Every time I see a commercial for pepperoni pizza on TV, I get that little craving, but in my mostly keto life, that has to be saved for the once in a blue moon times. However, now that I’ve discovered these keto pepperoni Mozzaralla snacks, I can enjoy the idea of pepperoni pizza much more frequently.

I’ve used both whole milk and skim milk shredded mozzarella and pepperoni. In place of pepperoni, you could use chopped salami, or cooked crumbled sausage.

I stick these in my toaster oven at 400 degrees for about 6 to 10 minutes. Check and see at 6. The cheese will still be ozzing and you might not think they are done. Notice the outside crispiness, which will tell you they are done. Give them five minutes to cool and the cheese will solidify.

I like Boar’s head pepperoni which is slightly spicy. You can use any brand you like.

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Why Do I Like Pepperoni Mozzarella Bites

• Easy to Make takes less than ten minutes.
• Satisfies a pizza craving without any dough.
• No Carbs. A snack that satisfies, doesn’t make you hungrier.

More Low Carb Ideas

• Olive Feta Salad
• How to Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
• Pimento Cheese Egg Salad Wraps
• Carnivore Waffles (eggs, mozzarella)

My Favorite Smart Toaster Oven

A snack like the pepperoni mozzarella can be made in minutes without heating your big oven.

The smart toaster oven I use is this Breville Model. It’s well worth it. You will use it everyday.

If you haven’t yet invested in a smart toaster oven, I hope to encourage you to consider this purchase. There are endless ways to use the smart oven because of all the modes, such as toast, roast, bake, airfry, reheat frozen, and so on.

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Keto Pizza Pepperoni Mozzarella Snack

Make Pepperoni Mozzarella Snack in less than ten minutes.

Course Healthy Snack

Cuisine Italian

Keyword pepperoni

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup mozzarella
• 9 slices pepperoni

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Arrange mozzarella in flat mounds on parchment paper. Add Pepperoni.
• Bake for 5-8 minutes until edges are browned. You may think it's not done, but cheese will solidify within a few minutes. You should be able to pick it up without it dropping.

The post Keto Pepperoni Mozzarella Snack appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

While I have a good low-carb, traditional sausage ball recipe here, made with breakfast sausage and cheddar, this stands out above the norm. When a reader recently commented how these sausage balls turned out, I thought I’d try a different take and make these Italian style.

I had to add pepperoni for zing and of course use Italian sausage and mozzarella.

Italian Sausage Balls Ingredients

• Loose Italian sausage
• pepperoni
• almond flour
• egg
• mozzarella cheese

I actually made two different kinds to see which I would like better. One batch was made with cream cheese, and one batch with eggs.

Egg Free Option

The recipe with eggs was more tender, easier to make and all around better. However, you wanted an egg free sausage ball, mix in 4 tablespoons cream cheese in place of the eggs.

Macros

You should be able to get about 24 to 26 sausage balls at 1 carb each, making this the perfect low-carb appetizer, but delicious enough for anyone and great for folks needing a gluten free option.

Italian Sausage Balls Cooking Process

• Bring all ingredients together, but try not compact the sausage, which can make the balls tough.
• Roll into balls
• Bake at 350 degrees F, 180 C. for about 15 minutes.
• Cool on paper towels.

The best thing about these is that you can freeze these uncooked ahead and always have an appetizer ready to go in 15 minutes.

Freezing Process

• Roll out onto a tray. Freeze UNCOOKED.
• Once frozen, place in plastic freezer bag.
• Bake frozen 15-20 minutes.

You may or may not want to serve with pizza sauce. We like them just by themselves, but a dipping tomato sauce could be good too.

Optional Pizza Sauce

You can serve these with my pizza sauce if desired.

