If you’re craving something savory, cheesy, and satisfying — but still want to keep things healthy — this Mushroom Rice Cake Pizza is about to become your new go-to snack.
Made in the air fryer in just minutes, this mini “pizza” delivers big flavor with minimal effort. With 10 grams of protein and only 117 calories, it’s perfect for those in-between meals when hunger hits but dinner is still a way off.
Whether you’re fueling a workout, managing busy days, or simply trying to snack smarter, this recipe fits seamlessly into a balanced lifestyle.
Why You’ll Love This Mushroom Rice Cake Pizza
Unlike many “healthy” snacks that leave you wanting more, this creative mini pizza delivers real satisfaction and combines convenience, nutrition, and comfort food flavor:
Ready in under 10 minutes
High-protein and low-calorie
Budget-friendly ingredients
No complicated prep
Crispy, cheesy, and filling
Perfect for meal prep or quick snacks
High-Protein Secret: Cottage Cheese
In addition to the rice cake, the other secret ingredient in this recipe is 2% cottage cheese. This simple swap helps turn a basic snack into a protein-packed mini meal.
When drained and layered onto the rice cake, it warms to create a creamy texture while boosting protein. It blends seamlessly into the pizza, adding nutrition without affecting flavor. To keep the rice cake from getting soggy, make sure that you have drained off as much liquid as possible from cottage cheese and are layering on TOP of the provolone slice, not under it.
Easy Recipe Variations
Customize this rice cake pizza with your favorite flavors to keep things fresh and exciting.
Extra Cheese: Add a second slice of provolone, mozzarella or parmesan for a richer bite.
Spicy Version: Top with red pepper flakes or chili oil.
Meat Lover: Add turkey pepperoni or lean ham. Ground beef crumbles are delicious too.
Veggie Boost: Try chopped spinach, bell peppers, or zucchini.
Pesto Style: Replace tomato sauce with pesto.
When to Eat This High-Protein Snack
Mushroom Rice Cake Pizza is quick enough for busy schedules and satisfying enough to feel indulgent. Ideal for:
This Mushroom Rice Cake Pizza is a quick, high-protein air fryer snack with only 117 calories and 10g protein. Made with cottage cheese, provolone, and mushrooms, it’s crispy, cheesy, and ready in minutes.
Course:
lunch, Snack
Cuisine:
high protein
Keyword:
mushroom, pizza, rice cake
Servings: 1servubg
Calories: 117kcal
Ingredients
1plain rice cake
1tbsptomato-based pasta sauce
1ultra-thin slice provolone cheese
3tbsp2% cottage cheesedrain off the excess moisture
1white mushroomsliced
pinchItalian seasoning
Instructions
Pre-heat air fryer to 380F. Spread pasta sauce on rice cake, top with cheese slice. Add drained cottage cheese on top of this evenly. Top with sliced mushrooms, sprinkle with Italian seasoning and air fry for 4-5 minutes, or until cheese bubbling / browning some at edges and mushrooms are softened.
Salmon fillets are a mainstay on on my weekly dinner menu. Whether fresh or from frozen, salmon is a quality protein that makes the perfect blank canvas, ready to be “painted” with colorful vegetables and the seasonings that suit your mood of the moment!
When it comes to seasonings and flavor, garlic can’t be beat. It has a host of functional health benefits, is umami-friendly and maximizes the flavor of everything it’s paired with, from veggies, to proteins, to grains, pastas and bread . . ahh, garlic bread. Distinctively pungent, yet more mellow upon cooking, garlic is probably the “first reach” seasoning in my kitchen. If I could only pick one seasoning (other than salt and pepper) for a dish, it would be garlic — that’s how I keep life easy! Fresh minced or crushed garlic is the best, but when I’m making a quick dinner recipe, I rely on the convenience of minced garlic in a jar, garlic paste in a tube, or pre-portioned frozen crushed garlic.
Minced fresh garlic if you have the time, but purchased garlic in jar, tube or frozen portions is convenient!
I drooled earlier about buttery garlic bread, but buttery garlic MUSHROOMS – ohhhhyeah! Low-cal and low-carb, can be a little bland on their own — but with just a little butter and garlic, any mushroom side dish becomes heaven! You can use white button mushrooms or baby bellas (cremini) mushrooms in this low-carb salmon recipe — both act like little sponges that soak up all the rich flavor.
A quick little 15-second tutorial!
Pro-Tips:
1) Leave bottom skin on salmon, this makes a richer recipe and makes the cooking process easier (less sticking). You can remove it later . . . but remember, the brown/gray “gunk” between the skin and salmon flesh is salmon fat and where most of the beneficial Omega-3 fatty acids reside.
