These Quinoa Pizza Balls with Yogurt Ranch Dip will crush your pizza cravings in a healthy and delicious way! This recipe is gluten free and vegan friendly and super easy to prepare. 
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The other day I had a flash back to my college days. Specifically, the food I ate during my college days. I couldn’t get my mind off of one of my favorite college foods: pizza dipped in ranch dressing.
When a pregnant woman gets her mind focused on a certain food, watch out. Suddenly, I needed some pizza with ranch dressing. Or at least something with those flavors. These quinoa pizza balls with yogurt ranch dip are the perfect healthier stand-in for my old college favorite.
The pizza balls are bursting with pizza flavor and the modified ranch dip is just as good as the chemical-y, over-processed bottled stuff. And the best part? You can eat this as a snack, meal, or appetizer and not feel like you gained 10 pounds in one sitting afterwards.
I have to admit, I couldn’t stop taking little bites of the mixture before baking these Quinoa Pizza Balls. It is so flavorful! Once they are baked, it’s even better. I’m already thinking about making another batch.
Quinoa Pizza Balls Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 cup cooked red kidney beans
- 5-10 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or sub 2 teaspoons dried basil)
- 1/4 (scant) cup chopped fresh parsley (or sub 1 teaspoon dried parsley)
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb mix
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
Yogurt Ranch Dip Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt (dairy or non-dairy, regular or Greek yogurt work)
- 1/4 real mayo or vegan mayo
- 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
How to Make Quinoa Pizza Balls
- In a medium sauce pan, bring the water to a boil. Add the quinoa, cover, and cook for 12 minutes, or until the water is absorbed.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- When the quinoa is finished cooking, transfer it (you should have 1 cup cooked quinoa) to a medium bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.
- Using a fork or potato masher, mash the ingredients together. It’s okay to have a few whole beans in there, but you want a mixture that will stick together well.
- Roll the mixture into 1-2 inch balls and place on the baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, turning the balls over with a spatula half way through the cooking time. The balls will be lightly browned when they are finished.
- In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients for the yogurt dipping sauce. Serve with the quinoa pizza balls.
These Quinoa Pizza Balls really pack the flavor. And there’s so much you can do with them.
I think they taste good at room temperature and are totally kid-friendly, so these would be great for school lunches. I have crumbled a few over my salad for lunch and love the added nutrition and flavor. They are a wonderful part of a toddler lunch. Eat a few for a quick, nutritious snack. Put them in hoagie bun, add some marinara sauce, and turn it into a vegetarian “meat”ball sub.
Go ahead, get carried away.
However you eat them, they are sure to be a crowd-pleaser. You might want to make a double batch.
If you try them, please leave. star rating below. It’s so helpful for readers to see which recipes are tried and true! Keep in touch–I’d love to connect with you on Instagram or Facebook.
If you’re looking for more ways to use quinoa, you should try my Quinoa Salad Recipeor this Mexican Quinoa Skillet Dinner. Both are vegan, gluten free, and delicious!
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Quinoa Pizza Balls with Yogurt Ranch Dipping Sauce
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Description
These Quinoa Pizza Balls with a homemade Yogurt Ranch Dip make a healthy way to indulge in your pizza cravings! Outstanding flavor!
Ingredients
For the Quinoa Pizza Balls
- 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup cooked red kidney beans
- 5–10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 1/4 (scant) cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb mix
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (reduce or omit if your beans are cooked in salt)
- 1/3 cup tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
For the Yogurt Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt (dairy or non-dairy)
- 1/4 real mayo or vegan mayo
- 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan, bring the water to a boil. Add the quinoa, cover, and cook for 12 minutes, or until the water is absorbed.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- When the quinoa is finished cooking, transfer it (you should have 1 cup cooked quinoa) to a medium bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.
- Using a fork or potato masher, mash the ingredients together. It’s okay to have a few whole beans in there, but you want a mixture that will stick together well.
- Roll the mixture into 1-2 inch balls and place on the baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, turning the balls over with a spatula half way through the cooking time. The balls will be lightly browned when they are finished.
- In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients for the yogurt dipping sauce. Serve with the quinoa pizza balls.
Notes
- Quinoa pizza balls may be served warm or at room temperature.
- You can make these ahead and reheat them in the oven before serving.
