Pizza Bagels in Air Fryer

Pizza bagels in air fryer are the best of two delicious worlds – pizza and bagels! This delicious pizza bagels recipe features delicious sauce, cheese, and mini pepperoni topping bagels that have been sliced in half.

If you’re looking for the ultimate pizza treat, this is it!

Pizza Bagels in Air Fryer

These are fryer pizza bagels are as much a joy to make as they are to eat. These delicious little pizzas are the very definition of semi-homemade. The ingredients list is small, as is the effort required to make them.

That makes them the perfect after-school snack, game day treat, movie night feast, or even a fun take on pizza night! However you choose to make them, they’re always a hit, and they’re ridiculously easy. 

Since they just take a few easy minutes to whip up, they’re one of those snacks that you can make with minimal prep time. This is good because in my house when someone says that they’re hungry, it means that they’re hungry asap! 

Air fryer pizza bagels are one part pizza, one part bagel, and all delicious. The bagels make a fantastic, dense, doughy base for the pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni, and the air fryer makes the topping oh, so golden brown and the bagels so nice and crispy.

This pizza bagel recipe is absolutely to die for. If you love bagel bites, you’re going to flip for these. They’re so much better! And even better, they’re a breeze to make. 

Our Favorite Snacks in One Treat

Who loves pizza? I’m assuming you all do. Who loves bagels? Again, I’m assuming everyone reading this does.

These are the two components to this incredibly easy and delicious air fryer pizza bagels recipe, and without either one of them, we’d be denied this fantastic handheld feast. That’s why I want to take a brief look at the history of both pizza and bagels. 

The History of Pizza

Pizza can trace its origins back thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks all ate flatbreads with toppings, which is really all pizza is.

Although pizza’s origins began long, long ago, the equivalent to what we know as pizza today was born around the 1700s in Naples.

Naples was known as a city of the working poor. These people were packed into the city and lived in homes that were sometimes nothing more than a room. With such a meager existence, Neapolitans had to find ways of making inexpensive food.

That’s where pizza came in. Flatbreads with various toppings were the answer to the Neapolitans’ need for inexpensive food. These flatbreads were very similar to our modern-day pizzas, topped with classics like tomatoes, cheese, oil, anchovies, and garlic.

After Italy unified in 1861, the story goes that King Umberto I and Queen Margherita visited Naples and, while there, asked for an assortment of pizzas. The pizza that the queen enjoyed the most was topped with mozzarella cheese, red tomatoes, and green basil.

As the legend goes, this is where the Margherita pizza, the most classic of all pizzas, was born.

Fast forward over 150 years later, and we put almost anything on a pizza, from classic ingredients to pineapple and ham. Whatever the toppings, one thing’s for sure. Pizza is delicious.

History of Bagels

Don’t worry, this won’t be a 1,000 word deep dive on bagels, but this traditional Jewish bread product does have an interesting background worth mentioning.

Bagels are old. Really old. They first made their way to Poland and other parts of Europe in the 1600s. There is speculation that bagels are related to an ancient Arabic bread product called ka’ak.

So they’ve been around for a while.

New York is the home of the most authentic bagels anywhere in the USA because that’s where Polish and Jewish immigrants first settled.

Of course, they brought this delicious bread treat with them.

As more and more people discovered bagels, their popularity exploded, and today you can find them everywhere from mom and pop bakeries to prepackaged in the bread aisle at your store.

Ingredients

It only takes four ingredients to make this pizza bagels recipe. You’ll find them all readily available at your grocery store, and you just might have them all in your kitchen already! Here’s what you’ll need.

• 4 plain bagels, sliced in half lengthwise
• ¼ cup pizza sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¼ cup mini pepperoni

See? Simple, isn’t it? I mean, there is literally almost nothing to this ingredient list. And speaking of nothing to it…

How to make pizza in the air fryer

If you thought the ingredient list for this recipe was easy, just wait until you get a load of the actual recipe. These are fryer pizza bagels are the quintessential semi-homemade recipe. You won’t actually be cooking anything.

Rather, you’ll simply be taking store bought ingredients and putting them together. It’s crazy easy. In fact, if it were any easier, you’d just buy the pizza bagels outright. But hey, there are limits to these things.

• If your air fryer requires preheating, preheat to 375°F.
• Place the bagels, cut-side up on your workstation. Evenly spread the pizza sauce on top. Top with the cheese, then top with the pepperoni.
• Place the pizzas, not touching, topping side up, into the basket of the air fryer. You may need to cook in batches. Air fry for 3 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pizzas are warmed through.
• Continue with the rest of the bagels.

That’s all there is to it! Just top the bagels and air fry. That’s literally all there is to the entire pizza bagels recipe. How easy is that?!

Air Fryer Pizza Variations

The great thing about these air fryer pizza bagels is how versatile the recipe is. Just like traditional pizza recipes, this pizza bagel recipe really lends itself to experimentation. You can put anything you like on these delicious air-fried bagel treats.

The possibilities are endless!

Sauce

This is a traditional pizza bagels recipe, so it uses classic pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni. However, if you change the sauce, this recipe can easily become a white pizza.

Simply use alfredo or another white sauce for the base and then add ingredients like chicken instead of pepperoni. 

