These Pepperoni Bagel Bites are a delicious and homemade appetizer recipe perfect for any party, game day event, family gathering or a weekday snack. Made with homemade mini bagels, these bagel bites are super flavorful and are loaded with cheese, spaghetti sauce, and pepperonis.
If you want to make a homemade appetizer that will knock your socks off, make our pepperoni bagel bites recipe to-night!
Why Make Your Own Bagels?
Your homemade appetizer begins with homemade bagels. This is the first and most important step to making pepperoni bagel bites that you won’t believe. Admittedly, the cheap mini pizza bagels at the store can usually hit their mark. You know what it is. It’s hard to be underwhelmed or disappointed by it. On the other hand, when you give this bite-size treat the gourmet treatment at home, you won’t believe what you’ve been missing out on since you were a teenager.
Making your own bagels is one of those things that I think people avoid because they assume it will be too complicated. Pretzels are the same way. It’s not hard to do, but they seem very difficult and most people just go out and buy them because they’re not too expensive. If you have been avoiding making bagels at home or hadn’t even considered the option, I strongly urge you to give it a try and taste the difference in fresh homemade bagels.
How to Make Bite-Size Bagels at Home
This recipe called for a special mix that will result in a very nice flavor. You will want to start with some yeast, water and a tiny bit of brown sugar and let it bloom before you begin with the other steps. Blooming is not quite the same as proofing, which is when you let the activated yeast expand the dough. Blooming is the reaction of the yeast to the sugar in warm water. It takes a few minutes to do and then you will be ready to make the dough for the bagels.
It’s best to form the dough in a Kitchen Aid mixer until the dough no longer sticks. At that point, you should take it out and knead it by hand. When you can form it into a ball, place it in an oiled mixing bowl to proof for up to 2 hours or until the dough ball has doubled in size.
Other Ways to Use Bite-Size Bagels
Bite-size bagels make more than just a convenient snack, Although the size is not appropriate for a standard toaster, there are things you can do with the unique sizing of a mini bagel. One of my favorite things is to make mini breakfast sandwiches using sausage patties since they are usually too small for a full-sized bagel. Mini bagels are easier to spread, easier to eat and make a great base for other party hors d’oeuvre similar to the pizza bites in the following recipe.
One of my favorite things is to make tiny versions of other big-size treats such as deli sandwiches. A mini bagel-sized Rueben or pastrami sandwich, for example, is a great way to spread out ingredients and get a taste of your favorite meats without going all-in on a single meal.
The Best Cheese Blend for Pepperoni Bagel Bites
One benefit of making any kind of pizza at home that we can’t overlook is the option to make your own cheese blend. The cheese you use can make or break a pizza. It can turn your pepperoni bagel bites from acceptable to unforgettable with practically no extra effort at all. When you build your own pizza, it’s not the toppings that make it awesome. It’s arguably not even the sauce. It’s the cheese. There are two main roads you can go down when employing the use of great cheese in your bagel bites.
The first option for topping your bagel bites is mozzarella. It’s the gold standard for pizza. However, don’t just choose any mozzarella. If you really want this pizza to stand out as phenomenal, you’ve got to use fresh mozzarella cut into slices and melted. You also want to balance the mozzarella with the sauce (and yes it does help to have a great sauce to match).
If you don’t use fresh mozzarella, or prefer to use a blend of cheeses Use the big four: mozzarella, provolone, cheddar, and parmesan cheese. These cheeses work best when grated and blended evenly. The cheddar gives added bite and appealing color to your finished pepperoni pizza.
How to Store Pepperoni Bagel Bites
The great thing about homemade bagel bites is that we already know they freeze well. You can make up a big batch for yourself or share and save the leftovers for another time. You want to keep these in an air-tight container and once they’ve cooled, stacking them on top of each other will not be a problem. If you keep these in the refrigerator they will last you for the standard three to five days. In the freezer, you can buy yourself up to six months.
Once you’ve frozen your pepperoni bagel bites it’s easy to slip back into your old ways of microwaving these little babies for a late-night snack. But the best way to reheat these is in the oven, or better yet the toaster oven. If you have at least one to more of those all-in-one countertop cookers (You know the ones that are supposed to eliminate the need for any other appliance?) Consult the manual in your “junk drawer” for the appropriate settings. 😉
Pepperoni Bagel Bites Ingredients
- Warm Water
- Active Dry Yeast
- Brown Sugar
- Salt
- Bread Flour
- Pepperoni Slices
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Vegetable Oil
How to Make Pepperoni Bagel Bites
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1 – For the Dough
In a large mixing bowl, add warm water, brown sugar, and yeast. Let bloom for 10 minutes. Add the rest oft he brown sugar, salt, and 2 cups of flour. Stir well. Add remaining flour, stirring in between. Once the dough is no longer sticking to the spatula, knead dough by hand. Form dough into a ball. Grease a large mixing bowl with vegetable oil and place dough into the bowl. Let rise for 1-2 hours.
Step 2 – Prep
Preheat oven to 375° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Boil 6 cups of water in a large pot.
Step 3 – Making the Bagels
Transfer the dough to a well floured surface. Press dough out and cut into 2×2 pieces. Form dough balls and poke a hole in the middle of each ball. Then, shape the balls into a bagel shape and place them on a plate. Set aside. Drop 6 bagels at a time into the boiling water and boil on each side for 30 seconds.
Step 4 – Cooling and Baking the Bagels
Place the boiled bagels on a drying rack to drain any excess water. Boil all remaining bagels and then place bagels on a prepared baking sheets and place in oven. Cook for 20-22 minutes or until the top of the bagels are slightly brown. Remove bagels from baking sheet and place on a cooling rack. Let bagels cool for 5-10 minutes.
Step 5 – Assembling the Bagels
In a medium sauce pan, heat spaghetti sauce until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Slice bagels in half lengthwise. Place a spoonful of sauce on each bagel, then top it with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni quarters. Place back in oven and bake until cheese has melted and pepperonis have cooked a bit.
Try These Delicious Pepperoni Bagel Bites Today
Here are a few more appetizer recipes that you might enjoy too!
And here are some delicious Cream Cheese Avocado Bacon Bites, from Great Grub, Delicious Treats, that are amazing and a favorite appetizer recipe with our families.
Pepperoni Bagel Bites
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cup warm water, 110°-112°
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3½ cup bread flour
- 6 ounce pepperoni slices, cut into ¼
- 24 ounce spaghetti sauce
- 2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
Instructions
For The Bagels
- In a large mixing bowl, add warm water, 1 tsp of brown sugar, and yeast. Let bloom for 10 minutes.
- Add the rest of the brown sugar, salt, and 2 cups of flour. Stir to combine well.
- Add the rest of the flour (½ cup at a time), making sure to stir well in between. Once the dough is no longer sticking to spatula/hook attachment, knead the dough by hand until the dough becomes smooth and has good stretch. Form dough into a ball.
- Grease a clean large mixing bowl with vegetable oil and place the dough ball into the bowl.
- Set aside and let rise until the dough has doubled in size (1-2 hours).
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Prepare a baking sheet by placing a piece of parchment paper and spraying it will a non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large pot, boil 6 cups of water.
- Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface. Slightly press the dough out and cut into 2×2 pieces.
- Form each dough piece into a ball. Using a clean finger, poke a hole into the middle of each dough ball.
- Using your hands, shape dough into a bagel shape and place them on a plate. Set aside.
- Once all of the dough balls are formed into bagel shapes, drop about 6 bagels at a time into the boiling water and boil on each side for 30 seconds.
- Place boiled bagels on a drying rack to drain any excess water. Once all of the bagels have been boiled and drained, place bagels on prepared baking sheet and place in oven.
- Cook for 20-22 minutes or until the tops of bagels are lightly brown.
- Remove bagels from baking sheet and place on a cooling rack. Let bagels cool for 5-10 minutes.
Assembling The Bagels
- In a medium sauce pan, heat spaghetti sauce over medium heat until sauce comes to a boil. remove from heat.
- Once bagels have cooled to the touch, slice bagels in half and place on a baking sheet.
- Place a spoonful of spaghetti sauce on each bagel, then top it with shredded mozzarella cheese and pepperoni quarters as desired.
- Place back in oven and bake until cheese has melted and pepperonis have cooked a bit.
Here are a few pics that are the perfect size for pinning to Pinterest.
