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This English muffin pizza recipe is easy and delicious! Load up personal pizzas using the muffin as the crust.

English Muffin Pizza
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Don’t want the hassle of dough for pizza night? Here’s an easy shortcut: try this English Muffin Pizza recipe! We’re all about everything artisan pizza, from our fan favorite pizza dough to the best ever Margherita pizza. But when we just need pizza fast: English muffins to the rescue! This shortcut makes a surprisingly tasty handheld personal pizza! Load it up with toppings and we couldn’t stop eating them! They’re ideal for kid dinners or adult midnight snacks.

Ingredients for English muffin pizza

English muffin pizza uses an English muffin to make the crust of a personal pizza: much in the same way as a bagel pizzatortilla pizzapita pizza, French bread pizza or naan pizza. A toasty muffin works rather well as a stand in crust. In fact, the English muffin pizza is one of our favorite non-traditional ways to make a pizza. They also hold up well as leftovers and can be reheated. These aren’t quite filling enough for a typical adult dinner in our opinion, but they work in a pinch if you add some hearty sides. They’re ideal for kids and perfect for snacks! Here’s what you’ll need:

  • English muffins: regular or whole grain (we used whole grain)
  • Pizza sauce: these pizzas taste best with our Homemade Pizza Sauce: it takes just 5 minutes to blend up
  • Shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Grated Parmesan cheese
  • Olive oil and salt
  • Toppings of your choice (see below)
English Muffin Pizza

Homemade pizza sauce makes the flavor

If you have time, this 5 minute Homemade Pizza Sauce makes your English muffin pizzas shine! It’s absolutely worth dirtying your blender: trust us. You’ll need just a handful of ingredients, but the flavor is absolutely divine: garlicky, sweet nad a little smoky. Plus, you cna do it while the oven preheats!

  • This pizza sauce takes 5 minutes in a blender. The ingredients you need: canned fire roasted tomatoes, garlic, oregano, salt and olive oil. Blend them up, and the flavor is incredible. Go to Best Pizza Sauce.
  • Fire roasted tomatoes are key. Fire roasted tomatoes are roasted over an open flame before canning, which gives them a sweet, smoky flavor right out of the can. You should be able to find them at your local grocery in the canned tomatoes section.

English muffin pizza toppings

The sky’s the limit when it comes to English muffin pizza toppings! The main rule: make sure not to overload them! The surface area is pretty small, so add just enough to cover. Here’s what we used, and some additional ideas:

  • Smoky cherry tomatoes & basil: Thinly slice cherry tomatoes, then sprinkle them with salt, garlic powder and smoked paprika. It has a smoky vibe that’s similar to pepperoni! Top with fresh chopped basil.
  • Veggie: Top with minced green pepper, red peppers, and red onion
  • Mini pepperoni: Make sure to use mini pepperoni here: standard are a bit too large for the English muffin
  • Jarred artichoke hearts: chopped into very small pieces
  • Jarred roasted red peppers
  • Prosciutto
  • Spinach
  • Sautéed mushrooms
  • Pesto
  • Feta cheese, goat cheese, smoked mozzarella or smoked gouda
English Muffin Pizza

Leftovers save well

Unlike our other alternative pizzas, English muffin pizzas hold up pretty well as leftovers! Pizza bagels in particular become soggy within a few minutes after baking. But English muffin pizzas can be saved in the refrigerator and reheated as necessary. Just pop them back in a 350 degree oven until the cheese melts: or even the broiler!

Add hearty sides or eat as a snack

To us, English muffin pizzas are more of a snack than a dinner. But they work great as a kids dinner! You can also pull them off as an easy weeknight dinner for adults if you add some hearty sides like a big salad or some vegetable sides. Here are a few ideas:

How would you accessorize these pizza English muffins? Or are you planning to eat them as a night snack when a pizza craving hits? Let us know in the comments below.

More shortcut pizza recipes

Want another shortcut to pizza? Here are a few great ideas:

This English muffin pizza recipe is…

Vegetarian.

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English Muffin Pizza

English Muffin Pizza


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5 from 1 review

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 8 English muffin pizzas 1x
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Description

This English muffin pizza recipe is easy and delicious! Load up personal pizzas using the muffin as the crust.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 English muffins
  • Olive oil
  • Garlic powder, for sprinkling
  • ½ cup Homemade Pizza Sauce
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, for topping
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Smoked paprika, for sprinkling
  • Fresh basil, chopped or leaves
  • Other toppings: diced bell peppers, red onion, pepperoni, etc

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Brush the English muffins with olive oil on the cut side and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle each with a pinch of garlic powder and kosher salt. Bake cut side up for 6 to 7 minutes until lightly crisp and golden brown.
  3. While the English muffins bake, prepare the toppings: thinly slice the cherry tomatoes and sprinkle each with a pinch of salt, garlic powder and smoked paprika. Chop the basil. Prepare any other toppings (if using, finely dice the bell peppers and red onion).
  4. Remove the tray from the oven. Carefully top each English muffin half with about 1 ½ tablespoons pizza sauce, 2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese, and a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese. Add the seasoned cherry tomatoes and add a sprinkle of salt to the top of the pizza.
  5. Bake the English muffins 5 to 7 minutes until the cheese is melted. Add the chopped basil or basil leaves. Eat immediately. Leftovers can be refrigerated for 1 to 2 days and reheated in the oven.
  • Category: Snack or Main Dish
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: Pizza
  • Diet: Vegetarian

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Hi, we’re Alex and Sonja Overhiser, married cookbook authors, food bloggers, and recipe developers. We founded A Couple Cooks to share fresh, seasonal recipes and the joy of cooking! Our recipes are made by two real people and work every time.

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3 Comments

  1. Martha Radatz says:

    What about using mini pepperonis, ham and pineapple to suit individual taste. When is the best time to add them before or after cheese? Anything else to know?

    1. Just pop them on top of the cheese! The cook time should be the same.

  2. Sonja Overhiser says:

    Let us know if you have any questions!