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Italian Sausage Balls Appetizer

Delicious appetizer or brunch item, keto friendly, gluten free, grain free, Italian sausage with mozzarella, almond flour, pepperoni.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Italian sausage, sausage balls

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 24 sausage balls

Calories 72kcal

Ingredients

• 1 pound Mild Italian Sausage
• 1 cup almond flour or 1 1/3 cups regular flour
• 2 small eggs beaten
• 2 cups whole milk mozzarella cheese shredded
• 10 pieces pepperoni, chopped (about 1/2 cup loosely packed)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, 180 C
• Mix by hand all Ingredients.
• Using small sized scoop, roll out 24-26 sausage balls.
• Place on baking sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes.

To Freeze

• Arrange UNCOOKED on tray and freeze. Once frozen, place In freezer ziplock bag.
• When ready to bake, bake frozen, 15 to 20 minutes. Check at 15.

Nutrition

Calories: 72kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 6g | Fat: -16g

The post Italian Sausage Balls Appetizer Made with Almond Flour appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

We loved it so much, I’ve made it three times already, and I have to share it with you.

It’s not that you couldn’t figure out how to do this, but you may not think of it. 

Pork Panko for Breading the Eggplant Parmesan Pepperoni

It all starts with low carb Pork Panko, which are processed pork skins. If you don’t have the official Pork Panko, make your own using pork rinds and a food processor. I buy my Pork Panko at Costco, where it’s the most affordable and comes in a two-pack.

Frying with Pork Panko. Every time I  make eggplant parmesan, I  learn something new. This last time I  learned that frying eggplant with Pork Panko yields the best result when using NO oil. Yes, that’s right. The eggplant turned out very crispy and the eggplant was delicious. Fry on low. I  know it’s very tempting to turn up the heat, but the eggplant will be creamier inside when cooked low and slow.

Topping Eggplant Parm with Pepperoni. Are you a pizza lover? I  am, but avoid it most of the time, even the so called keto fat head pizzas, which is just too much cheese for me. When I top my eggplant parmesan with pepperoni, I  get the best of both worlds. 

Tomato Sauce. I stick to my guns on this. There are two things that come in jars that I never buy: Salad dressing and tomato sauce.

You can buy your own sauce, but it’s so much easier to make a quick tomato sauce. My homemade pizza sauce will work perfectly with this recipe because you won’t be using much and it only calls for one can of Cento San Marzano tomatoes. If you want to make a lot more sauce, make my grandmother’s authentic tomato sauce and freeze left overs in ziplock bags for future Italian meals like this sausage crust four cheese pizza (totally keto friendly). 

Thick or thin eggplant. Taking notes from my great godmother and favorite Aunt Rita, I  like to cut my eggplant on the thicker side for eggplant parm and thinner when it’s just a fried snack. You have the choice of layering eggplant or making one layer of thicker slices. 

Remove skin or not.  I did not do this and realized I should have. I used rather large eggplants and the skin was a little tough. If you use small, young eggplants, you may not need to do that.

Salt or not. You may read that salting raw eggplant slices does or doesn’t matter. What it does do is release water and make it easier to fry. I always salt my eggplant on the counter for at least an hour and then use paper towels to absorb the released water and remove the salt. 

These tips above should result is crispy eggplant that is ready to make eggplant parmesan.

Assemble with sauce, your favorite mozzarella, and pepperoni, baking until the cheese is fully melted, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool for another 15 minutes before serving.    

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More Dishes from Spinach Tiger

Italian  Stuffed Eggplant

Italian Eggplant Soup with Sausage

Low Carb Chicken Parm with Pepperoni

Keto Sausage Crusted Pizza with Four Cheeses

Keto Fried Eggplant

Swordfish with Eggplant Sauce

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Low Carb Eggplant Parmesan with Pepperoni

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 eggplants
• salt
• 4 eggs may use less
• 2 cups pork panko ORDER HERE
• 2 cups tomato sauce recipe here
• 1 pound mozzarella cheese shredded
• olive oil coconut oil or avocado oil for frying
• 12 slices pepperoni could use more or less

