Homemade pizza dough and homemade pizza sauce are the delicious base for these family-favorite pizza pinwheels! Layers of pepperoni, mozzarella, and parmesan are wrapped into a delicious pinwheel shape to create an easy and delicious appetizer, snack, or quick dinner that’s fun to eat!
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As a busy, homeschooling mom who works outside of the home, I need meals that are quick and delicious. Oh, and they need to be as homemade as possible. If you can relate and could use a little inspiration, welcome!
As I mentioned in my BBQ Chicken Pizza post, we love pizza night in our house but sometimes it can get a little ho-hum. Fortunately, homemade pizza is completely customizable! Changing up sauces and toppings is a quick and easy fix to liven things up, but another way is how pizza is presented. Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels make pizza night fun again!
Not only are these delicious pizza pinwheels cute and tasty, but they also freeze and reheat beautifully! I like to make a double recipe and store them in the freezer. When the kids are in need of a quick lunch or snack, they simply take one out and microwave it for about a minute. If you need a quick lunch for work or school, they thaw quickly and will be ready by lunchtime. Voilà! Quick, easy, delicious, and almost completely homemade. Yep, that checks all of my boxes!
Ready to get started?
For this Pizza Pinwheels recipe, you will need:
Homemade Pizza Sauce
There’s just something about a homemade pizza sauce. Maybe it’s the taste of last summer’s tomatoes, garden fresh herbs, or the hard work that went into preparing a big batch to last all year long. Whatever it is, homemade pizza sauce just can’t be beat. If you’re not a home canner yet or if you just have yet to restock, no worries! You can make a quick and easy version. If I need to make a sauce, I like to make it before I start on the dough. This way my sauce has plenty of time to cool down before I add it on to the dough.
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 ½ cup water
2 Tablespoons infused oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano*
2 teaspoons dried basil*
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon chili powder
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat for approximately 5-7 minutes. Mix continuously until the paste begins to thin out. If you prefer a thinner sauce, add one tablespoon of water until you reach your desired preference.
Allow the pizza sauce to cool to room temperature before placing onto the dough. I like to make my sauce first, then my dough so that it has plenty of time to cool down before
If you need a store-bought substitution, we really liked Target’s Good & Gather Organic Pizza Sauce.
* For this recipe I used my fresh herbs that I dehydrated with my Excalibur Dehydrator. If you're using fresh herbs, you’ll want to use 3 teaspoons for every teaspoon of dried.
Make this recipe with me on YouTube!
Homemade Pizza Dough
Preparing homemade pizza dough is really simple. It only takes 6 pantry staple ingredients that you likely already have on hand.
If you’re using a pizza dough that’s been frozen, you’ll need to thaw it out at room temperature for a few hours before trying to roll it out.
You can also use your favorite store-bought pizza dough. In a pinch, I’ve used one from Publix bakery and it was pretty good.
Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread
You may be asking yourself, is this really a necessary ingredient? The answer, probably not. But it is so worth adding! It adds a creaminess that pairs perfectly with the acidity of the pizza sauce. I love this one.
Pepperoni Slices
I like to get our pepperoni slices from the deli department. I find the larger slices cover more of the dough surface without popping out when I roll the dough up. I ask for the pepperoni to be sliced at 1/16 of an inch. This provides a slice that is thick enough to not tear to shreds when cut and holds up to the thickness of the dough. It’s also thin enough to get a good bang for my buck.
Cheese
What’s more classic on pizza than mozzarella cheese? We love the creaminess of the mozzarella paired with the tangy and nutty complexity of parmesan. I highly recommend skipping the pre-shredded varieties at the store and opting for a good quality cheese block like Tillamook, Cabot, or Organic Valley instead. Pre-shredded cheese has an anti-caking agent to help prevent it from sticking together and to preserve it. However, this anti-caking agent dries out the cheese and causes it to not melt very well. And what good is unmelted cheese on pizza? None I tell you!
Yield: approximately 12 pinwheels
Ingredients
½ - ¾ cup Homemade Pizza Sauce
Chive & Onion Cream Cheese Spread
15 Pepperoni slices, large deli cut (roughly 3 inches in diameter)
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ cup parmesan cheese, finely shredded
Directions
Roll out pizza dough onto a floured sheet of parchment paper into a large rectangle shape (about 12" by 14" works best), about ¾” to 1” thickness.
Using a rubber spatula, spread the onion and chive cream cheese evenly over the dough leaving a one-inch margin along the edge of one side lengthwise.
Pour the pizza sauce evenly over the cream cheese. Use the rubber spatula to even the sauce out over the dough, continuing to leave a one-inch margin along the edge of one side lengthwise.
Add the pepperoni slices over the pizza sauce, then evenly distribute the shredded cheeses over the pepperoni slices.
Starting with the lengthwise edge without the one-inch margin, begin rolling the dough lengthwise as tightly as possible to form a log shape.
Seal the edges of the dough with a little water, then wrap the rolled dough with parchment paper and place into a freezer-safe bag.
Freeze the rolled dough for approximately 30 minutes or until hardened but not completely frozen through.
Unwrap the dough from the parchment paper and using a serrated knife, begin cutting 1-inch rounds lengthwise until the entire dough log has been cut.
Place the pinwheels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 14-17 minutes or until the dough is golden brown and the cheese has melted.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving as they will be piping hot.
Freezing Instructions:
These quick bites are also a crowd-pleaser at potlucks, parties, and game days. To prepare them ahead of time, simply prepare as directed but leave it whole and freeze it. Remove from the freezer and allow it to thaw at room temperature for about an hour or until you can cut through the dough with a serrated knife into 1-inch rounds. Bake as directed.
To freeze prepared Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels, store in a gallon-sized freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months. To reheat, place in microwave and heat for 1-2 minutes or until heated through or place on a parchment line baking sheet and bake in a 350-degree oven for approximately 15 minutes or until heated through.
If you made these delicious Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels let us know in the comments below what your favorite pizza toppings are. We love to hear from you!
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