Pizza Pinwheels
It’s not that I can’t wedge a slice of pizza into Kenya’s LapTop Lunch Box, it’s just that it can be a bit of a challenge. When kids open their school lunch, the first thing they’ll likely judge their food on is it’s appearance, so a piece of pizza that’s been smashed to fit in the box, doesn’t seem like the easiest sell — no matter how much they love it. That was part of the reason that I came up with these Pizza Pinwheels. If you tune in to weelicious enough, you know that we make a lot of pizza in our house and coming up with new recipes for how to present it besides the everyday slice with tomato and cheese is part of the fun for me. These pinwheels are really like a pizza “sandwich” because the filling is savory, kind of like a ham and cheese sandwich, but much cooler looking. They almost dare you not to eat them. It’s also a versatile recipe in that you can substitute your fillings to fit your mood. Whether you decide to replace the ham with turkey or chicken or even go with just traditional red sauce and cheese, these Pizza Pinwheels will have your kids coming home from school asking for more!
*If you decide to buy a LapTop Lunch Box, put the word ‘weelicious’ into the code and get 10%off!
Pizza Pinwheels (Makes 35 Pinwheels)
1 16 oz Pkg. Ready Made White or Wheat Pizza Dough *Let dough come to room temperature before you roll it out.
2 Tbsp Dijon or Yellow Mustard
1 Cup OR 8 Slices of Ham, without the rind, chopped fine
1 Cup Mozzarella or Cheddar, shredded
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Roll out pizza dough until 1/4 inch thick and the shape of a large rectangle (about 18 x 12 inches).
3. Evenly spread 2 tbsp of mustard on the dough.
4. Sprinkle the ham and cheese on top of the dough.
5. Starting with end nearest you (the long end of the rectangle), roll the dough away from you, creating an even cylinder as you go (similar to a jelly roll).
6. Lightly sprinkle some flour on top of the roll (so it’s easier to cut) and using a serrated knife, cut the roll into 1/2 inch discs (pinwheels).
7. Place pinwheels on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and lightly press them with the palm of your hand to slightly flatten and bake for 12-15 minutes.
8. Serve.
*After rolling up the dough, cut the roll in half and freeze for later. When you are ready just take it out and let it thaw to room temperature then cut them into pinwheels and follow the steps 7-8. Or you can just cut the entire roll in pinwheels and place some pinwheels on a baking sheet, freeze for 30 minutes then place them in a ziploc bag, label and freeze. But be sure to always let the pinwheels come to room temperature then bake.
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brilliant…can’t wait to try this for my 17 month old who hasn’t mastered feeding herself with utensils without making a huge mess. she is super independent though, so these will be perfect! thanks!!
Wow these look great! Very creative
Love.it. On the menu for later this week. You rock!
I just followed this recipe to the letter and it all burnt. Every last one. I used parchment paper, and even that started to brown. 450 for 12 minutes is WAY too high.
I cooked the last 4 pieces that didn’t fit on the cookie sheets in the first batch at 425 for 10 minutes and that was perfect.
So sorry to hear that, every oven is different. Did you buy pre-made dough? I buy the ones from Trader Jo’s and on the instructions it says to cook them at 450. Also your oven temp setting could be high. Or even the altitude can affect it. I hope you try them again at 425. Let me know!
Dori, thanks so much for the heads up- I also needed to lower temperature. (I used homemade dough. I don’t know if that made a difference.) Catherine, thanks for this and all the other wonderful recipes. These were delicious and a big hit!
Would these freeze well?
Yes! After rolling up the dough, cut the roll in half and freeze for later. When you are ready just take it out and let it thaw to room temperature then cut them into pinwheels and follow the steps on cooking.
Or you can just cut the entire roll in pinwheels and place some pinwheels on a baking sheet, freeze for 30 minutes then place them in a ziploc bag, label and freeze. But be sure to always let the pinwheels come to room temperature then bake. This is a great snack!
I have the weelicious whole wheat pizza dough frozen. Do I let come to room temp, then prepare or cook for 400 on 7 min and then…?
yes, let it come to room temperature and then prepare and bake
This was a big hit with the whole family, thanks! Any tips on working with the TJ’s dough? Had trouble rolling it out to the large rectangle without holes. Will definitely be making this one over and over!
Did you let it come to room temperature first? If you roll it out too thin, you will get holes.
Let it sit out for 40 minutes, but it still fell apart on me. Pinwheels were still delicious (just fewer of them and some of the dough had too much flour). Thanks!
I used TJ wheat dough and cooked at 450 for just over 12 mins and they turned out great. I can’t wait to make there for a party.
Amazing! Thank you so much!
I baked them for a picnic lunch for a change instead of sandwiches. They were a huge hit, especially with the kids. They are fab cold too!
Instead of mustard could you use pizza sauce and make it more like real pizza? Is there a reason you choose mustard instead?
No reason, you can put any ingredients you like
I made them with turkey taco leftovers! Mild taco sauce, ground turkey, and mexican cheese. A huge hit!!! Thanks so much for all of the great ideas.
These were super yummy! And my little guy LOVED them. Thanks so much!!
Yummy!!! I snuck a bunch of veggies into this too, broccoli and carrots were a hit. Thanks so much for a wonderful “save for later” recipe.
I just did a post about your pinwheels on my blog: http://megans-kitchen.blogspot.com/2010/08/weelicious-pizza-pinwheels.html. Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Hi,
Can I bake all the pinwheels, let them cool, and put them in individual freezer bags to pull out for the kids lunches? So, freeze AFTER cooking rather than reserve the uncooked pinwheels?
Thanks,
Maria
You can but you will get better results if it is frozen uncooked then baked.
Can you make this ahead, refrigerate it and pop it in the oven later? I don’t have much time at dinnertime, so I’d love to be able to make this in the morning, let it sit in the fridge all day, and take it out at dinnertime and pop it in the oven. Or do I still have to wait for it to reach room temp?
You really need it to reach room temp so the dough cooks thoroughly, take a look at the freezing directions at the bottom of the recipe. You can refrigerate too
Made these for lunch today, yummy! I love that I could freeze half for later, great time saver. Thanks!
These were AMAZING!!