Barbecue Cups are a blast from the past. Ground beef, barbecue sauce, and bacon baked inside pizza or biscuit dough for a quick and easy dinner. A great finger food to grab when you’re in a hurry.
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Last weekend I made meatballs nestled inside biscuit dough. They looked beautiful and we couldn’t wait to try them. However, they were blah and needed a lot of work. As we were eating them, I mentioned that they reminded me of Barbie Cups, (our nickname for Barbecue Cups) that we had when we were kids, made with Bisquick biscuits and hamburger with barbecue sauce.
While Mike and I were reminiscing about the good old days, the girls convinced me to try to recreate them.
I decided to use pizza dough and then threw in some applewood smoked bacon, hamburger and a honey based barbecue sauce. The girls loved them. The pizza dough made them a little lighter but easier to handle than the ones I remembered.
How do you make Barbecue Cups
Step 1: Cut the pizza dough into 12 squares and stretch it so it fits inside a muffin tin.
Step 2: Brown bacon and hamburger, drain and add barbecue sauce, I use Rufus Teague Honey Barbecue sauce.
Step 3: Fill the muffin tins with the hamburger mixture and top with cheese.
Step 4: Bake for about 10 minutes until the dough is golden brown and the cheese has melted.
I refrigerated the leftovers and Natalie loved them two days later warmed up in the toaster oven and she rarely eats leftovers. These also freeze great and can be reheated for a quick lunch or dinner on the go. The pizza dough keeps the filling intact so no fork required!
If you want an even better barbecue cup, use a buttermilk biscuit dough instead of pizza dough. While it’s an added step, the biscuit texture and flavor is amazing.
How to make BBQ cups using biscuit dough
To make barbecue cups using biscuit dough, you will only need half of a recipe for 12 biscuits. You can easily half the recipe which I’ve included in the recipe below or use the remaining half for biscuits which will freeze perfectly for later.
Step 1: Add the dry ingredients to a food processor and process for a few seconds. Add cold butter and process until the butter is pea size. Add cold buttermilk and process until it comes together. Place on a floured surface and form into a rectangle.
Step 2: Cut the rectangle of dough into 3 sections and stack them on top of each other and roll out. Repeat this 3 times then refrigerate dough for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness. With a large biscuit cutter, cut out 12 round circles. Roll out each circle until it fits in the muffin tip coming up over the top. Repeat with remaining dough.
Step 4: Add the hamburger mixture and bake.
Looking for more quick and easy weeknight dinner ideas
- Baked chicken
- One pot taco spaghetti
- Chicken and rice
- Lemon chicken and pasta
- Burgers with special sauce
- Shrimp foil packs
- Chicken enchiladas
- Stuffed shells
- Chicken meatballs
- Chicken and mango quesadillas
If you makeBBQ Cups be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! I would love to see your creation.
Barbecue Cups
Ingredients
- 1 lb hamburger
- ½ cup onion diced
- 4 slices bacon diced
- ½ cup honey barbecue sauce
- pizza dough
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups cheddar cheese grated
- BISCUITS
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ baking soda
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons butter cold and cubed
- ¾ cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450º. Lightly spray muffin pan with cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with cornmeal.
- In a frying pan over medium heat, cook onion and bacon until bacon is browned. Drain. Add hamburger and cook through. Drain if needed. Add barbecue sauce and salt and pepper to taste.
- Roll out pizza dough and cut into 12 equal squares. Spread the dough up the sides of the muffin tins. Scoop hamburger mixture into each cup. Bake for 5 minutes, remove from oven and top with cheese. Continue to bake for about 5 more minutes until crust starts to brown and cheese is melted.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- If using Biscuit dough: Combine dry ingredients in a food processor and mix. Add cold butter and process until butter is pea size. Add cold buttermilk and process just until dough comes together. Place on a floured surface.
- Shape dough into a rectangle and cut into thirds, stack on top of each other. Roll out and repeat 3 times. Place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
- Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Use a large biscuit cutter and cut into 12 circles. Roll each out until it fits inside the muffin tin coming up over the edges and fill and bake the same as if you were using pizza dough.
Nutrition
I was shocked by how easy and delicious these bbq cups were. They are a perfect weeknight meal!