2) Salmon is cooked in 2 steps. First a sear with the skin side up. Then the par-cooked salmon rests on a plate while the veggies cook. Second, the fish is finished off by cooking skin side down among the vegetables, with a lid on top of the skilled to expedite the process. Make sure to have the lid nearby.
3) You can substitute peeled, de-veined jumpo shrimp. Those will cook for 3 to 4 minutes UNTIL DONE on the first step, and then you add back into the recipe when the vegetables are finished. Don’t add cooking time after this, or they will become rubbery.
4) For this garlic mushroom salmon skillet recipe, a non-stick skillet/fry pan with lid (10″) works well to keep the garlicked up salmon from sticking to the pan on the searing step. However, if you don’t have a non-stick or don’t want to use a non-stick, and end up with some bits burned onto the pan, there is a solution. After removing fish to rest on plate, add a splash of water to the hot skilled to sizzle and then quickly scrape off with spatula.
5) This mushroom salmon recipe scales up easily. To make 4 servings, just double the recipe (fine to be loosy-goosey on vegetables) and use a 12″ non-stick skillet/frypan with lid.
Pin this for later!Macros per serving: 469 cal, 34g fat, 6g net carb, 33g protein
What's better than garlic butter? Garlic butter all over salmon, mushrooms and delicious veggies! This easy one-dish salmon skillet is sure to become your favorite 15-minute meal.
Course:
dinner
Keyword:
garlic, mushrooms, one dish, salmon
Servings: 2
Calories: 469kcal
Ingredients
2 5-ouncesalmon filetsskin on
¼teaspooneach salt and black pepperplus more for seasoning at end, if desired
2tbsp.garlicdivided
1.5tbspssalted butter
8ouncewhite or cremini mushroomscleaned and halved ½ red onion, chopped coarsely
1/2cut coarsely chopped red onion
3cupsfresh spinachcoarsely chopped
Instructions
Season salmon with salt, pepper and 1 tbsp. of the garlic.
Heat olive oil in skillet over med-high heat.
Add filets skin side up; sear for 3 minutes or until crust forming on flesh. Set par-cooked fish aside on plate (will finish cooking later).
Melt butter in skillet over med-high, add mushrooms and onions and saute for about 3 minutes; add remainder of garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Stir in spinach; set salmon back in skillet, skin side down this time. Cook on medium for about 3 to 5 more minutes (with lid on for several minutes to help speed process). Actual cook time will depend on thickness of salmon filets.
Season with additional salt and pepper, as desired.
Recipe Notes
2 servings. Each serving: 469 cal, 34g fat, 6g net carb, 33g protein
Make waves with these delicious, nutritious Mushroom Pizza Stuffed Zucchini Boats. Easy, cheesy and a smart way to optimize zucchini season!
Even if you don’t grow your own zucchini (I don’t, but my neighbors do, lol) this green squash is a great way to add extra fiber, vitamins, minerals, and volume to your meals. Exceptionally versatile if you are gluten-free or a lower carb kinda person, plus it seems to be a perennial in the produce department and inexpensive, to boot!
Check out this short video tutorial!
If air-frying, you only need 15 minutes, prep to plate, for this cheesy stuffed zucchini recipe. Takes a little longer in regular oven, but still not time-consuming, especially if you give zucchini boats a 1 minute microwave “par cook” before stuffing and baking.
I love easy recipes that pack a nice punch of protein. These mushroom pizza zucchini boats help you meet your protein goals on nights when you are going no-meat or just don’t have the time to prepare beef, chicken or pork. It’s a blend of cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese for the protein win!
A serving (of TWO halves) has 25g protein, 20g net carb, 12g fat and 293 calories. This is A LOT of food that will ya up! Alternatively, you can just serve one piece as a scrumptious side dish!
Quick, easy, delicious and nutritious, these cheesy, saucy stuffed zucchini will remind you of a mushroom pizza – -but without the crust, so lower calorie, lower carb and gluten-free.
Course:
dinner, side
Cuisine:
Italian
Keyword:
gluten free, low carb, pizza, zucchini
Servings: 1serving (or serves 2 as a side)
Calories: 293kcal
Ingredients
1approximate 10- to 12-ounce zucchiniends cut off and sliced lengthwise
1/3cupbottle marinara or tomato-based pasta saucedivided
¼cup2% cottage cheese
¼cupshredded mozzarella cheese
½teaspoongarlic salt
½teaspoonItalian seasoning
2 to 3white mushroomssliced
2tablespoonsParmesan cheese
Optionalfresh herbs
Instructions
Preheat air fryer to 390F degrees (or oven to 375F)
Cut ends off zucchini and slice lengthwise. Use small spoon to scoop out seeds and some flesh in center, leaving about 1/3” of flesh around outside so that it keeps shape during cooking.
