Pizzakins {Individual Pizza Ramekins}

This recipe for Pizzakins (or individual pizza pot pies) was originally a sponsored post. Some links in this article are affiliate links that may earn me a commission if you purchase through them.

Pizza is one of our family favorites. The wee ones ask me to make it all.the.time. because I make it from scratch and just the way everyone likes it.

In fact, my no fail pizza dough recipe is one of the most popular recipes on my site.

I came up with this idea in an effort to allow everyone to eat hot pizza at the same time. With different toppings and needs, the last pizza out stays hot, and everyone else gets warm but not hot and perfect pizza.

I knew there had to be a way that we could all enjoy our pizzas at the same time, but I hadn’t stumbled upon it until this week.

With these pizza pot pies, I can contain my pizzas in their own “jar” and thus bake them all at once. This was a winner of a brainstorm. Pizza + ramekin = Pizzakin!

I realized that if I wanted to have the crust on the top of my individual pizzas, traditional pizza dough wouldn’t work well because it gets crispy and would be hard to eat with a fork. Biscuit dough on the other hand…. And my wheels kept turning.

I made this by poaching chicken and making homemade biscuits, but you could easily “cheat” and make this much faster with rotisserie chicken from the store and premade biscuits. But really, biscuits are easy, and I make biscuits from scratch with just a few ingredients all the time in my food processor.

This recipe is flexible enough that you can really use what you want in it.

Even better, this recipe is super flexible; check out the filling ideas I share below. The second time around, I used leftover chicken taco meat.

Why? This recipe was so popular around our house that a) Little Miss was mad that I only made her one pizzakin for lunch because she finished hers and wanted more and b) everyone raved about them so much after I made them for lunch that they begged until I agreed to make them again for dinner. The only chicken I had left was from chicken tacos the night before, and it worked just fine.

The wee ones won’t eat sauteed spinach on its own. However, when I mix the sauteed spinach into the shredded chicken and homemade sauce, the flavor gets masked, and they devoured it.

I love finding new ways to get them to eat more veggies. They knew the spinach was in there, because I’m not the mom who hides veggies, but it was served in a way that they enjoyed the spinach.

I kept the pizzakins fairly simple, but just like regular pizza, this would be so much fun to play with. Chopping artichoke hearts and adding them? Yum. Sundried tomatoes? Yes, please. Kalamata olives? Amen. Pepperoni for your meat lovers? Add it in. What would you put in your pizzakin?

What size ramekins should I use?

For these pizzakins, you want to use the large ramekins. Mine are 12 ounce ramekins that is the right size for a main course.

You can use smaller ramekins, but they will make more pizzakins, so be sure you have enough. You will likely need to serve more than one per person, as well.

And of course, if you use a smaller ramekin, reduce the bake time by 2-3 minutes.

What chicken should I use?

I use chicken breast because I find that it poaches and shreds well, but you can use chicken thighs if you prefer.

That said, you can also use leftover chicken from previous meals and simply chop it. This works great for things like grilled chicken, or you can use leftover chicken you’ve made for tacos that has additional flavors and spices added.

The fastest way to make these pizza pot pies, however, is to use rotisserie chicken and shred it. It’s a great way to meal prep in advance, and I buy a chicken and then shred or chop it to use for meals like cheesy chicken enchiladas or creamy chicken tortellini soup and more.

What cheese should I use?

For the standard recipe, I use mozzarella with parmesan cheese. Use “real” parmesan and not the stuff from the green can, as it doesn’t melt and doesn’t have the same flavor.

However, different pizzakin flavors can and should use different cheeses. For the Mexican inspired flavors, I like to use chihuahua or a Mexian blend. For the Italian beef, use provolone.

You can also use cheddar or your favorite complementary cheese, depending on what fillings you use. This is a fairly flexible recipe, so have fun with it!

Can I make this in advance?

You can prep it in advance, but don’t bake it until you want to eat. For this, you have several options.

I suggest prepping the filling in advance, which you can then store in a container in the fridge until you prep the rest of the pizzakins.

You can also make the biscuit dough and store it in the fridge until it’s time to bake them. If you put the biscuit dough on the ramekins, however, it will get soggy on the bottom and dry out on top.

Alternatively, use refrigerated biscuit dough, and just open the can to get the dough just before you bake them.

Can I bake these in something other than a ramekin?

Honestly? Not really.

This recipe is designed for individual portions that work well in a ramekin, and other vessels tend to not be designed for the oven or are too big.

If you use a casserole dish, for example, the pizzakins don’t bake through consistently. They either have the biscuit dough not baked in the middle, or the outside burns.

10 Fun Ideas for Pizzakins Flavors

1. Pepperoni: cut up and mixed into the chicken
2. Veggie: shredded potato, diced tomato, and asparagus with tomato sauce
3. Hawaiian: add Canadian bacon and pineapple
4. Chicken Alfredo: caramelized onion, sauteed spinach, and mushrooms mixed with alfredo sauce instead of tomato
5. Chicago style: Italian sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, and onions
6. Greek: spinach, chicken, diced tomato, kalamata olives, and feta
7. Italian beef: Italian beef, tomato sauce, and sauteed green peppers
8. Mexican: black olives, tomatoes, green peppers, ground beef or mmm chorizo, tomato sauce, and cheddar cheese
9. Meat lovers: Italian sausage, pepperoni, salami, cut up meatballs, and ham
10. Eggplant Parmesan: fried eggplant, caramelized onions, spinach, and gorgonzola and/or feta

How to make Pizzakins

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Prep your chicken.

Alternatively, save some time and use rotisserie chicken. Simply shred or chop leftovers you have on hand.

Poach your chicken in a pot of simmering water with a quartered onion, salt, and a bay leaf for 20 minutes. Once your chicken is cooked, use two forks to shred your chicken.

Update: I discovered meat claws, and they are my favorite tool to shred any meat from chicken to pork. This is a tool you want to pick up!

In a separate bowl, mix together your mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

While your chicken is poaching saute your spinach.

In a pan, add oil and heat. Mince your garlic, and add your garlic and spinach to the pan.

Stir carefully to ensure the heat reaches all the leaves by pulling up the bottom leaves with tongs. Within 2 minutes, your spinach will be bright green and significantly reduced.

Immediately remove it from the heat. Feel free to run a knife through it, but this is not necessary if you use baby spinach.

Prep your pizzakins.

Add your chicken to a bowl, along with the sauce and spinach. Stir to combine.

Make your biscuit dough.

In your food processor, add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Pulse to combine.

Add your pieces of cold, unsalted butter, then pulse again 10-15 times until your butter is in pea size pieces. Unsalted butter lets you control the salt in your dish, so use this whenever you bake.

Remove the top  from the food processor and pour the milk in a circle over your dough, then replace the cover. Pulse just until the dough comes together to ensure you don’t overmix.

If you do not have a food processor, you can make the dough by hand in a bowl using a pastry cutter to combine the butter with the dry ingredients. Two large forks also work, but the pastry cutter is a much, MUCH easier tool.

Turn your dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 10 to 15 times until the dough comes together, adding a little more flour if needed. Gently use your fingertips to push the dough out to about 3/4 inches thick.

Using one of the ramekins you’ll use to bake your pizzakins, cut out six circles of dough. By using the ramekins, you know your circles will be the perfect size.

Get the pizzakins ready to bake.

Add your chicken mixture to six ramekins, dividing the mixture evenly amongst them.

Top with the cheese, again dividing it amongst the six ramekins.

Add your biscuit dough on top. Feel free to tuck the extra dough under your circles or use it to form pretty designs atop your dough circles to differentiate who has which toppings in their pizzakins.

Bake in your 450 degree oven for 15-17 minutes until your pizzakins are golden on top and bubbling around the edges. Let cool five minutes, then serve, being careful of the steam and heat, and enjoy with a fork right in the ramekin.

What flavors would you make for your Pizzakins?

This recipe turns traditional pizza on its head, but this has already become a fan favorite here. The ingredients are simple, and I love that I’m getting some great nutrition into my family while making them this happy. So what’s your surprise family favorite recipe?

Like I said, this could so easily be made your own. Set up a station for people to put in their own toppings or have fun with some of these ideas.

Hungry yet? I am!

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