Instructions

• Slice eggplant. I like it medium thick, about 1 inch if I'm baking it without stacking it. I recommend first slicing off the dark skin.
• Sweat the eggplant. Lay out on cloth or paper towels and salt heavily on both sides. Use more cloth or paper towels to absorb the liquid.
• Beat 2 eggs. Use more as needed.
• Add salt and pepper into eggs.
• Mix panko with cheese. I like to use 1/2 cup cheese to 1 cup pork panko, but you can decide for yourself. Keep in mind that pecorino is salty, but I think that adds flavor. You CAN skip the pecorino, if you want to or replace with parmesan.
• Dip into egg, then breadcrumbs and fry eggplant over medium heat in oil of your choice until golden brown on each side. Drain on paper towels. If you are using a copper chef non-stick pan (I highly recommend for this), you don't need any oil and you will get a very crispy eggplant.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Put small amount tomato sauce in bottom of baking dish.
• Layer eggplant with sauce and mozzarella cheese. I like one layer, but you can make several layers. Top with pepperoni.
• Bake until cheese is completely melted and slightly golden brown. Allow to rest 10 minutes before cutting.

The post Low Carb Eggplant Parmesan Pepperoni appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

People often ask me what my favorite food is. It’s simple. It’s Italian food. This does not mean heavy red sauce and gobs of cheese. But sometimes old school Italian calls my name, like chicken parmesan.

This is the third chicken parmesan recipe here at Spinach Tiger and it might be my favorite. Using Pork Panko, my new go to for breading cutlets and more, this is as close as I can get to my mom’s chicken cutlets.

You might recall my most recent post using pork panko, low-carb eggplant parmesan.  Pork panko does everything regular panko bread crumbs do, but without the carbs. If you do not have pork panko, substitute with almond flour, or make your own panko with pork skins.

Adding pepperoni is fun and reminds me of pizza. Keto Chicken Parmesan is completely keto compliant as it’s basically carb free and high in fat.

The key to any good Italian dinner is good ingredients. I like air-chilled chicken cutlets, a light tomato sauce and a freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese. This may be a retro dish with a low-carb twist, but it’s still deserves to be amazing.

How to Tell When Chicken Cutlets are Done

These cutlets aren’t as thin as I usually make them, and whether you pound them super flat or not will be up to you. These are fried in avocado oil on medium high heat for a few minutes on each side. Keep in mind they will be going into the oven to melt the cheese. Chicken is done at 165 degrees F.

I also always mix parmesan or pecorino cheese in with the pork panko crumbs. It adds flavor! Just because you’re eating low-carb or grain free, that doesn’t mean you want to sacrifice flavor and the joy of food. Keto Chicken Parmesan is old school with a new keto twist. Enjoy!

The only thing I would serve in addition to this is a nice green salad with a red wine or lemon vinaigrette.

If you are following a low carb diet and you have a family, feel free to serve this with a side of spaghetti or orzo.

More Italian Food from Spinach Tiger

Pork Panko Fried Eggplant

Keto Eggplant Parmesan

More Italian Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Keto Eggplant Parmesan

Four Cheese Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Spaghetti Squash Casserole with Italian Sausage

Keto Fried Eggplant

Spaghetti Squash with Shrimp

Low Carb with Edamame Pasta

Shrimp with Spicy Onion Tomato Butter Sauce

Italian Sausage with Broccoli Rabe

More Keto Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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Keto Chicken Parmesan with Pepperoni with Pork Panko

Pork Panko Crusted Keto Chicken Parmesan, Low Carb, Paleo, Grain Free

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 cups tomato sauce RECIPE HERE may not use all
• 1 pound chicken boneless chicken breasts
• 2 eggs may use less
• 2 to 4 cups pork panko ORDER HERE Can use almond flour
• 1 cup pecorino romano
• olive oil or avocado oil for frying
• 1 pound mozzarella cheese grated
• pepperoni slices 2-3 per cutlet
• Parmesan cheese grated for table

Instructions

• Trim chicken cutlets from any fat. Flatten with meat pounder.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Beat egg with a few tablespoons of water.
• Mix Pork Panko (or almond flour) with Pecorino Romano
• Dip cutlets into egg and panko crumbs.
• Heat frying pan with about 1/8 inch oil to medium high.
• Put in chicken cutlets, leaving room in pan for turning. Don't crowd.
• Turn heat to medium low.
• You may have to cook in batches.
• Drain on Paper Towels
• Place chicken cutlets in one layer in baking dish,
• Top with tomato sauce, cheese, pepperoni.
• Bake at 400 degrees F. for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
• Serve with extra parmesan cheese.