Place zucchini halves on microwave safe plate and “par” cook for 60 seconds in microwave on high.
Transfer lightly cooked zucchini halves to air fryer tray.
Spread the inside of each zucchini with 1 tablespoon sauce.
In small bowl, mix together cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, garlic salt and Italian seasoning.
Spoon cheese mixture into zucchini halves, pat down with spoon.
Add just few little dollops of sauce to top, if desired.
Arrange sliced mushrooms on top.
Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Air fry for 6 to 8 minutes (or oven for 15 to 20 minutes) until cheese lightly browning and hot and zucchini softened (but not soggy)
Sprinkle with chopped Italian herbs and serve with additional warmed sauce, if desired.
Autumn is here, the cozy yet bold flavors are dropping faster than the leaves from a tree! Like this Rustic Mushroom Bacon Blue Tart (with Garlic-Thyme Pastry “Leaves”), an autumn-inspired, delightfully delicious meal that comes together conveniently thanks to frozen pie crusts from Wick’s Pies.
Eating pie for dinner is where it’s at! This is one of the best savory tarts I have ever made and is brimming with mushrooms, leeks, bacon and fresh herbs on a bold layer of creamy blue cheese.
Oh, and the crust! Let’s talk about the crust! Delicate, tender, flakey yet oh-so convenient! It’s a frozen pie crust from Wick’s Pies. I am NOT a pastry chef, and having the time and skill to make a pie crust worthy to envelope all the delicious ingredients in this mushroom tart stresses me out!
A glimpse at how easy this “use a froze pie crust” recipe actually is!
Using a frozen (and thawed) 8” Raw Circle of rolled out dough from Wick’s Pie, make my life so much easier – and I can spend my culinary talents focusing on the fillings and overall flavor of my tart rather than worrying about a dry, soggy, or otherwise lackluster crust.
Fold up the sides, easy-peasy – you can’t make a mistake!
Also, I making a “rustic” tart, NOT in a pie pan with fancy lattice work, pinching or braiding also makes easy savory tart recipe a winner. Just put fillings in the middle, leaving about a 1-inch border, and then fold up the edges to secure. This mushroom pie CAN’T be messed up and any imperfections in executing the crust “fold up” just adds to the rustic, country charm.
Because I’m so addicted to this delicious, tender convenience pie crust, I decided to use a leaf-shaped cookie cutter to make extra savory pie-crust pastries. You can NEVER have too much crust, am I right?! I simply sprinkled these pie dough cut outs with garlic salt and pressed in a bit of fresh thyme decoratively. Feeling so fancy serving this casual yet pretty darnclassy meal to my mom and dad this weekend!
Use a cookie cutter to punch out your favorite shape and sprinkle with garlic salt!
Mushroom Tart Pro Tips:
After sautéing mushrooms, slightly tilt pan to pool up excess liquid and mop off with a paper towel. This will prevent the crust from getting soggy.
Don’t skip the egg wash step in the recipe, this helps the crust turn a beautiful golden brown with a nice gloss.
If you are not a blue cheese fan, you can substitute another type of cheese (maybe crumbled Feta or even grated sharp white cheddar) instead.
I like to use a vented pizza pan, I think it keeps the crust crispier and flaker.
Check out Wick’s Pies wholesaler page for the source of the 8” Raw Circles used in my recipe . . . or you can also order whole pies of the dessert type to be delivered to your door– what a fabulous way to minimize upcoming holiday entertaining stress!
Rustic Mushroom Bacon Blue Cheese Tart with Garlic-Thyme Pastry “Leaves”
Prep Time
10mins
Cook Time
36mins
Total Time
35mins
So bold and beautiful, filled with flavor and easy to make thanks to a frozen pie crust! Sever with a green salad for a brunch or light dinner — or as an appetizer for your fall-season party!
Course:
Appetizer, brunch, dinner
Cuisine:
American, country, French
Keyword:
bacon, blue cheese, mushroom, pie crust, tart
Servings: 4servings
Ingredients
4-ouncebacon
10ouncesmushrooms of choiceI used Cremini and White Button
1cupsliced leekswhites and light greens
1/4teaspoonblack pepper
¼teaspoonsea salt
4ouncescream cheesesoftened
2ouncesblue cheesecrumbled
1teaspoonfresh thyme leavesplus extra for garnish and crust “leaves”
1whisked egg for wash
½teaspoongarlic salt
2frozen Wick’s Pie crusts, thawed1 for tart, 1 for extra crust “leaves” (optional
Instructions
Heat 12-inch stainless steel skillet over medium-high and cook bacon for several minutes each side, until browning and crispy. Remove to paper towel-lined plate to drain, reserving about 1 tablespoon bacon fat in pan (discarding the rest).
