Homemade Bagel Bites

If you've got kids, chances are you probably have a box of Bagel Bites in your freezer right now. It's one of those quintessential foods, like frozen chicken nuggets, that all kids seem to love. I've never been a fan myself, but my kiddos will happily eat these puppies for lunch, snack or dinner.

I've been buying bags of mini bagels a lot lately and decided to make up a batch of homemade bagel bites for lunch earlier this week. Of course, this version is pretty easy to make and honestly tastes soooooo much better than the frozen kind...heck, I even had a few!

We ate all of ours, but you could easily freeze these before baking and then just add 2-4 additional minutes to the cooking time. See...almost like the ones from the box...only tastier!!



Ingredients:

6 mini bagels, split
4-6 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded or diced
4 oz pepperoni, chopped (I love the Hormel mini pepperoni)
1/2 cup pizza sauce, your favorite ( I used homemade)
1 tsp Italian seasoning (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with oil for easy clean-up. Place split bagels on baking sheet. Spoon pizza sauce on each half bagel. Top with cheese, pepperoni and add a pinch of Italian seasoning (if using). Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and a little bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

Source: Inspired by Bagel Bites