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This easy Pizza Pinwheels recipe is so simple to make with refrigerated crescent rolls, pizza sauce, cheese and your favorite pizza toppings. Just roll, bake, and serve for an easy snack or appetizer that’s ready in about 20 minutes.
These little bite-sized pizza pinwheels are great as an after-school snack, or as finger food appetizer for any get-together. With just a few ingredients, they come together in minutes! My whole family loves pizza bites and they are always a hit at parties.
For more easy appetizers and snacks, try Sausage Rolls, Pizza Bagels, Easy Ham and Cheese Sliders, and Game Day Jalapeno Poppers.
Table of Contents
Why We Love This Recipe
When my kids are hungry, they don’t want to wait around for a snack. They want something NOW. These mini pizza pinwheels are not only ready in 20 minutes, but you can freeze them and pop them in the microwave – so much better than pre-packaged pizza snacks!
Of course, they’re not just kid-friendly, they’re a perfect appetizer for grown-ups too. Instead of pepperoni, add some shredded chicken, bbq sauce, and red onions for some yummy BBQ Chicken Pizza Bites, or customize the veggies by adding diced peppers, onions, mushrooms, or any other specialty ingredients you like.
Ingredients For Pizza Pinwheels
The ingredients are super simple and easy to find.
- Pillsbury Crescent Roll Dough – You could swap for refrigerated pizza dough or even make a batch of your own and just roll it out nice and thin.
- Sauce – Pizza sauce is basically the same as marinara or spaghetti sauce, but it’s always pretty smooth.
- Cheese – Shredded Mozzarella is the most common choice for pizza, along with Parmesan cheese. Whatever cheese you use, make sure to shred it off the block. The pre-shredded variety has a coating that prevents proper melting.
- Pizza toppings of your choice
How to Make Pizza Pinwheels
Get a detailed list of ingredients & instructions in the recipe card below.
- Roll out the dough. To make them, you’ll need to first flatten out the crescent roll or pizza dough. I use refrigerated crescents and roll them out on a lightly floured surface, pinching the seams together as I go.
- Add toppings. Spread pizza sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and add toppings like pepperoni, bell pepper, or onions.
- Roll up the dough. Roll it up lengthwise (start with the short side) for larger pinwheels, or start from the longer side for smaller, more bite-sized pinwheels. Using a sharp knife, slice them into approximately one-inch pieces and arrange them out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for about 12 minutes until the tops are beautifully golden and the dough is baked through.
- Serve them with yummy dips like Marinara Sauce or Ranch Dressing, or eat them on their own. They’re good either way!
Hot Tip
To help preserve the shape of the pinwheels, wrap the unbaked roll in plastic wrap and freeze for 10-15 minutes. This will help keep them sold enough that they won’t get squished when you cut them.
FAQ
They will last 2-3 days in the refrigerator. Any type of bread product will dry out a little in the fridge, so the texture does change after a day of two.
Yes! They are great for freezing. Once baked and cooled, you can freeze them for about 2-3 months. Reheat from frozen in the oven or air fryer.
Sure – if you opt for the pizza dough instead of the crescent rolls, lay the dough out on a floured surface and roll lightly with a rolling pin.
Pizza Toppings
With this type of recipe, the customizations are practically endless! You can use any toppings you like.
Sauce: Besides pizza sauce, try Alfredo Sauce, Spaghetti Sauce, Homemade BBQ Sauce, white sauce, Nut Free Pesto, salsa, or buffalo sauce.
Cheese: Depending on the sauce and toppings, you could use sharp cheddar, jack cheese, provolone, Havarti, or pepper Jack.
Meat Toppings: Pepperoni, sausage, shredded chicken, ham, ground beef, or bacon.
Veggie Toppings: Bell peppers, spinach, mushrooms, onions, olives, jalapenos, diced tomatoes, pineapple.
Pizza Combinations
Tons of pizza toppings ideas but not sure how to put them all together? Here are a few suggestions:
- Veggie – Marinara sauce, spinach, bell peppers, mushrooms, fresh basil, olives.
- Chicken Alfredo – Alfredo sauce, Mozzarella, Parmesan, shredded chicken, minced garlic.
- Meat Lovers: Pizza sauce, Mozzarella, pepperoni, sausage, ground be,ef and bacon.
