In partnership with Cabot
With the big football game fast approaching, we’re upping the ante on our gameday snack menu and these Cheesy Pizza Bites baked on the Traeger are going to be central to our spread. With a few simple ingredients and lots of melty Cabot Creamery Cooperative mozzarella cheese, these two-bite pizza pockets will be gone in a flash. Make a double batch so you can enjoy them too!
A THROWBACK PARTY FOOD
When we were starting to scheme on a menu for our upcoming big game party, we knew we wanted to offer some foods that harkened back to snack foods that everyone has loved growing up. From chicken wings to 7-layer dip, the options seemed endless and so varied. But one thing that jumped to mind early in the discussion was the need for something cheesy, dippable and hot. Stuffed pizza bites sounded like the perfect solution and we knew with lots of Cabot Creamery Cooperative’s cheese involved, this would be a big hit for everyone in attendance.
A FEW ROUNDS OF TESTING CHEESY PIZZA BITES
In order to create the perfect pizza bite on the Traeger, we did a few rounds of recipe testing to see what would work best, result in the cheesiest bite and end up and result in something recognizable but improved. First, we started with a few types of dough, aiming to find the best crust in which to secure the melty cheese.
PIE CRUST VS PIZZA DOUGH
Our first test was for the dough– would prepared pizza crust or prepared pie dough turn out better? For Cheesy Pizza Bites, we needed something that would stand up to stuffing but still be reminiscent of pizza pockets of yore. The pie crust round was tasty, but too flaky for good dipping action, and it didn’t really make us think “pizza!” Packaged pizza dough that we bought from the store did the trick. It got a gorgeous golden brown, sealed up nicely with the fillings and tasted like pizza through and through. Plus, when it came time to dip it held up well and brought along the sauce.
FILLINGS FOR CHEESY PIZZA BITES
Our two rounds of testing for these Cheesy Pizza Bites on the Traeger tested the way the pizza bites held up with different fillings. We knew there was one thing that wasn’t going to get cut– the cheese. Without a doubt, these Cheesy Pizza Bites needed a big scoop of shredded Cabot Creamery Cooperative’s Mozzarella Cheese in each one, for maximum melty cheese pull at the end. Figuring out just how much of the Cabot cheese we could stuff in each bite took some testing.
SAUCE IN OR OUT?
Our testing first tried including marinara sauce inside the pizza bite along with the Cabot Creamery Cooperative cheese and chopped-up pepperoni. But we found that the cheese didn’t melt to our desired meltiness with the sauce in there, and we were more likely to have popped pizza bites at the end. So ultimately, we decided to forgo the sauce on the inside and up the cheesiness with the dipping sauce at the end.
WHAT CHEESE TO USE IN CHEESY PIZZA BITES
Without question, we knew we wanted to use Cabot Creamery Cooperative’s cheese in these Cheesy Pizza Bites baked on the Traeger. Their pre-shredded varieties work perfectly for busy family dinners like we normally have, and are also super convenient for recipes like these pizza bites.
In this dish, we used Cabot Creamery Cooperative’s Whole Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese. It’s Cabot’s amazing mozzarella cheese, shredded and bagged for easy use. This cheese is a mild-flavored, semi-soft white cheese that stands out among Cabot’s amazing repertoire of cheese. Mozzarella, made from whole milk, is known for its easy melting and this is just what we needed in this recipe. We wanted our Cheesy Pizza Bites baked on the Traeger to be piping hot with melty cheese in every bite– and that’s just what we got!
EVERYTHING IS BETTER WITH DIP
At our house, one of the twins’ first words was “dip”. It’s more like “diiiiip”, but we definitely get the point. Dip is a big thing around here, and we offer it with most meals. For these cheesy pizza bites, we served the basket of freshly baked bites with a big bowl of equally-hot marinara sauce. To the heated sauce, we added about ½ a cup of additional shredded Cabot mozzarella cheese, which resulted in insanely delicious stringy cheese attached to every dip. Diiiip in!
PRIMARY INGREDIENTS
- Cabot Shredded Mozzarella cheese
- Pepperoni
- Prepared pizza dough
- Marinara sauce
- Eggs
- My Garlic Junkie Seasoning
WHY BAKING CHEESY PIZZA BITES ON THE TRAEGER WORKS
If you remember pizza bites of your college days (the ones cooked in the microwave), a common memory is probably getting your tongue burned. We can’t count the number of times that surprised us. Needless to say, these Cheesy Pizza Bites were not going to be cooked in the microwave, and we wanted them to be piping hot with a great pizza-like crust in every bite.
As with everything we cook, it sounded like the perfect task for the Traeger. With its even heat production via pellets, the consistent temperature regulation due to the barrel shape and the tiny bit of wood-fired flavor that comes through in cooking, Cheesy Pizza Bites baked on the Traeger sounded perfect.
We arranged the assembled bites on a cookie sheet and popped them in a hot Traeger (375*) for about 10 minutes. We rotated the tray once to ensure even browning and kept the cook time to 12-15 minutes total. One of the other benefits of cooking these cheesy pizza bites on the Traeger is that you can do a big batch all at once, and they’ll all come out hot and melty at the same time.
