OVEN BAKED PIZZA BALLS FILLED YOU WON’T STOP EATING THEM
Simple, quick, and irresistible these Pizza Flavored Balls are like a PIZZA TASTE MUFFIN with a double dose of Mozzarella and Tomato prepared with the basic pizza dough or ready-made pizza bases and then baked (or fried).
A recipe I’m sure you will like because it’s suitable for everyone, you can even have the kids help, and it’s super quick if you use, like I did, the ready-made pizza base you find in the supermarket fridge. But it’s also a recycling recipe in case you have leftover pizza dough!
I found this recipe by chance and immediately liked it so I decided to replicate it.
The Bombette or Pizza Balls are just pieces of pizza dough that are first filled with seasoned tomato sauce and mozzarella and then once closed in a ball shape, they are seasoned again on the surface with the same ingredients as if they were small pizzas.
Once baked, these Little Stuffed Pizza Balls will puff up and turn golden but the best part will come with the first bite when you find a super stringy Mozzarella filling mixed with delicious tomato sauce inside, earning the family nickname of Oven Baked Stuffed Pizza Balls, you won’t stop eating them.
If you have no diet or health problems and don’t want to turn on the oven, you can easily fry your stuffed Pizza Balls in a pan with plenty of hot oil. In this case, cook them without seasoning them outside, then once ready and drained from the oil, you can, while still hot, season them with tomato sauce, parmesan, and fresh basil.
Obviously, you can also prepare pizza-flavored Bombette with the Air Fryer (you’ll find all the instructions for this cooking method at the end of the recipe).
Soft, tasty, with a cheesy interior, easy to prepare, the OVEN FILLED PIZZA BALLS will be perfect to serve as an appetizer, at aperitivo hour, or for a delicious snack … make sure you make plenty because they will go quickly!
If you love pizza, check out these recipes
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Oven, Air Frying, Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 345.10 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 55.90 (g) of which sugars 1.71 (g)
- Proteins 12.86 (g)
- Fat 8.89 (g) of which saturated 2.99 (g)of which unsaturated 1.80 (g)
- Fibers 2.69 (g)
- Sodium 707.76 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 80 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
You can prepare the pizza dough at home or use the ready-made pizza bases you find in the supermarket fridge.
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (or type 1)
- 1.7 cups water (cold)
- 1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 0.25 tsp dry yeast
- 2 tsp fine salt
- 1 roll pizza dough
- 0.6 cup tomato passata
- 125 g mozzarella
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (+ for brushing)
- dried oregano (optional)
- to taste salt
- A few leaves basil (for decoration)
Tools
- Baking Tray
Steps
If you prefer not to buy ready-made pizza bases but want to make the dough at home, read my recipe for PERFECT PIZZA DOUGH. Once ready and after rising, roll it out with a rolling pin trying to give it a rectangular shape.
Put the tomato passata in a bowl and season it with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and salt. Cut the mozzarella into small cubes and let it drain on a plate for a few minutes to remove excess liquid.
Unroll the ready-made pizza dough, cut it into 4 parts both vertically and horizontally to get 16 rectangles. If you prepared the pizza dough yourself, after rising, proceed in the same way. Fill each piece with a tablespoon of tomato passata and a few pieces of mozzarella, then close the corners two by two towards the center and seal the dough with your fingertips forming balls.
Preheat the oven to 350°F in static mode. Place the pizza balls on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and lightly greased. Brush the pizza balls with extra virgin olive oil, followed by a little tomato sauce and small mozzarella pieces (if desired, also a little oregano). When the oven reaches temperature, bake the Pizza Balls for about 20 minutes. They should be golden, well-risen, and puffed up. Remove from the oven, let cool for a couple of minutes, and serve while still hot.
NOTES
PIZZA BASE: You can alternatively use the ready-made Pizza Bases you find in the supermarket fridge next to the Puff Pastry, or make the Pizza dough at home following the Pizza Bonci Base Recipe with little yeast and no Kneading found HERE.
TOMATO PASSATA: Use a quality tomato passata and don’t forget to season it with oil, salt, and pepper (optional).
MOZZARELLA: Instead of Mozzarella, you can use Scamorza, either White or Smoked.
VARIATIONS: To make these Oven or Air Fried Pizza Bombette even more delicious, you can add cubes of Mortadella or Cooked Ham to the filling.
AIR FRYER COOKING You can also cook the Pizza Balls in the air fryer. In this case, I recommend using Muffin molds, lightly greasing them, and placing the Pizza Bombette inside. Cook them in the air fryer at 350°F for about 12 minutes.
AIR FRYER COOKING You can also cook the Pizza Balls in the air fryer. In this case, I recommend using Muffin molds, lightly greasing them, and placing the Pizza Bombette inside. Cook them in the air fryer at 350°F for about 12 minutes.
AIR FRYER COOKING You can also cook the Pizza Balls in the air fryer. In this case, I recommend using Muffin molds, lightly greasing them, and placing the Pizza Bombette inside. Cook them in the air fryer at 350°F for about 12 minutes.
STORAGE
Once ready, the pizza balls can be kept at room temperature for one day or in an airtight container in the fridge for a maximum of 2 days. Alternatively, you can freeze them, cooked, and they will last up to 15 days. To defrost, just let them return to room temperature and heat them in the oven or microwave before eating.
