Cheesy Mini Pizza
I made this 10-minute air fryer cheesy mini pizza right after my mushroom Margherita pizza because I had lots of leftover pizza ingredients, including a focaccia bread in the freezer. By “mini”, I am referring to a small pizza or pizzetta roughly 15 cm in diameter. This is such a fast recipe that I made it in time before going to work in the morning. It took me less than an hour to make the recipe, including editing a few photos, cleaning up and eating the pizza for breakfast :) If you are using a toaster oven or regular oven, it will take a 5-7 more minutes to bake than in the air fryer.
Variations:
- Mushroom Margherita Mini Pizza
- Margherita Focaccia Pizza
- Hawaiian Focaccia Pizza
- Heirloom Tomato Focaccia Pizza
My cheesy mini pizza was made with 3 types of cheese – shredded pizza cheese (mozzarella + cheddar) and fresh mozzarella. Since a mini pizza is small, you can use any random toppings (literally scraps) – I used mushroom, olive and cherry tomato.
MAIN INGREDIENTS (Cheesy Mini Pizza)
- Mini pizza bread options. I am using focaccia bread from Saizeriya. Besides focaccia, you can use frozen pizza base, pita bread, flat bread, puff pastry and naan. The size of a mini pizza is approximately 15-cm.
- Pizza sauce – I am using a two-in-one pizza & pasta sauce. Leftover sauce can be frozen in an ice cube tray.
- Shredded pizza cheese – mine is made of mozzarella and cheddar.
- Fresh mozzarella cheese – I tear the fresh cheese to small pieces by hand. The cheese will melt nicely when baked.
- Random Toppings – I am literally using food scraps like black olive, mushroom and cherry tomato. You can also omit the toppings to enjoy the cheese on its own.
- Garnishes – Freshly cracked pink salt (optional), basil & parsley, red pepper flakes & extra-virgin olive oil.
TIP:
I froze freshly bought focaccia bread immediately by wrapping it in cling, followed by foil. This method will keep the bread well in the freezer for more than a month. There is no need to thaw the bread – just use it immediately upon taking it out from the freezer.
Before Baking:
Garnish the pizza in this order:
- Spread the pizza sauce evenly on each bread using the back of a spoon, leaving a small gap around the edges.
- Add a layer of shredded cheese,
- Garnish with torn pieces of fresh mozzarella cheese and your choice of toppings.
After Baking:
Garnish with pink salt, basil & parsley, evoo and chilli flakes.
Cheesy Mini Pizza Recipe
If you are baking the pizza in the air fryer, take care not to burn the pizza as the air fryer cooks the pizza really quickly.
1 mini pizza will fit a toaster tray or most regular-sized air fryers. If you are baking the pizza in a regular oven, make 2 mini pizzas as they will fit an oven tray perfectly.
Check out the ingredients and step-by-step photos on the previous page.
Ingredients:
- one mini (about 15cm) pizza base use focaccia bread, instant pizza base, flat bread, pita bread, puff pastry or naan
Toppings Per Pizza (Estimate by Eye):
- 1-2 tbsp pizza sauce (or pasta sauce such as marinara sauce)
- 20g fresh Mozzarella cheese drained, patted dry & torn by hand to small pieces
- 20g shredded pizza cheese
- 1 button mushroom sliced thinly
- 1 cherry tomato sliced thinly
- 1 pitted black olive sliced thinly
Suggested Garnishes
- fresh basil
- parsley (dried and/or fresh sprigs)
- freshly cracked (pink) salt
- sprinkle of red chilli pepper flakes
- a small drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
- Prepare the pizza. Place each focaccia bread on an air fryer paper liner, or two pizzas side-by-side on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Spread the pizza sauce evenly on each bread using the back of a spoon, leaving a small gap around the edges. Top the pizza with a layer of shredded cheese, followed by torn pieces of mozzarella cheese, mushroom, cherry tomato and olive.
- Method 1: Bake in an air fryer. Bake in air fryer for 5 minutes (no need to preheat). If you have a second pizza to cook immediately, reduce the baking time to 4 minutes. If the cheese is not melted, just leave the pizza inside the air fryer for another minute or so, as the hot air inside the air fryer will continue to cook the pizza. Method 2: Bake in oven. Preheat oven to 200°C (392°F). Bake in toaster oven for about 8 mins, or in a regular oven for 10-12 minutes, until the crust is lightly golden and the cheese is melted.
- Garnish pizza with basil/parsley, a small sprinkle of pink salt, red chilli pepper flakes and a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Cooking Note:
Instead of precisely measuring the ingredients, estimate the ingredients (pizza sauce, cheese, mushroom, tomato etc) required by eye, since this is a small pizza.