Easy Pizza Bites

Frozen phyllo shells & an easy pizza filling with Bertolli® pasta sauce make quick work of these tasty little pizza bites! Easy Pizza Bites are a fun meal starter, perfect game day nibble, or easy snack time treat. Thank you to Bertolli for sponsoring their creation and this post.

If you were to ask my favorite type of food, it would no doubt be something that falls into the category of Italian cooking. I grew up in an area abundant with families of Italian descent, and hence had no shortage of fabulous home-style Italian restaurants to enjoy. I also had the pleasure of an abundance of Italian home cooks surrounding me for kitchen inspiration.

It's probably no surprise, then, that I developed such a love for Italian food.

Though our family is not of Italian heritage, my Mom's and my cooking are certainly influenced by the type of cooking that surrounded us. From different styles of pasta sauces, to raviolis, to wonderfully layered lasagnas, to flavorful Italian-inspired chicken dishes ... and everything in between, ... we love to experiment with new Italian dishes.

But you know what?

Italian-inspired cooking isn't limited to dinner dishes.

We love to carry traditional savory Italian flavors into breakfast dishes ... like our family-favorite Italian Egg Casserole ..., appetizers ... like a hearty antipasto platter ..., and snacks ... like these easy Pizza Bites, too!

Mom and I have just the perfect sauce to help us out with our Italian cooking, both when making our tried-and-true dishes and when experimenting with new recipes and twists Bertolli pasta sauce.

Bertolli has so many Tuscan-inspired varieties to choose from, there's always one perfect for whatever we're whipping up. Just take a look at the display from my shopping trip to Harris Teeter the other day ... look at that selection of sauces!

Offered as part of the Kroger/Harris Teeter "Taste of Italy" program, I chose Bertolli Tomato & Basil to make these easy Pizza Bites. The "Taste of Italy" program encourages and makes it easy for customers of Kroger and their banner stores to create wonderfully Italian-inspired meals and dishes. And I knew Bertolli Tomato & Basil sauce would provide a wonderful flavor base for my Italian-inspired Pizza Bites. But truly, I think any of the Bertolli sauces would give a wonderful flavor base for the bites!

Now when I say these Pizza Bites are easy, it's not an understatement. They're as easy as can be.

Simply combine Bertolli sauce with cream cheese and shredded mozzarella ...

... Then stir in coarsely chopped pepperoni, and perhaps some sun-dried tomatoes and chopped artichokes.

Spoon the filling mixture into frozen mini phyllo shells ...

... and bake them up until the cheese is all melty and bubbly.

Then serve up a delicious platter of piping hot easy Pizza Bites as a fun meal starter, perfect game day nibble, or easy snack time treat.

See? Wonderfully Italian-inspired cooking certainly isn't limited to dinner dishes! And I hope these little bites will be a favorite with your family, just as they are with ours.

Easy Pizza Bites
(Printable recipe)

Ingredients

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 c. coarsely chopped pepperoni
1/2 c. Bertolli pasta sauce
1/4 c. chopped sun-dried tomatoes, well-drained {optional}
1/4 c. chopped marinated artichoke hearts, well-drained {optional}
3 packages frozen mini phyllo shells {36 shells total}

Directions

Place softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Add mozzarella, pepperoni, and pasta sauce; stir until well combined. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes.
Spoon cream cheese mixture into phyllo shells, filling shells full and slightly mounded up. Place on a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Bertolli®. The opinions and text are all mine.