STEP-BY-STEP
- Preheat your Traeger grill to 375*.
- Prepare your ingredients– bring the dough up to room temperature, finely dice the pepperoni and break an egg into a bowl and whisk with 1 tsp cold water.
- On a cutting board, cut a piece of pizza dough about the size of a deck of card.
- Gently stretch it with your hands and brush two sides with beaten egg.
- On one half of the dough piece, pile mozzarella cheese, pepperoni pieces and more mozzarella cheese.
- Fold the dough in half and seal it along the sides with the brushed egg.
- Use the tongs of a fork to press the sides together, securing the dough.
- With the remaining side open, stuff a little extra cheese in the hole and then seal with egg wash and fork technique.
- Arrange the cheesy pizza bite on a cookie sheet and repeat with remaining ingredients.
- Once all the pizza bites are assembled, bruch the top of each with the remaining egg wash.
- Sprinkle the tops generously with Garlic Junkie seasoning.
- Place the cookie sheets in the grill and bake for about 7 minutes.
- After 7 minutes, rotate the cookie sheets 180* and continue cooking for 5-7 more minutes until golden brown.
- Remove the bites from the grill and transfer to a serving platter or basket.
- Heat the marinara sauce on the stovetop or in the microwave until very hot.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and stir in the remaining mozzarella cheese.
- Serve everything immediately and hot! Enjoy!
ALTERNATE RECIPES/PRODUCT LINKS
For some other cheesy appetizer or snack ideas for the big game coming up, try out these recipes also featuring Cabot cheeses:
- Smoky Sweet & Heat Cheese ball
- Pepper Jack Stuffed Jalapeno Popper Rellenos
- Cheesy Potato Knishes
- Pizza Dip
Products used in this cook:
Our family loves using Cabot Creamery Co-operative’s cheeses, and they work particularly well in this kind of recipe. Not only does the quality of the cheese stand out, but the distinct and delicious flavor of the mozzarella cheese comes through really well with this combination of ingredients. We know we are using amazing ingredients in our cooking, but we are also using products made by a certified B-Corp that has an intent focus on sustainability, land stewardship, and being good community citizens. As a B-Corp, Cabot Creamery Co-operative has hung their hat on being positive contributors to community and environmental problems. As an elementary teacher, getting to partner with a company like Cabot means that I’m demonstrating to my students how corporate citizenship can make a positive impact!
Traeger Grill– our go-to cooking vessel for all things big game and otherwise.
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Cheesy Pizza Bites Baked on the Traeger
Equipment
- Traeger grill
- Cutting board and knife
- Rolling pin (optional)
- Pastry brush (optional)
- Cookie sheet
- Microwave safe bowl
- Serving platter or basket
Ingredients
- 2 cups Cabot Shredded Mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup pepperoni cut into small dice
- 2 pounds prepared pizza dough
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water
- 4 tbsp My Garlic Junkie Seasoning
- 1 ½ cups marinara sauce
- ½ cup additional shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat your Traeger grill to 375*.
- Prepare your ingredients– bring the dough up to room temperature, finely dice the pepperoni and break an egg into a bowl and whisk with 1 tsp cold water.
- On a cutting board, cut a piece of pizza dough about the size of a deck of card.
- Gently stretch it with your hands and brush two sides with beaten egg.
- On one half of the dough piece, pile mozzarella cheese, pepperoni pieces and more mozzarella cheese.
- Fold the dough in half and seal it along the sides with the brushed egg.
- Use the tongs of a fork to press the sides together, securing the dough.
- With the remaining side open, stuff a little extra cheese in the hole and then seal with egg wash and fork technique.
- Arrange the cheesy pizza bite on a cookie sheet and repeat with remaining ingredients.
- Once all the pizza bites are assembled, bruch the top of each with the remaining egg wash.
- Sprinkle the tops generously with Garlic Junkie seasoning.
- Place the cookie sheets in the grill and bake for about 7 minutes.
- After 7 minutes, rotate the cookie sheets 180* and continue cooking for 5-7 more minutes until golden brown.
- Remove the bites from the grill and transfer to a serving platter or basket.
- Heat the marinara sauce on the stovetop or in the microwave until very hot.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and stir in the remaining mozzarella cheese.
- Serve everything immediately and hot! Enjoy!
Instead of pizza dough that I didn’t have at the time I used flour tortillas. The next time I made homemade dinner rolls those were the bomb. But easier with tortillas. We also by a Papa Murphy’s pizza on Tuesday for twelve bucks and. Smoke it on our Traeger for an hour and a half or 2 hours depending how thick the makings are. I roll over the dough and spray the bottom of the tray that comes with it with olive oil spray then slide that and the pizza on the grill. I also add extra cheese and things on the top for extra good pizza. Love the taste of pizza on the smoker. Turns out perfect every time
Great ideas, Denise. Thank you!