The post Keto Chicken Parmesan with Pepperoni with Pork Panko appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

It’s easy to put together and I’m so in love with everything sheet pan lately. I’ve made entire meals using either my stone sheet pan this aluminum sheet pan, roasting everything at once. Then I got this wild idea to make a sheet pan pizza.

I used my alumium sheet pan because I took my oven up to 550 degrees. You don’t have to do that. You can make this pizza at 400 or 450 degrees, but it may take a little longer to bake. I love this stone baking sheet and it will go up to 450 degrees. I bake or roast every day in the stone sheet pan.

I use store-bought dough which is about 16 ounces, and I stretch it thinly in the pan. It does not have to reach the sides. We love thin crust, and I try to get it as thin as possible without making holes.

I have a few pizza secrets for easy sheet pan pizza.

1. If you don’t have time to make homemade dough, use store bought dough (read below to see my favorite).
2. Use pizza sauce sparingly.
3. Scatter your toppings.
4. Go light on cheese when using fresh mozzarella.
5. Go ahead and mix your meats. We love Italian sausage and pepperoni, but we scatter instead of layer.
6. Allow ingredients like cheese to come to room temperature so everything bakes evenly.
7. Put fresh herbs such as basil on pizza when it comes out of the oven. 

My Favorite Store Bought Pizza Dough for Sheet Pan Pizza

When you need to make a lot of pizza use a grocery store dough. One batch fits the sheet pan almost perfectly. After testing out a few, Trader Joe’s pizza dough is my favorite and this is not a paid post. It doesn’t have the same elasticity of Publix dough, but it’s much easier to work with and more consistent in baking.

My Favorite Pizza Sauce for Sheet Pan Pizza

My second secret is to use pizza sauce sparingly. An overload of sauce won’t allow the crust to brown properly and it’s not necessary. Think of the pizza sauce as more of a condiment for your toppings. I use a high quality brand of tomato puree, add a tad of olive oil, salt, pepper and sometimes some fresh oregano. That’s it. It’s clean, simple.

A cooking tip regarding pizza sauce  is simply to save some of your tomato sauce from this basic tomato sauce recipe when you make spaghetti and freeze it for the future. A sheet plan pizza doesn’t need more than a cup of sauce.

Scatter Your Toppings for a Sheet Pan Pizza

Forget all that heavy layering that the pizza delivery companies do. They are trying to show value, not necessarily good taste.  That’s no way to enjoy pizza. Scatter your toppings so that each bite of pizza gives you something different. It’s a more authentic way to make Italian pizza and it will bake better.

How to Cut Sheet Pan Pizza

Here is a sheet pan pizza I made with sausage and red onion. So good. Cut down the center lengthwise and cut into triangles.

So tell me are you into the sheet pan trend for making easy meals?

Lets connect on Instagram.  I’d love to see you there.

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Sheet Pan Pizza with Trader Joe's Pizza Dough

How to Make Sheet Pan Pizza with seven tips including my favorite pizza crust.

Course Pizza

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 16

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 16 ounce pizza dough
• 1 cup easy pizza sauce
• 2-3 cups fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup broccoli rabe recipe here
• 3 links Italian Sausage cooked, crumbled
• 2 ounces pepperoni cheese
• cornmeal for bottom of pan

Easy Pizza Sauce Ingredients

• 1 small can high quality tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• dash salt pepper
• fresh oregano

Instructions

• Take pizza dough out of refrigerator at least 60 minutes in advance.
• Preheat oven to from 450 to 550 degrees
• Sprinkle sheet pan wth corn meal (to prevent sticking.)
• Stretch dough out on sheet pan.
• Spread pizza sauce lightly, leaving room for crust.
• Place sausage, broccoli rabe and pepperoni in scattered way.
• Bake in lowest rack of oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Easy Pizza Sauce Instructions

• Heat tomato puree with olive oil, salt, pepper.
• If you have fresh oregano, add that in.
• You can substitute with a dash of oregano, but I usually don't like that heavier taste.

