Pizza Sticks are a super fun snack to serve at your next tailgate or any party
Happy Tailgating Snacks Month! We first made her Grilled Cheese Roll Ups for Super Bowl 2014. And, if you’ve spent any time on Pinterest, you’ve probably seen these Grilled Cheese Roll Ups already. I first saw these on ChinDeep, so this whole recipe was inspired by her roll ups.
When I started talking to Dan about these Pizza Sticks, I asked, “Do you remember those grilled cheese roll ups?” To which he said, oh yes, I think about them all the time!” hee hee. So, they are that good. But, I wanted to switch ‘em up a little: a smear of Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce (find the recipe here) inside. Mmmm, he liked the idea.
He suggested that we use shredded mozzarella instead of sliced processed cheese (he isn’t a big fan of the flavor of those cheese slices). He also wanted to try baking them instead of just frying them in butter in a skillet.
I’m game, but I did want to try all the different variations: shredded cheese, sliced cheese, baked, fried. All the pizza sticks got a smear of pizza sauce. And, one of the pizza sticks got some pepperoni (and, yes, he loved it!!!). So here are all the different variations we tried:
- Fried, with sliced cheese
- Fried, with shredded mozzarella
- Baked, with sliced cheese
- Baked, with shredded mozzarella
- Some of the baked ones got a light spray of olive oil and some were left dry
- Crusts cut off
- Crusts left on
In the end, after all our testing and tasting and more testing and more tasting (the work we do to make sure these recipes are great for you!), The clear winner was the baked, with shredded mozzarella.
The processed sliced cheese oozed out of the sticks much more easily than the shredded mozzarella, and it was easier to roll up the sticks with shredded mozzarella. We both liked the flavor of the shredded mozzarella better than the processed cheese.
The skillet fried Pizza Sticks were crispy and light on the outside and cheesy and yummy on the inside. But, they were greasier. If you want to try the skillet fried method, just melt a little butter in your skillet, and fry up the Pizza Sticks like you would a grilled cheese sandwich. The added convenience of baking them, so you could make up a whole big batch of them all at once, and not have to stand over the stove turning and flipping them, was awesome! So that was a definite win!
The baked Pizza Sticks that were sprayed with olive oil had a slightly more toasty appearance than the ones without oil, but it was so slight that I don’t think you need to take the extra step or the extra calories to spray them.
And, as for the crusts, it didn’t seem to matter as far as the flavor or the ease of rolling them out. But the fact that they were bigger and there was no wasted crust that you have to throw away or find a new purpose for, was a big bonus. So, unless you have picky kids who won’t eat crusts at all, simply leave the crust on, and save yourself some time.
Pizza Sticks Recipe
Pizza Sticks
Ingredients
- 6 slices soft fresh white bread
- Shredded mozzarella
- Pizza Sauce homemade preferred
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Flatten each slice of bread with a rolling pin until very flat. Spread ½ to 1 tablespoon pizza sauce over the surface of the bread, leaving a small strip of bread without any sauce.
- Sprinkle shredded mozzarella over the sauce, being careful not to over fill the Pizza Stick. Starting at the filled end of the slice, roll the filled slice up into a tight roll. With wet fingers, lightly moisten the bread end of the slice, and press the bread firmly to the other side to seal the roll.
- Place the rolls on a silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet, and bake at 425 degrees F, and bake for 7-10 minutes, or until Pizza Sticks have browned a bit and the cheese is starting to look melty.
- Serve pizza sticks with additional Pizza Sauce for dipping.
Notes
For Printing: Find the Really easy Pizza Sauce recipe here: https://lifecurrentsblog.com/easy-homemade-pizza-sauce/
My stomach was growling before I clicked on this and now it’s just downright painful. Oh my, I would say these would disappear fast at any tailgating or anytime.
I noticed this on a Buzzfeed video the other day, I’m glad you made these so I could see someone I trusted to make them. I thought it was such a cool idea when I watched the video. Glad you made them! I might have to try these.
What a fantastic, easy and crowd pleasing recipe. Thanks so much for sharing your test results. I love that we get to test, taste, and then come up with a winner. My family will love these, and I love the quick and easy recipe. Sharing!!!!
Those look amazing! Love how easy to make these are!
What an awesome recipe. Such fun for kids and adults.
These look so dang tasty! It scares me to think of how many of these i could eat at one sitting 😉
LOVE these, cheese and tomato is one of my favourite flavour combinations. Love how simple these are!
This is such a guilty pleasure for me.. I love all sorts of different pizza items. This will have to be added to the menu for next week 😉
My daughter would love these! Thanks for the idea!
What an interesting snack! So easy!
Such a clever idea!! Pinned! 🙂
I love this idea, pinned for later!