English Muffin Pizzas (air fryer)

 

Believe it or not I never tasted Pizza in my life until I was about 15 years old.  The Winter Carnival at our High School here in town was doing a coffee house in the New Gym on the Saturday night of the Carnival and they were serving pizzas as the food.

It was love at first bite for me.  Pizza was just not something we ever had in our home and there were not that many pizza places around back in the day.  Now there are easily over 10 different places in the local area to get pizza.

 

One of my best friends in High School, Virginia, made lovely pizzas.  I can remember going to a sleep over Birthday Party at her place once and we made pizzas from scratch and they were absolutely lovely.

Other than that my high school boyfriend in Grade 11 picked up a pizza mix and brought it over to our place for us to make.  I had never heard of making pizza that way. I know it must sound incredibly naive but it is true. Pizza was just not  a part of my home life and I had no real knowledge of pizza mixes.

It was a real revelation and I have to say that pizza became a much more familiar food in our home after that!  We all really enjoyed it.

 

When my children were growing up I often made them English Muffin Pizzas. I did not have an air fryer back then, no such thing existed.  The children loved to help me and they really loved to make their own.

I would set all of the toppings etc. up at the table and they would put their own together and we would bake them in the oven.  This was usually as a Saturday night treat.  They did love pineapple on their pizzas, and ham. I have heard that is a Canadian thing.

These English Muffin Pizzas I am sharing today go together very quickly and easily in the air fryer.  You can have them ready to eat in less than ten minutes tops.  The muffins get lovely and crisp as well. These are not soggy in the least.   In fact, they are quite delicious if I don't say so myself!  

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE ENGLISH MUFFIN PIZZAS IN THE AIR FRYER

Just a few ordinary simple ingredients.  This can vary a bit depending on how many you want to make and what types of things you like to top your pizzas with!  I did just cheese and pepperoni.

• 1 English muffin, split (you can use white or whole wheat, etc.)
• 3 TBS pizza sauce, divided
• a sprinkle each of Italian seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder
• 1 TBS grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 4 TBS grated Mozzarella cheese
• 6 thin slices pepperoni

 

Not all pizza sauces are alike.  I like to make my own.  I do a recipe of my main pizza sauce and then I freeze it. I will freeze half in an amount large enough for a full pizza and the remainder in ice cube trays. Once frozen I will pop the cubes out and into a baggie.  You can find my pizza sauce recipe here. It makes enough to fill two large pizzas generously. 

If you are purchasing pizza sauce, I highly recommend Mutti Pizza Sauce.

I like to use the Pizza Delight Air Dried Pepperoni.  It has the nicest flavor in my opinion and it is not overly fatty.  You can find it here in Canada in the deli-section of most grocery stores.

In any case an air dried pepperoni is much better than other pepperoni.  Also, don't be tempted to use the mini pepperoni sticks unless you want pepperoni jerky. The air fryer cremates them. (Been there, done that!)

Use good cheeses and good English Muffins.

You can add almost any toppings as you wish, bearing in mind that there is a relatively short cook time, so keeping things simple is best.

 

HOW TO MAKE ENGLISH MUFFIN PIZZAS IN THE AIR FRYER

This is really a very simple thing and so much faster than making them in the regular oven.  Once you do this in your air fryer, you will never want to do it any other way!

Preheat your air fryer to 350*F/180*C.

Place the split English muffins onto the Air Fryer tray. Air fry at 350*F/180*C for 2 minutes.

Remove from the air fryer. Divide the pizza sauce between the two halves of English Muffin, spreading it out to the edges. Sprinkle with some Italian Seasoning, garlic and onion powders.

 

Divide the Parmesan cheese between the two halves, dividing it equally. Top each with an equal amount of Mozzarella cheese and three pepperoni slices.

Return to the air fryer basket and fry at 350*F/180*C for 6 to 8 minutes until nicely toasted, hot through and the cheese has melted. The pepperoni should also be golden.  Leave to stand for a few minutes before serving.

 

I don't know why I didn't think of making English Muffin Pizzas in the air fryer before. This was a much quicker and easier way to make them and I don't think I will ever make them in the conventional way again!

The air fryer kept the muffins nice and crisp and not in the least bit soggy. I think that first little cook time in the air fryer on their own is the secret to a crisp muffin!

  

Here are a few other hot sandwich bakes that I like to make in my air fryer.  The air fryer makes them quick  and easy.  All are, of course, delicious!

AIR FRYER HOT DOGS - No surprise, I do enjoy a nice hot dog every now and then. Cooking them in the air fryer is quick and easy and they come out perfect.  This version is topped with melted cheese and crispy fried onions!

AIR FRYER TUNA MELT -  After cooking my traditional Tuna Melt Sandwich in the air fryer, I will never again do it any other way. The bread comes out buttery and crisp and the tuna filling is perfection.  There is no sogginess here.  Just a tasty, quick, easy and deliciously perfect tuna melt.

Yield: Variable

Author: Marie Rayner

English Muffin Pizzas (air fryer)

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 15 Min

I have often done English Muffin Pizzas in a conventional oven. Doing them in the air fryer is much quicker. Children (and adults) love these. They are a fabulous lunch served with veggie sticks and dip or as a snack. You can multiply these ingredients to make as many or as few pizzas as you wish. You can also vary the toppings.

Ingredients

For two pizzas:

• 1 English muffin, split (you can use white or whole wheat, etc.)
• 3 TBS pizza sauce, divided
• a sprinkle each of Italian seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder
• 1 TBS grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 4 TBS grated Mozzarella cheese
• 6 thin slices pepperoni

Instructions

1. Preheat your air fryer to 350*F/180*C.
2. Place the split English muffins onto the Air Fryer tray. Air fry at 350*F/180*C for 2 minutes.
3. Remove from the air fryer. Divide the pizza sauce between the two halves of English Muffin, spreading it out to the edges. Sprinkle with some Italian Seasoning, garlic and onion powders.
4. Divide the Parmesan cheese between the two halves, dividing it equally. Top each with an equal amount of Mozzarella cheese and three pepperoni slices.
5. Return to the air fryer basket and fry at 350*F/180*C for 6 to 8 minutes until nicely toasted, hot through and the cheese has melted. The pepperoni should also be golden.
6. Leave to stand for a few minutes before serving.

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