Stuffed Pizza Ring: Party-Perfect Appetizer
If you’re looking for the ultimate crowd-pleasing appetizer, try this Stuffed Pizza Ring recipe. It uses store-bought dough, which gets portioned into individual rolls and stuffed with frozen meatballs. These stuffed dough balls are then arranged side-by-side on a baking sheet to form a ring. Before it’s baked, the ring is topped with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. Within 25 minutes, the pizza ring becomes golden brown and cheesy on the outside and tender inside. Heated pizza sauce is also served with the pizza ring for dipping. This combination of ingredients produces an appetizer with plenty of herby, savory and pungent flavors that will cause guests to want seconds. While we use meatballs and pepperoni for the pizza ring, you can swap in other toppings like cooked sausage or sliced onions for a customized treat. For a slightly healthier version of this recipe, use whole grain pizza dough rather than a regular variety. What toppings would you fill your homemade pizza ring with?
Yields
Total Time
Prep Time
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 3 Tbs. olive oil
- 2 Tbs. grated Parmesan
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
- 2 (15–16 oz.) pkgs. refrigerated pizza dough, at room temp.
- 12 frozen Italian-style bite-size meatballs
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 12 slices pepperoni
- 1 cup pizza sauce
- Fresh basil sprig (optional)
Instructions
Heat oven to 400°F. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Place 5” diameter bowl upside down in center. In small bowl, whisk together olive oil, Parmesan, garlic powder and Italian seasoning until combined; reserve.
Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Form one portion of dough into round, then slightly flatten. Place one meatball in center, then pull edges up over filling. Using moist fingers, press ends together to seal dough around meatball. Repeat with remaining dough pieces and meatballs. Place dough balls around bowl, sides touching each other. Brush all over with oil mixture; remove bowl.
Bake until dough is baked through and crust is golden brown, about 25 min. Sprinkle with mozzarella and top with pepperoni. Bake until cheese is melted and pepperoni starts to brown, about 5 min. Meanwhile, in small pot over medium heat, cook pizza sauce until heated through, about 5 min. Transfer sauce to small bowl; place in center of pizza ring. If desired, garnish with basil. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
- Calories: 485 kcal
- Fat: 22 gram
- Saturated Fat: 6 gram
- Protein: 16 gram
- Carbohydrate: 53 gram
- Fiber: 3 gram
- Cholesterol: 38 mg
- Sugar: 3 gram
- Sodium: 1,411 mg
