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n assortment of pizzette - mini pizzas - on a baking sheet including meat pizza, vegetarian pizza and vegan pizza
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5 from 1 vote

Mini Pizzas (Pizzette) with meaty, vegetarian and vegan toppings

Small enough to hold in one hand, mini pizzas make fantastic finger food for any party. Make a batch of these little pizzas and add a variety of toppings to cater for all tastes and dietary requirements. There are meaty, veggie and vegan pizzetta options included here.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Proving1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 20 minutes
Course: snack/ appetiser
Cuisine: Italian
Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 9
Calories: 315kcal

Ingredients

For the Dough

  • 500 g Strong bread flour
  • teaspoon Fast-action dried yeast (quick yeast) see notes
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 340 ml Water tepid

For the Tomato Sauce

  • 200 g Tinned tomatoes
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • ½ teaspoon Dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon Olive oil

Meaty Topping (enough for 6 x 3-inch pizzette)

  • 2 slices Prosciutto ham
  • 6 slices Picked jalapeño chillis
  • 45 g Parmesan cheese finely grated

Vegetarian Topping (enough for 6 x 3-inch pizzette)

  • 2 handfuls Fresh spinach
  • 3 Artichokes halves marinated in oil
  • 60 g Blue cheese e.g. gorgonzola or dolcelatte

Vegan Topping (enough for 6 x 3-inch pizzette)

  • 8 Cherry tomatoes
  • 10 g Fresh basil
  • 30 g Vegan Greek-style cheese I used Violife

Instructions

Make the Dough

  • Put the flour into a medium-sized bowl then add the salt to one side and the yeast to the other. Pour ¾ of the water into the bowl
  • Use a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients together, adding more water as necessary until a soft dough forms that incorporates all of the flour. You may not need all of the liquid
  • Knead, either by hand or in a machine, for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic
  • Put a teaspoon of olive oil into a clean bowl, spread it around the base and sides with your fingers, then place the dough in the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 1-2 hours (or until doubled in size)
  • When risen, knock back and knead briefly. Your dough is ready to use

Prepare the Toppings

  • Pour the tinned tomatoes into a bowl along with the salt, oregano and oil
  • Use a hand to squash the tomatoes until they break down and all other ingredients are mixed in
  • For the meaty topping: (1) rip the prosciutto into strips (2) drain the jalapeño chillis from the brine and dice or cut into pieces (3) finely grate the cheese
  • For the veggie topping: (1) melt a small knob of butter in a pan, add the spinach and stir until just wilted. Remove from the pan and lay on kitchen towel to cool and blot (2) drain the artichoke from any preserving oil and chop roughly (3) dice the blue cheese
  • For the vegan topping: (1) cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters, toss in a little oil and lay on baking parchment. Season with a little salt and pepper then bake for 25 minutes. Let cool (2) cut the cheese into cubes (3) remove the basil leaves from the stems

Roll, Top and Bake

  • Preheat your oven to as hot as it will go (mine can heat to 275C/ 525F/ GM 11) and put 2 large baking sheets or pizza stones into the oven to heat up too
  • Divide the pizza dough according to your needs. There is sufficient dough to make 18 3-inch pizzette
  • Take 6 pieces of dough and cover the rest with a clean tea towel to prevent them from drying out. On a floured surface, roll out/ hand stretch the 6 pieces of dough to approx 3-inches each
  • Scatter coarse semolina or polenta onto another baking sheet and lay 3 of the prepared pizzette bases along the longer edge (as pictured). Add a teaspoon of tomato sauce then scatter the toppings of your choice over the bases (do not add items such as the basil or any vegan cheese that is not suitable for baking)
  • Open the oven, scatter a teaspoon of the semolina/ polenta over the pre-heated baking sheet and slide the prepared pizzette onto it. Quickly load the remaining 3 bases onto the cold baking sheet, add the toppings and slide into the oven too. Allow them to cook for 5-6 minutes,
  • As soon as the first 6 pizzette go into the oven, prepare the next 6 pieces of dough in the same fashion and get them into the oven as fast as possible
  • Finally, work on the last 6 pieces of dough in the same way and get them into the oven once there is space. Keep the first batch warm in a top oven if you have one or by covering with foil (if they do cool just pop back into the oven for 1-2 minutes when ready to serve)
  • Once baked add any no-bake toppings (basil leaves and the vegan Greek cheese) and serve

Notes

  • While the dough is proving prepare all your toppings
  • Turn your oven to 275C/ 525F or as close to this temperature a possible - the aim is to cook the small pizzas very quicky to produce a crisp base
  • To ensure a crisp base, ideally use pizza stones to cook the pizzette (this recipe makes eighteen 3-inch pizzette so cook in batches as necessary)
  • If you do not own pizza stones, simply place baking sheets in the oven as it warms up. Slide the mini pizzas onto this hot baking sheet when they are ready to cook (it give a far better result than using a cold baking sheet)
  • If using vegan cheese keep in mind that not all is suitable for cooking. Although some are melty cheeses, others (like the Greek-style cheese shown here) do not like oven-heat but can be scattered on a pizzetta once it is out of the oven
  • Remember to keep meat, vegetarian and vegan ingredients separate if catering for special dietary requirements. In this instance, it's a good idea to cook the vegan pizzette first, followed by the vegetarian then the meat to avoid cross-contamination
  • Just like the full-sized ones, these small pizzas should be cooked in a very hot oven or a dedicated pizza oven. They are not suitable for cooking on a BBQ, under a grill or in the microwave
  • Make them gluten-free: different flours often require different amounts of water and potentially, an additional ingredient or two. You'd be better off using a recipe specifically designed to be gluten-free in the first place, like this one. You may need to double the recipe to get the same quantity of pizzette
 
Making in Advance
These mini pizzas do warm up well, so can be made in advance. Simply let cool, then cover and chill for up to 48 hours. When ready to reheat, place them onto a baking sheet, cover with foil and cook for 3 minutes in a very hot oven.
Remember not to add any toppings that will wilt or disintegrate in the oven.
Alternatively, prepare the dough and the toppings ahead of time, ready for cooking later. Once the dough has been kneaded it can be put in the fridge to rise for 12-18 hours (The cool temperature slows down the ability of the dough to rise). Take out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for an hour before using.
Freezing Instructions
Once cooked, these pizzette can also be frozen. Simply let cool, open freeze, then transfer to a suitable freezer-proof bag or container and store for up to 2 months. To use, let defrost fully then reheat in the oven for a few minutes (never microwave pizza as doing so turns it soggy).
 
Note: Nutritional information calculated on the basis of 2 pizzette

Nutrition

Calories: 315kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 1863mg | Potassium: 376mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 2235IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 160mg | Iron: 3mg