Mini pizza and vegan wings? Yes please!

I love me a personal-size pizza, and for the first time, there is a frozen dairy-free and vegan version available for us to whip up in minutes! I first saw—and tried—Blackbird Foods’ Blackbirdie Mini Pizza at Natural Products Expo West in the spring. I am excited to announce it is officially hitting freezer shelves in stores, so we can all enjoy our favorite pizza in miniature! Everything is better mini!

Blackbird Foods began as a food service producer, supplying its seitan products to restaurants in New York City. They shifted to retail when consumers began asking for the seitan to use at home, and when the COVID pandemic closed restaurants, it allowed them to focus on adding frozen foods as well. I was introduced to Blackbird Foods frozen pizza at a couple of events where they provided catering. When they began rolling out in stores like Sprouts, their Margherita Pizza became a staple in my freezer. According to Michael Pease, the founder of Blackbird Foods, “on average, they [Sprouts] sell 10,000 of our pizzas per month.”

Blackbird Foods offered to ship me some Mini Blackbirdie Pizzas since I haven’t found them near me yet. I was surprised to find they also sent me 3 of their wing flavors to try! In addition to the Mini Pepperoni and Cheese Blackbirdie Pizzas, I received Blackbird Foods Thai Chili Wings, Korean BBQ Wings, and Buffalo Wings. The packaging reveals they are “naturally boneless” (LOL) and hand-battered, with the sauce in a separate bag for tossing or dipping. While I don’t do terribly well with spicy food, I tried all three flavors and can report they are tame enough for me to eat small portions of, and that their flavor makes me want to. The wings are seitan-based, chewy and tender without being too meaty, and coated in a crispy batter. The Thai Chili sauce is sweet and spicy, like the dipping sauce for a spring roll. The Buffalo has the classic spice and tang that makes your mouth water, but leaves you craving more. And my favorite, surprisingly (to me at least), was the Korean BBQ. It’s sweet and umami, with a slight kick. I enjoyed my wings and pizza with a NA beer, and Dairy-Free Hidden Valley Ranch for dipping. Looking for the ingredients? Head to the bottom of this post.

Mini pizzas have joined the Blackbird pizza line-up, aptly named “Blackbirdie”, and are available in frozen 4-packs of both Cheese and Pepperoni. Both are delicious and perfect for after-school snacking or a lunchtime treat. Blackbird Foods’ crust, in my opinion, is the best in the frozen pizza market, so I am glad the mini pizzas have a large crust-to-topping ratio. Blackbird Foods’ pizza crust is New York-style, hand-tossed, and made with an overnight rising dough. It has a crisp outside, a fluffy, chewy center, and is lightly salted. The mini pizzas have a similar crust to the full-sized, but use a mix of whole grains. The pepperoni is made by Beyond Meat, and is the closest I’ve tasted to real pepperoni in both taste and texture (from what I remember of traditional pepperoni, of course). I love the mini cheese pizza, as it allows me to make mini versions of my favorite Blackbird frozen pizza, Margherita, by simply adding garlic and basil at home. A Friday night with a full-calorie soda, a mini vegan Margherita pizza, and ‘Disney Dreamlight Valley’ queued up on the Switch- that’s the perfect evening for me.

You can find full-size Blackbird pizzas and bags of wings at our local Sprouts. The mini pizzas have not yet appeared near us in any stores other than Whole Foods, but they are available for shipping directly from BlackbirdFoods.com. Thank you SO MUCH to Blackbird Foods for sending me some in the meantime! I am almost out and ready to place my next order online.

What do you think- are you team Mini Pizza or Vegan Wings?

Blackbird Blackbirdie Pepperoni Pizza Mini Ingredients: Crust (White Whole Wheat Flour, Enriched Wheat Flour [Unbleached Wheat Flour, Malted Barely Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Filtered Water, Yeast, Sea Salt, Olive Oil, Organic Brown Sugar), Tomato Sauce (Fresh Tomatoes, Salt, Naturally Derived Citric Acid, Lemon Juice, Apple Cider Vinegar, Basil), Blackbird Foods Mozzarella Shreds (Filtered Water, Coconut Oil, Potato Starch, Tapioca Starch, Sunflower Oil, Sea Salt, Calcium Citrate, Natural Flavor [Vegan Sources], Chickpea Protein, Konjac and Xanthan Gums, Potato Protein, Annatto and Turmeric Extracts [color], Powdered Cellulose Added To Prevent Caking), Beyond Plant-Based Pepperoni Slices (Water, Refined Coconut Oil, Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Pea Protein*, Rice Starch, Cocoa Butter, Pea Starch, Salt, Methylcellulose, Natural Flavors [with Celery Oil], 2% or less of Rice Protein, Paprika, Yeast Extract, Mung Bean Starch, Garlic Powder, Spices [Including Mustard], Ascorbic Acid, Vegetable Juice Color, Red Beet Powder Color, Lycopene Color [from Tomato], Extractives of Paprika, Natural Smoke Flavor).

Blackbird Blackbirdie Cheese Pizza Mini Ingredients: Crust (White Whole Wheat Flour, Enriched Wheat Flour [Unbleached Wheat Flour, Malted Barely Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Filtered Water, Yeast, Sea Salt, Olive Oil, Organic Brown Sugar), Tomato Sauce (Fresh Tomatoes, Salt, Naturally Derived Citric Acid, Lemon Juice, Apple Cider Vinegar, Basil), Blackbird Foods Mozzarella Shreds (Filtered Water, Coconut Oil, Potato Starch, Tapioca Starch, Sunflower Oil, Sea Salt, Calcium Citrate, Natural Flavor [Vegan Sources], Chickpea Protein, Konjac and Xanthan Gums, Potato Protein, Annatto and Turmeric Extracts [color], Powdered Cellulose Added To Prevent Caking).

Blackbird Buffalo Wings Ingredients: Wings (Enriched Flour [Unbleached Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Water, Shoyu (Whole Soybeans, Whole Wheat, Salt), Citric Acid, Panko Bread Crumbs [Wheat Flour, Sugar, Yeast, Salt], Corn Meal, Potato Starch, Canola Oil), Buffalo Hot Sauce (Distilled Vinegar, Aged Cayenne Red Peppers, Salt, Water, Canola Oil, Paprika, Xanthan Gum, Natural Flavor, Garlic Powder).

Blackbird Thai Chili Wings Ingredients: Wings (Enriched Flour [Unbleached Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Water, Shoyu (Whole Soybeans, Whole Wheat, Salt), Citric Acid, Panko Bread Crumbs [Wheat Flour, Sugar, Yeast, Salt], Corn Meal, Potato Starch, Canola Oil), Thai Chili Sauce (Sugar, Water, Chili Paste, Garlic, Vinegar, Modified Corn Starch, Salt, Fermented Wheat Protein, Cayenne Pepper, Extractives of Paprika, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum).

Blackbird Korean BBQ Wings Ingredients: Wings (Enriched Flour [Unbleached Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Water, Shoyu (Whole Soybeans, Whole Wheat, Salt), Citric Acid, Panko Bread Crumbs [Wheat Flour, Sugar, Yeast, Salt], Corn Meal, Potato Starch, Canola Oil), Korean BBQ Sauce (Soy Sauce [Water, Soybeans, Salt], Sugar, Water, White Distilled Vinegar, Apple Juice Concentrate, Granulated Garlic, Corn Starch, Granulated Onion, Black Pepper, Ground Ginger).

BlackbirdFoods.com

Kingscrowd Interview with Michael Pease of Blackbird Foods