Hawaiian Pizza Muffins

Searching for fun and tasty lunch box ideas kids will love?

Trying to find lunchbox ideas for kids that they actually want to eat isn’t always easy for parents and caregivers. As a mom dietitian, I’m always looking for nutritious, higher-protein options for kids’ lunches, and my son ranks this as a top favourite! This healthful recipe for Hawaiian Pizza Muffins is a great make-ahead option—you can bake them in bulk and freeze for busy school days.

This “lunch box ideas for kids: Hawaiian Pizza Muffins recipe” is inspired from “The School Year Survival Cookbook by Laura Keogh and Ceri Marsh (I added double the ham, cheese, pineapple and tomato sauce to increase the protein level and flavour profile). Feel free to play with the ratio of these ingredients based on your kids preference. Enjoy!

Makes 18 muffins

What You Need 

• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup 1 % milk (or whatever milk you have)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 cups spelt flour (or whole wheat flour)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups diced ham
• 3 cups grated mozzarella cheese (divided into 2 cups for the recipe and 1 cup for the top)
• 1 can (398 ml or 14 fl. oz.) canned pineapple tidbits, drained
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce or pizza sauce

How You Make the Hawaiian Pizza Muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl whisk the eggs, milk, oil and sugar until smooth. Add flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and salt and stir just until combined. Stir in the ham, 2 cups of the cheese and pineapple just until combined (do not over mix).
3. Spoon half of the batter into the muffin liners. Top the batter with half the tomato sauce (about a teaspoon of tomato sauce per muffin). Top with the remaining half of the batter and then top with the remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of grated cheese on top.
4. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
5. Enjoy fresh or toss in the freezer. Kids, teens (and adults!) can enjoy these cold or pre-heat a thermos with boiling water and place these warmed Hawaiian Pizza Muffins in the thermos for their lunch.

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If you liked these Hawaiian Pizza Muffins, check out these recipes on the blog here: