If you’re looking for a quick lunch or a fun way to make after-school snack time delicious, this Pizza Pinwheels recipe is the answer!
When you’re craving pizza, there’s nothing better than zesty tomato sauce, gooey cheese and slices of pepperoni on a golden brown crust. But I don’t always have the time to make a homemade pizza.
That’s where pinwheels come in. Pinwheels make great recipes when you’re feeding a crowd and need a couple finger food options.
You can make a big batch at one time, and it’s a fun food to serve for game day or any other get together. They’re the perfect snack for the whole family.
So if you have a pizza lover in your life, try your hand at making them a batch of these fun pizza pinwheels.
Why You’ll Love These Pizza Pinwheels
An easy recipe that gives your favorite pizza toppings a fun twist- what’s not to love!
- Easy: This recipe rates at the top of the list of easy-peasy appetizers that may make a crowd swoon. Yet, it takes only a few minutes to prepare. Plus, all of the ingredients are a cinch to get at the grocery store.
- Versatile: Make this as a super easy snack, a wildly-easy dinner, or an amazingly easy appetizer.
- Customizable: There are tons of ways to swap ingredients or add to this delectable dish.
Pizza Pinwheel Tips
A zesty no-bake appetizer option, there are a few tricks to making the best colorful and delicious pinwheel.
- Make-Ahead: Make them ahead of time, but not too far in advance. Ideally most pinwheel recipes are best enjoyed within 12-24 hours of making, otherwise you risk the tortilla getting soggy.
- Roll Tightly. Roll the tortilla as tight as you can. The cream cheese will act as a glue to hold it to together, but if you want a better secure connection, use toothpicks or wrap it in plastic wrap.
- Chill. Chill the whole roll before cutting. Letting it congeal and harden a bit will prevent it from collapsing when you cut them.
- Cut Using the Right Knife. Use a serrated knife and a sawing motion to cut the rolls without squishing them.
Ingredients
You can easily find these simple ingredients for pizza pinwheels at your local grocery store.
- Cream cheese – Any fat percentage will do the trick just make sure it is fully softened so it spreads easily and doesn’t rip the tortilla.
- Marinara sauce – When mixed with the cream cheese, it makes the perfect creamy, zesty spread for these easy pizza pinwheels. A homemade marinara sauce really sends these over the top.
- Pepperoni – You can buy a package at the grocery store or ask for it sliced at the deli counter. Just make sure it’s sliced thinly and/or chopped into small pieces.
- Dried Italian seasoning – You can make your own Italian seasoning blend or buy it pre-made at the grocery store.
- Seasonings – In addition to the Italian seasoning, I use a blend of coarse kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder and ground black pepper.
- Mozzarella cheese – I usually prefer to shred my own cheese, but because we don’t need it to melt, you can buy the pre-shredded type if you need to.
- Large flour tortillas – We used 10-inch flour tortillas and honestly, they can be any size for flavor you’d like, we just specify flour to prevent folks from using corn tortillas, which would be rubbery in this circumstance. Next time, we’ll use the square flatbread sold for wraps- makes for less waste on the ends since they are a perfect square.
- Dipping sauces – I like to reserve a little extra marinara to dip these pepperoni pizza pinwheels. But a garlic butter sauce or ranch dressing would also be delicious.
How to Make Pizza Pinwheels
You’re going to love how easy it is to make this pizza pinwheel recipe.
- Make cream cheese spread. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, marinara sauce, pepperoni, Italian seasoning, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and mozzarella cheese. Mash to combine.
- Spread onto tortillas. Spread the cream cheese mixture over each tortilla all the way to the edges.
- Roll and chill. Roll each tightly into a roll and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour to overnight
- Slice and enjoy. Using a sharp knife knife, cut into 1-inch slices and arrange on a serving platter along with marinara dipping sauce.
Variations
There are plenty of ways you can make these pizza pinwheels your own.
- Meat – Instead of making pepperoni pinwheels, try using sausage or even turkey pepperoni.
- Vegetarian – You can easily make this a vegetarian pizza. Leave out the pepperoni and add things like bell pepper, black olives or any other of your favorite toppings.
- Cheese – You can always use a different kind of cheese. Try parmesan cheese or an Italian cheese blend instead or or in addition to the mozzarella.
- Dough – Instead of using tortillas, try using crescent dough. You could also make your own homemade pizza dough or use store-bought pizza dough.
Storage and Freezing
Storage: You can make pizza pinwheels ahead up to 24 hours, although I strongly suggest not slicing them until you are ready to serve. Anything sliced means more air and surface space which leads to them drying out. Store leftovers wrapped or covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freezing: We do not suggest freezing these pinwheels. Cream cheese has the tendency to get a weird, cakey consistency when thawed.
More Easy Pinwheels Recipes
So easy and so delicious! Make a beautiful party platter by choosing a few.
Ham and Cheese Pinwheels
Bacon Ranch Chicken Pinwheels Recipe
Turkey Club Sandwich Pinwheels
Pizza Pinwheel Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese , softened
- ½ cup marinara sauce
- ½ cup pepperoni , thinly sliced and cut into quarters
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese , shredded
- 8 large flour tortillas (10 or 12 inch)
- Additional marinara for dipping
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, marinara sauce, pepperoni, Italian seasoning, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and mozzarella cheese. Mash to combine.
- Spread a heaping ½ cup of the cream cheese mixture over each tortilla all the way to the edges.
- Roll each tightly into a roll and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour to overnight
- Using a serrated knife, cut into 1-inch slices and arrange on a serving platter along with marinara dipping sauce.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings!
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Love, love this simple and super-tasty treat! Perfect for picking for get togethers or just as a snack anytime. Super-tasty!
My kids really loved it! Such a perfect snack! Thanks so much for the recipe!
I’m not sure who loved these more – my husband and I or the kids! They made the perfect movie night snack.
I’m going to a potluck Christmas party this weekend and I think these would be the perfect appetizer. Great idea!
These were scrumptious! I only wish I’d made more because the kids gobbled them right up!