More Pizza Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Thin Crust Pizza with Homemade Dough

Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Pizza with Video

Peach Pizza on the Grill

The post Sheet Pan Pizza with Trader Joe’s Pizza Dough appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

My grandfather was often referred to as a piece of bread in Italian,  pezzo di pane.

If someone is a piece of bread, it means they are like the salt of the earth, someone you treasure for all the right reasons. I’m not sure how it came to be, but there is probably a tie in with the Italian Catholic faith and what bread means. Or, maybe because bread is so comforting, that it found its way in describing a person that people feel good around.

I recently visited a good friend in the Niagara Falls area that I would not hesitate to call  a piece of bread. Paula was there at the worst time of my life and it was difficult to leave the friendship behind and move to Nashville. She has since relocated back to her home town and we finally visited her. It’s the kind of friendship that just picks right back up, where there is an understanding of souls, and anything and everything can be talked about amongst a level of respect that families don’t often offer.

Families tread into deep waters saying too much, expecting too much. Good friends know when to quit, know how to accept differences, because they don’t define each other through each other.

Paula introduced me to the food of Niagara Falls years ago in California because she would come back from a visit loaded down with bread from Di Camillo’s Bakery and Margherita pepperoni from the Latina Marketplace, an Italian grocery store in her neighborhood. If I was lucky, she’d share a little.

On our way home, we stopped at De Camillo’s and Latina’s to bring food back.  I’m not sure what their secret is (Paula says it’s the water), but the bread is different, better than some of our very good bakeries here. Italian bread is not french bread. It has a different flavor.

Pepperoni Or Hard Salami Sandwich? Why Not?

A really good pepperoni curls when you bake it or fry it because it comes in its natural casing. As it curls, it releases some of the fat, but stays in the little circle, making a better pizza. All I can say is that I have never been wild about pepperoni until now. People don’t put pepperoni on sandwiches very often, because it’s a pizza thing, but this has now become a favorite snack or lunch. You only need a little bit because the flavor is so good, making the meat fat content fairly low.

We came home to more tomatoes in our garden, and decided quickly to make caprese sandwiches adding in some fried pepperoni.

As simple as this is, a recipe isn’t really needed.

While I like an Italian sub as much as anyone, it’s usually too much for me, and not something I eat very often. Italian food does not have to be heavy. It’s often that way, due to the American cultural influences. My hope is for you to enjoy tasting food in a more pleasant way and for your next party, I found a site showing some unique and fun ways to enjoy pepperoni.

On another day because all the pepperoni was gone, we made sandwiches using a good black peppered Italian salami. It doesn’t give the same flavor as pepperoni, but it’s a good substitute.

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Margherita Pepperoni Caprese Sandwich

It’s quality ingredients that make this sandwich special, fresh mozzarella, Margherita pepperoni, garden homegrown tomatoes and fresh basil on an Italian roll.

Servings 2

Ingredients

• Margherita pepperoni enough slices to cover the roll
• 2 Italian rolls
• six slices fresh mozzarella cheese or enough for two rolls
• olive oil
• 1 fresh tomato
• few leaves basil
• salt pepper

Instructions

• Slice pepperoni medium thickness and fry in frying pan until it’s charred around the rim and shrinks to a cup. Pat grease with paper towel.
• Toast rolls.
• On bottom roll place mozzarella cheese, drizzle some olive oil, salt and pepper, add tomato, add a little more olive oil and salt, and top with pepperoni.

The post Caprese Sandwich with Margherita Pepperoni appeared first on Spinach Tiger.