to 17 minutes until golden brown. While the pizza muffins are still warm in the pan, brush the remaining melted garlic butter mixture onto the edges of the crust. Finish by sprinkling extra vegan parmesan onto the crust. Remove them from the pan to cool on a wire rack. If after baking, the pizza bun edges are touching, use a knife to separate them before removing from the muffin tray.

Notes

If using all the dough to make more than 12 pizza muffins, it will make about 22 pizza muffins in total. If making all 22 buns, you will need a full bag of vegan cheddar shreds. You will also need an extra package of vegan pepperoni slices or just stick with the 1 bag and customize the other muffins with different toppings.