Loaded English Muffin Pizzas
Quick mini pizzas on toasted English muffins, piled with seasoned ground beef, pepperoni, pizza sauce, and bubbly mozzarella.
Ingredients
- 6 English muffins split in half
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ pound ground beef
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup pizza sauce
- 24-30 pepperoni slices
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese optional
- Chopped fresh parsley or basil optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
- Arrange the English muffin halves cut-side up on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 4–5 minutes, just until lightly toasted. This helps prevent soggy pizzas.
- While the muffins toast, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook for 5–7 minutes, breaking it into small crumbles, until browned and fully cooked.
- Drain any excess grease. Season the beef with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper. Stir well and remove the skillet from the heat.
- Spread approximately 1½ tablespoons of pizza sauce over each toasted English muffin half.
- Divide the cooked ground beef evenly among the muffins. Add two or three pepperoni slices to each one.
- Sprinkle generously with shredded mozzarella and Parmesan, if using.
- Bake for 8–10 minutes, until the cheese is completely melted and bubbling.
- For a deeply browned top, broil the pizzas for 1–2 minutes, watching them closely so they don’t burn.
- Let the pizzas cool for 2–3 minutes. Garnish with parsley or basil and serve warm.
Notes
Toasting the muffins before topping is the key step for a crisp base that holds up under the sauce and cheese. Swap the ground beef for Italian sausage or turkey, and set out extra toppings so everyone can build their own.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!