Pizza is one of those things I want… FAR too often. For meals like these when I just don’t want the extra baggage of the calories I try to find or create meal alternatives that can nail the craving and lose the guilt. These Pizza Tots do just that.
What I love about this meal prep idea is how versatile you can make it – just like a custom BYO Pizza minus the extra $1.50 a topping. So do you like a supreme? Add olives, sausage and onion – maybe some pepperocini! HAVE FUN WITH IT. To keep it simple, I stuck to the good ol’ fashioned slice of Pepperoni with some powerful veggies sprinkled in.
What you’ll need:
Equipment
5-6 Glass Containers (Oven Safe) https://amzn.to/3QqD4XM
1 Baking Sheet
Cooking Oil (Spray) https://amzn.to/3es7bAY
Food Grater https://amzn.to/3RnPcdr
Veggie Cutter (Or knife to dice yourself) https://amzn.to/3Rnvs9S
Italian Herbs/Spices – Dried basil, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
Ingredients
1 Pound Lean Ground Meat of choice (calculated using Beef)
1 Bag Frozen Tater Tots
1 Jar Marinara Sauce
2 Cups Low Sodium Chicken/Bone broth
2 Cloves of Garlic – finely shredded (cheese shredder)
1 Large Zucchini Diced
1 Bunch Spinach Pulled apart
1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
15 Sliced Pepperonis
1 box Cherry Tomatoes
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees – placing your Containers (without lid) on a baking sheet, it’s okay for them to touch.
- Bring your frozen tater tots out of the freezer allowing them to come to room temp
- Next, bring a large skillet (also sprayed) to medium heat – using your handheld cheese grater, shred your garlic over the pan as it heats. Once shredded, add your choice of ground meat to the pan and bring to a light even brown. Add your Italian blended spices here.
- Once your meat is browned, add your diced Zucchini and Spinach to the pan and 2 cups of bone broth. Mix all together and bring back to a small simmered boil for about 2 minutes.
- Add your Marinara sauce to the pan, covering your meat and veggie mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste and let simmer on medium for an additional 5 minutes
- Evenly distribute about 1 cup of tater tots per container
- Begin to evenly distribute your meat sauce over each of the tot containers
- Top this tot/sauce mixture with a sprinkle of Low Fat shredded mozzarella cheese, topping with 5 slices of pepperonis and a few cherry tomatoes
- Let cook 20 minutes, allow to cool on baking pan, top the containers with their lids and good to go!
This makes about 5-6 meals for the week. Great quick dinner or easy lunches for the week! You can reheat this in the microwave and add more toppings after it’s reheated and add some sauces if you’re a slice dipper like me.
Hope you guys enjoy this easy meal idea! Please let me know how you make it your own, what toppings worked for you? I can’t wait to see what you guys create 🙂