Mug pizza, the questionable art of making pizza in a coffee mug

Subscribe Now Choose a package that suits your preferences.
Start Free Account Get access to 7 premium stories every month for FREE!
Already a Subscriber? Current print subscriber? Activate your complimentary Digital account.

The Pinterest-popularized “mug food” is a dish made by mixing ingredients in a coffee mug and zapping it to “bake.” The mug brownie is the recipe that started it all; from there, mug enthusiasts moved to mug pumpkin pie, mug doughnuts and mug cheesecake (ew).

In the Chicago Tribune test kitchen, we skipped the sweet stuff and went for a savory mug food that’s been trending lately: the pizza mug. The thought of having pizza readily available in 90 seconds seems like a dream come true. Throw some common ingredients (flour, baking soda, oil, milk, tomato sauce and cheese) into a mug, nuke for 90 seconds, and voila! Mug pizza is born. But is it good?

If you’re intrigued, you can find a recipe for mug pizza below.

Microwave Mug Pizza

Many recipe variations of the mug pizza exist, but we followed one from Spoon University, a cooking resource for college students, an appropriate demographic for this cheap and quick snack.

4 tablespoons flour

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/16 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon olive oil

Marinara sauce

Mozzarella

Optional ingredients:

Pepperoni

Dried Italian herbs

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large, microwaveable mug. Add milk and oil and stir. Spread marinara on top of batter and sprinkle on cheese to your liking. Top with pepperoni and Italian herbs, if using. Microwave for 90 seconds or until cheese is bubbling.