Pull-Apart Pizza Buns; why didn’t I think of this before? I used my old-faithful bun recipe to create this cheesy and super fun appetizer. Make it for your next party to earn extra points with your favourite people!
These buns take a little bit of effort but they are well worth the work my friends. This recipe uses the dough from my Perfect White Buns. We made tiny little buns and stuffed each with a mixture of cream cheese, mozzarella, spinach, and basil (you can use vegan options of the cheeses). AH-mazing! Seriously, why didn’t I think of this sooner? To top it all off we served them with a simple homemade pizza dipping sauce that is wayyyy better than anything store bought.
While this is a bit more indulgent than some of my other recipes, there is something about a homemade treat that is so much more satisfying (and impressive) than anything store-bought. And if you’re going to splurge, make it count!
Now, if you want to take this up a health notch use whole wheat or spelt flour for the dough – I love them this way as well! This recipe is vegetarian but if you wanted to give this a try and make it vegan replace the filling with a vegan cheese, omit the egg white wash and use sugar instead of honey in the bread dough!
If you want to cut some corners you can buy premade pizza dough and fill each bun with a cube of mozzarella. I recommend the real deal but I know what it feels like when you don’t have an extra hour to spare but still want to put out something impressive for guests!
For more holiday appetizers try these Cranberry Brie Hand Pies, this Pear and Brie Crostini, or these Rosemary Roasted Nuts!
Pull-Apart Pizza Buns
Pull-Apart Pizza Buns
These Pull-Apart Pizza Buns is so delicious and perfect for entertaining!
Ingredients
Tomato Dipping Sauce
- 1 796mL can whole tomatoes*
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- salt and pepper to taste
Filling
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella (or vega mozza)
- 1/4 cup cream cheese (or vegan cream cheese)
- 1/4 cup fresh basil (finely chopped)
- 1 cup fresh spinach (finely chopped)
Buns
- 1/2 batch Perfect White Bun dough (see link in text above)
- 1 egg white
Instructions
Tomato Dipping Sauce
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In a bowl with high sides, combine all the sauce ingredients and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
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Transfer sauce into a small saucepan and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes until the sauce has thickened to a dipping consistency.
Filling + Buns
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In a medium bowl, mix together all of the filling ingredients until fully incorporated. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
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Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and place a small bowl (around 4" in diameter) upside down on the baking sheet.
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Taking 25g of perfect bun dough, flatten it out into a 2-3" circle. Take approximately 2 teaspoons of filling rolled into a ball and place the filling in the centre of the dough and fold the dough over the cheese. Pinch the bottom of the dough together completely so that the cheese is fully sealed inside your bun.
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Arrange filled buns around the bowl (seam side down) on the parchment lined baking sheet, starting with one inner circle and forming a second circle around it. Remove the bowl and cover the tray with a clean dish towel. Set in a warm draft-free area to rise until doubled, around 1-1 1/2 hours.
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Preheat your oven to 375 F. Brush the top of each bun lightly with egg white and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the buns are golden brown.
If you enjoyed this Pull-Apart Pizza Bun Wreath leave us a comment below! We’d also love to hear what your favourite holiday appetizers are.
Yum! I do not like to cook (thankfully, my husband takes care of this in our home), however I thought I would give this recipe a try – and it did not disappoint. This is fairly easy to make (I was able to do it all on my own). Once it was out of the oven, my husband added melted garlic butter on top of the buns and finely grated parmesan to give it a little something extra. We will definitely be doing this again – soon!
Looks gorgeous and I will definitely be making this for the holidays (and for my family this weekend!). Your new site looks amazing and I love the Fraiche Living vibe Tori!!
Thank you so much Candace! And can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Excited to try this for a work potluck!
Just a question though, if making the Perfect White Buns recipe can we freeze the other half of the dough at step 6 of that receipe?
Thanks!
I haven’t tried freezing the dough before, so not sure how it would work out! I’d bake it into buns and then freeze those buns for future use!
Hi Tori, I am making this today, at what point could I refrigerate the assembled product? Stuff them then put in the fridge and then let them rise after taking them out? About 2 hours after taking them out of the fridge?
Hi Dina! If you’re wanting to make them ahead of time I would bake them and then refrigerate. Or if you’re serving them today you can put them in the fridge to slow down the rising process but I haven’t tried this before!
Hi Tori!
Have you tried making this ahead of time and then reheating when it’s ready to serve?
Thank you!
Allison
Hi Allison,
I haven’t but I think that if you baked it until it was just lightly golden then reheated it – but I don’t think I would bake it a day ahead? I would have to try! Let me know if you give it a whirl!
Tori,
This looks incredible. Is there a Gluten after option for this receipe? Thank you in advance.
Very delicious Tori!
Just made these tonight. Big hit! I cheated and stuffed them with « Boursin » (garlic and herb) and I added some pesto and fresh grated Parmesan to the dipping sauce and served it warm. The family loved it!
Amazing Linda! That sounds delicious! Thanks for the review, I really appreciate it. Tori