- Buffalo: Buffalo sauce, ranch, Mozzarella, shredded chicken.
- BBQ Chicken Pizza Rolls
- Bacon, Cheddar & Jalapeno Pinwheels
- Chicken Parmesan Pinwheels
How To Serve
Depending on how you slice them, these would be large enough to have as a quick lunch or dinner. Send them in lunch boxes or make them as an after-school snack.
Dipping sauces like marinara, alfredo sauce or ranch dressing are great choices.
Storage and Reheating
Refrigerating: Store leftover pinwheels in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Freezing: Place leftovers in a freezer-safe container or resealable plastic bag for up to 2 months.
Reheating: I recommend reheating in a 350℉ or air fryer just until warm. Microwaving is fine, too. Keep in mind that the crescent rolls become dry after a day or two.
More Pizza Recipes
- Pizza Pull Apart Muffins
- Triscuit Pizza
- Sheet Pan Pizza
- Pizza Lasagna
- One Pot Pizza Pasta
- Pizza Casserole
- French Bread Pizza
Easy Pizza Pinwheels
Ingredients
- 1 can Refrigerated Crescents or Pizza Dough
- 1/4 cup pizza sauce or marinara
- 3/4 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Pizza toppings of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
- Lightly flour a large wooden cutting board. Roll out dough onto the floured surface, pressing seems together as you go.
- Spread pizza sauce evenly over the dough, to the edges.
- Top with shredded Mozzarella and your choice of pizza toppings.
- Roll pizza width-wise (the longest side) and seal the and slice into 1 inch pieces.
- Place pinwheels on the prepared cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
- Allow to cool for a couple of minutes then serve with marinara or ranch for dipping.
Just wondering how long do these keep after cooking? Are they good cold? And do you have to defrost these before cooking if you freeze them uncooked? Thanks
Hi Rachel, I’ll be honest, they aren’t great cold because the bread gets a little chewy. If you have leftovers, reheat them in the oven or air fryer. I also wouldn’t freeze them uncooked.
Stop sending ads when I’m trying to look at a receipe !!!! N
Stop complaining about the ads on a FREE recipe. The internet isn’t free dude.
Made two batches, one on a cookie sheet (as suggested) and one using muffin tins. Highly recommend using the muffin tins as the rolls kept their shape and look much nicer. Need to really roll the dough out as well. I think my first batch was a bit thick. I think these will be a hit at my DS’s bday party!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Jennifer.
I thought this would be a great finger food, but unfortunately an epic fail making them by this recipe…. the first time around. Crescent rolls becane really soft, really fast while making and were baked the 350 for the 10-12 min and wasn’t long enough for that temperature. I ended up having to turn the heat up and bake 5 more minutes. 375 is the suggested baking on the packaging. So, I tried again. The second time around, the baked a little better but still flimsy. The freezer thing is a good idea if there is time. Tried a 3rd time with pizza dough and it was easier to work with, not as sloppy when cutting.
I’d suggest doing it with the pizza dough. As I was rolling (which is very difficult) the seams were coming apart. Also, cutting them isn’t easy.
Hi im looking at doing this for my wedding since its at 2, and we are just doing finger foods. Well my question is could it be made the day before, without needing to be reheated? Do you know if its still as good the next day and not soggy?
I honestly don’t think they’d taste very good cold. They are definitely a hot appetizer.
Another way to cut them and keep their shape is to use unflavored floss. Lay the floss under the roll along where you want to slice, pick up the ends, and cross them, then pull until they slice and are out, repeat. Works for cinnamon rolls, too.
Hi! Just tried this! Mine don’t look as good, but I live in the NL so probably different dough 😉 do you freeze then before or after baking them?
if you freeze these ahead of time, do you thaw completely before baking?
I haven’t tried freezing them before baking them, but if you do let us know how it turns out!
The idea is a good one but I prefer a pizza dough, maybe Pillsbury pizza dough if I don’t have any homemade. The dough was just to soft, Well like it suppose to be for crescent, just not pizza. The idea was 5 star.
Does the floured surface have to be a wooden cutting board? I don’t have one
Any clean, flat surface in your kitchen should work, like a countertop or other type of cutting board.