Add sliced leeks to pan, and sauté for 2 minutes and then add mushrooms and continue to cook for a 4 to 5 more minutes until softened and liquid released. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and slightly tilt pan to pool up any remaining mushroom liquid and carefully pour off or sop up with paper towel. This will help prevent tart from getting soggy.
Preheat oven to 400F.
Allow mushroom mixture to cool for a few minutes. Meanwhile, make cheese filling by coarsely mashing together 2 ounces of crumbled blue cheese with 4 ounces cream cheese.
Place thawed Wick’s Pie crust on a baking sheet (I prefer a vented pizza pan), coated with non-stick spray.
Using spatula, spread on cheese mixture eaving a 1” border. Next pile on mushroom mixture over cheese and lightly pat down.
Fold up edges of pie crust “rustically,” pinching excesses in the folds together as needed. Brush exposed edges of pie crust with egg wash.
Top with crumbled bacon.
Bake at 400F for 25 minutes or until crust golden and cheese bubbling.
Once you stick tart in oven, start preparing the optional garlic-thyme “leaves” which will bake in the same oven as the tart for the last 5 to 6 minutes of baking.
Spread thawed Wick’s crust on a baking sheet and sprinkle with garlic salt. Use leaf shaped cookie cutter (or other cutter design of choice) to make impressions that cut through – slightly wiggle the cut crust from them, but leave on the pan to cook as “extra” snacking material for later! Press on some of the fresh thyme into to dough decoratively. Bake at 400F for 5 to 6 minutes or until golden. Remove to cool on pan for 5 minutes before handling.
Serve garlic-thyme leaves alongside the tart, if desired (making the leaves is an optional step).
True. I did see this viral egg and quesadilla hack on TikTok. But in reality, I’ve been making and eating egg quesadillas for decades. DECADES!
This photo isn’t doing justice to how fun and clever this recipe is — watch the video below!
Growing up in the 70s, when it was my dad’s turn to cook a meal, he would usually make us an omelet or quesadilla. This was back in the day before dads really cooked OR people even knew what a quesadilla was. So, I thought he was pretty cool!
It was only a matter of time before the eggs met up with the cheese and tortilla. Honestly, it’s a match made in heaven. As my taste buds grew up, my love for omelets and quesadillas didn’t wane. Total comfort food to me! I started adding a variety of veggies to jazz it up and make a little more balanced meal – that works for breakfast, lunch OR dinner, by the way!
Spinach and mushroom are a classic veggie combo and one of my favorites. Something about mushrooms just plays so well with eggs – it’s a plant-based umami experience. If preferred, the veggies can be swapped out for others that soften up nice and quick in a sauté pan. Think of onions, leeks, grape tomatoes, bell peppers, shaved Brussels sprouts or cabbage, chopped kale, and such.
I love mushrooms & spinach, but you can swap out for other veggies in this adaptable recipe!
The two eggs, an ounce of cheese and a nine-inch tortilla offer about 22 to 25g protein (even more if you can find a protein tortilla). But, if you want even a bigger protein bump, add a small handful of shredded chicken, beef or diced ham. This quesadilla hack is very adaptable to your custom desires.
Pin it for later!
The Mushroom Swiss Omelet Quesadilla is such a great meal for anytime of the day, especially when you are pressed for time or fancy ingredients. Once you start making using this egg tortilla hack, you’ll never go back!
Omelet meets quesadilla in this quick and easy egg recipe that is satisfying for any meal of the day — breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Course:
Breakfast, lunch
Keyword:
egg, omelet, quesadilla
Servings: 1serving
Ingredients
2large eggs
1tablespoonwater
1/8tspsalt
1/8tsppepper
1teaspoonolive oil
½cupslice mushrooms
½cupchopped fresh spinach
1 to 2ozgrated Swiss cheese
1large 9” to 10” tortillasized to fit your skillet
Garnish: Avocado slices
Instructions
Whisk two eggs, water, salt and pepper in bowl; set aside.
Bring 9 to 10-inch non-stick skillet up to medium heat; add oil.
Add mushrooms to skillet and saute for about 2 to 3 minutes until softened. Add spinach and stir around for another 30 seconds or until wilted a bit. Spread out evenly in bottom of pan.
Pour whisked egg over vegetables, tilting pan and swirling egg a bit to cover entire skillet.
Cook for about 2 minutes (without stirring) until almost set; just very lightly wet still on top.
Top with half the cheese and tortilla.
Carefully shimmy spatula under egg mixture to flip entire thing tortilla side down.
Add remaining cheese to top egg side and cook an additional 1 minute.
Flip tortilla in half (for a half-circle) and cook for another 1 minute on each side until tortilla golden brown.