Meats

We love pepperoni, so that’s what I topped these pizza bagels in air fryer with, but you can use any classic pizza meat you like. Some great meat toppings include:

• Sausage
• Ground Beef
• Bacon
• Ham
• Anchovies

Veggies

Who doesn’t love classic veggies on a pizza? Just like a pizza, these pizza bagels can be topped with classic pizza veggies. Choose from all your favorites like:

• Bell Pepper
• Banana Peppers
• Onion
• Olives
• Pineapple

Bagels

Another fun way to add an extra spin on these air fryer pizza bagels is to change the actual bagels you’re using. You’ll find so many varieties of bagels out there. There’s always room for experimentation.

Try using whole wheat bagels for a different texture. Everything bagels also make a great base for the pizza bagels, as everything seasoning pairs perfectly with the pizza sauce and toppings. 

Air Fryer Pizza Bagels Tips

This is an incredibly easy recipe, but there are a few things to keep in mind. After all, even with recipes as simple as this one, it takes a little care and attention to detail to create a delicious finished product.

With a recipe as easy as these pizza bagels in air fryer, though, there’s not a lot to watch out for. 

Always Spray Your Basket

Even when using store-bought bagels, it’s important to spray your air fryer basket with olive oil spray or cooking spray to ensure that nothing sticks. Be sure to thoroughly coat the entire basket to prevent any sticking, but don’t overspray. That makes its own mess. 

Don’t Overdo the Toppings

Of course, we all love as many toppings on our pizza as possible but don’t overdo it. Remember, the cheese will melt as the air fryer does its thing.

If you have too much cheese or too many toppings, it could ooze of the side and create a mess in the air fryer that you’ll be cleaning up for quite some time. 

Use Cooked Meats

We talked about different meats you can use with this recipe just a second ago, but there’s an important point to remember. These pizza bagels in air fryer only cook for a few minutes, so cook your meats before adding them to the pizza to air fry.

These pizza bagels simply don’t cook long enough to cook the meat as they air fry. The last thing you want is raw meat on your pizza!

Serving Pizza Bagels

This pizza bagels recipe is so easy to make, you can whip up a batch any time you like. And that might be quite often because there’s never a bad time for pizza. Use these pizza bagels as a fun take on the classic pizza party for kids.

Serve them up for the game day. Make up a batch for movie night. You can even serve them with a side salad for dinner. They even make a great addition to potlucks.

Just bring them in a disposable baking dish and keep them warm on a hot plate!

However you choose to serve them, everyone always loves them. So the question isn’t how or when to serve pizza bagels. The question is – is there ever a reason NOT to serve them?

Storing the Pizza Bagels in Air Fryer

These pizza bagels will keep will for about three to four days in the refrigerator. You can’t freeze them, so be sure to gobble them all up before time runs out. Don’t worry.

In my experience, they don’t last long at all. To reheat these bagels, you can put them back in the air fryer for a couple of minutes or put them in the oven. You can even microwave them in a pinch. 

Try These Air Fryer Pizza Bagels

Whether you serve up this piazza bagels recipe for an after-school snack, game day, party, or just as a fun weeknight dinner, you’ll be so happy you gave this air fryer pizza bagels a try.

With just a couple of minutes of prep and a few more of cooking in the air fryer, this recipe is just about as easy as it gets. 

From potlucks to an afternoon snack, these air fryer pizza bagels are always a great choice, and they keep you OUT of the kitchen. That’s a win/win in my book.

Give this recipe a try, and you’ll find yourself making them more often than you might think. After all, with a recipe this delicious and fast, it’s hard to think of a reason NOT to make it. 

Ways to Change Up the Flavor of Pizza

Keep in mind that you can easily change up the flavor of your pizza by changing up the toppings, which we talked about above. But there is an even easier way to make certain that everyone can get what they love out of this simple recipe.

Instead of making one big giant batch of the same types of pizza, have everyone decorate their own individual bagel instead. This will give each person the chance to make the perfect bagel bite pizza with minimal effort. 

This also means that everyone can have exactly the type of pizza that they want without having to wait for the next batch to cook. 

How to Reheat Pizza

Keep in mind that pizza is super delicious as leftovers, too. It’s an easy way to have lunch or dinner the next day fast! 

To reheat pizza, you have a few easy options. The fastest approach is to pop it into the microwave and give it a burst of heat for a few seconds.

However – the biggest thing to keep in mind when you reheat pizza bagels in the microwave is that it’s going to make the bagels chewy and not crispy. 

If you’re fine with that – awesome! If not, you might want to consider the next pizza reheating option. 

You can reheat the pizza bites in your air fryer just by using the low and slow method. Reheating isn’t as long as cooking so be careful and use your best judgment. I would check after a few minutes of reheating and see how they look. 

Keep a close eye on them as you don’t want to burn them! (They’ll reheat really fast so stay close and keep your eyes and nose ready!) 

More Delicious Pizza Recipes 

• Air Fryer Pizza Grilled Cheese 
• Easy Pizza Dough Balls – Baked or Fried
• Margherita Pizza Recipe
• Pinwheel Pizza Recipe
• Meat Lovers Pizza Pasta Casserole