- If you don’t have fresh basil, substitute 2 teaspoons dried basil.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: recipes
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: vegetarian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5 balls + 3 tablespoons dip
- Calories: 276
- Sugar: 4.2 grams
- Fat: 13.9 grams
- Saturated Fat: 2.8 grams
- Unsaturated Fat: 11.1 grams
- Trans Fat: 0 grams
- Carbohydrates: 28.3 grams
- Fiber: 5 grams
- Protein: 10.8 grams
This post was first published in September 2011. New photos and a video were added March 2020.
Thank you for yet another creative quinoa ball recipe! Can’t wait to try this one. Yum!,,
I made these tonight, and they were a huge hit! Thanks so much for such a great recipe! Cameron especially thanks you! 🙂 I had to blog about them because we all liked them so much. 🙂
I just made these today and I’m kind of in love. I have two teenage brothers who are super picky but I bet that I could get the to eat these 🙂 Thanks for the delicious recipe.
Thanks for letting me know you tried them. I hope your brothers like them, too! 🙂
For the dipping sauce, is the dill weed dried? We don’t usually keep mayo around because no one likes it–what do you think of using plain greek yogurt instead? Too tart? Thanks!
Yes, the dill weed is dried. Sorry about that. I think skipping the mayo and using all yogurt would work. The flavor would be a little different, but it would still probably be good. Let me know if you try it!
I used greek yogurt in place of the plain, but still used mayo. I had fresh dill, which left a little weird aftertaste, but otherwise it was good. I try to use greek yogurt in everything (just b/c I like it).
omg these look soooo good!
and easy!
And anything with DIP is music to my ears. I love my sauces, dips, and spreads!
Maryea,
I had to report back and tell you how much my kids and I loved these. They were absolutely delicious! There were none left….that’s how much we liked them. I decided it might be a smart idea to make them first on the weekend so if I pack them in their lunches this week I would be sure that they like them. I don’t like to think of them going hungry at school if they don’t like something I packed for them. Thanks so much for this idea…..I have a feeling they will show up often for lunchboxes this school year.
Thanks for letting me know! It’s always nice to find something you AND the kids like. 🙂
What an interesting recipe! I never thought to make savory balls of any kind- I always go for the sweet kind 🙂 (there’s a joke in there somewhere!)
I can’t wait to try these! I saw a quinoa pizza casserole on peasandthankyou.com and while it looks delicious I still haven’t made it. I like that these are so versatile. I have a slight aversion to casseroles, so these balls are much more my style.
I’ve tried that quinoa casserole and it is very good. You should try it, too! These are definitely different than a casserole, so if you are scared of casseroles, these might be better for you.
Those look ridiculously good! 🙂 Amazing pics too!!
Thank you, Katie! 🙂
Those look way too yummy!!!!
These looks absolutely wonderful. I will file this recipe under to make ASAP.
I am making these for sure!! yum! i love pizza flavored anything!
Genius! I love this 🙂
I am so pinning these to make later!
Thanks for the pin! 🙂 (That sounds so funny…)
I am so saving this recipe! Looks amazing! I would never think to do something like this with quinoa.
Awesome! I saw the original recipe and meant to try them and then completely forgot about them! These are at the top of my list now, they look so yummy(and kid friendly! That’s the best part even for me :D) Your comment about a pregnant woman focused on food(which I totally understand!) reminded me of a friend who is about as far along as you mentioned to me that looking through food blogs was dangerous while pregnant, haha.
It totally is! The first trimester was dangerous because certain foods would make me queasy, and now it’s dangerous because I want to make everything!
wow.. very creative. love it! Will have to make it as a snack. Never thought of dipping pizza in ranch. Will have to try that too! How are you feeling?
I’m feeling great; thank you! This is a great snack. You definitely have to try the pizza+ranch combo. It’s fantastic. 🙂
SO creative! I love all the flavors and the nutrition packed food! I want to visit and learn from you!! (and maybe play house or Barbies with your little preschooler!) 🙂
She would love that!
My kids and I always post on our refrigerator what they will be having in their lunchboxes for the week. A protein, fruit, veggie, and carbohydrate. I can’t work these in this week, but, I will def. show them these for next week. My feeling is they will want them in their lunchboxes. Thanks for the idea!
I love you system. I need to keep that in the back of my mind for when I have school-aged kids. I just ate three of these straight from the fridge. They are so delicious!
What a great idea! I bet my kids will love these. I am always looking for healthy alternatives to PB&J for school lunches, so thank you!
oh, I LOVE this idea! pizza flavored anything and I’m there! I used to dip pizza in ranch too – I thought it was normal but I would get many weird looks! 😀
Well, it was pretty common among my friends in college. Strange things are common when you’re in college, though. 😉