Easy homemade vegetarian pizza rolls use a premade pizza crust and sauce and are filled with all of your favorite meatless toppings. Make them part of a full meal or use them as a snack or an appetizer.
Pizza, But Make It Fun
Pizza rolls, pizza pinwheels, call them whatever you want - this recipe is just plain fun! All you need is some premade pizza dough - or make your own - your favorite sauce, and some delicious toppings to bring it all together. These cinnamon roll lookalikes are the savory version of your favorite spiraled breakfast food, and you can customize them however you want!
What Kind Of Dough Do I Need?
My grocery store sells 1 pound balls of pizza crust dough in the deli/bakery section. It's my favorite dough to use when I don't want to make my own and I want something a little tastier than the crust in the can (nothin' wrong with canned crust tho). I found this premade dough to be perfect for creating these vegetarian pizza rolls.
You can also use canned pizza crust. The cans tend to be a little smaller - around 12-13 ounces, so your yield will be slightly less or your dough will be a little thinner. This is all okay and the rolls will bake up just the same, albeit maybe a minute or two faster.
If you have a favorite recipe for a homemade dough that you want to use, go right ahead!
What If I'm Not Vegetarian?
I wanted to highlight these pizza rolls as vegetarian because I found it very easy to hide all kinds of vegetables inside without my kids knowing. What they don't know, they can't complain about! They were too busy tasting all of the cheese, crust, sauce, and other familiar pizza flavors - as well as loving the fun shape - to notice the healthy stuff I'd hidden within.
But if you're not a vegetarian (I'm not)? Not a problem - this recipe will work with any of your favorite meat toppings. Just make sure that any raw meat is cooked thoroughly before adding it to the pizza crust.
How To Serve
These are ready to eat - after they've cooled a bit - right after baking. However, you can also set out some fun dipping sauces such as additional marinara, garlic butter, or ranch.
If you want to use these vegetarian pizza rolls as a side dish to a main entree - vegetarian or not - that's a delicious idea! Try it alongside some fried or grilled chicken, streak or ground beef patties, meatloaf - really anything will work.
Pizza rolls also make a great after school snack! You can prepare the log in advance, wrap it in plastic and keep it refrigerated. When ready to bake, take it out, slice, and bake. In fact, chilling the dough will firm it up and make cutting clean slices even easier.
How To Roll And Cut Pizza Rolls
If you have ever made homemade cinnamon rolls, the process for making these vegetarian pizza rolls is much the same.
- Press Out The Crust. You'll want the dough to be close to room temperature, as super chilled dough is difficult to manipulate. Use your fingertips to press the crust out into an approximate 11x15" rectangle.
- Add the Sauce. Add about a cup of your favorite sauce - white, red, alfredo, or just a brush of olive oil. Spread the sauce very close to the edges but don't slop it on too thick.
- Add the Toppings. Add any number of your favorite veggie toppings, making sure all of the sauce is covered. Don't pile the toppings too high, as this will make it harder to cut the rolls and keep them looking nice.
- Cheese it Up. Top the pizza with your favorite cheese - I like a combo of Parmesan and Mozzarella.
- Roll It Up. Start on the long end and tightly roll up the crust until you have a log (see photo above).
- Slice the Rolls. Use a very sharp knife - I recommend a large serrated bread knife - to slice the log into 1-inch slices. The ones at the very ends will look a little wonky, and that's okay.
- Bake and Enjoy. Place the slices onto a greased baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 for 9-12 minutes, depending on your oven, until the crust is golden and the cheese inside is melty.
Topping Combinations
Try these combinations of toppings for fun variations on your vegetarian pizza rolls. And for you meat lovers (of which I am one) feel free to add your favorite protein as well!
- Spinach, Feta, Pine Nuts, and Basil, and Mozzarella. Sauce: brush with olive oil.
- Artichoke hearts, spinach, tomatoes, and Mozzarella. Sauce: brush with olive oil.
- Spinach, cooked mushrooms and onions, and Mozzarella. Sauce: alfredo
- Greek olives, Feta, Red Onions, Oregano, Arugula. Sauce: red
Vegetarian Pizza Rolls
- Total Time: 26 minutes
- Yield: 14-16 rolls 1x
Description
As fun to make as they are to eat, these pizza pinwheels can be filled with any number of toppings and use a premade crust and sauce to make them extra simple!
Ingredients
- 1 16 oz ball premade pizza dough OR 1 can of pizza crust
- 1 jar of your favorite pizza sauce (you won't use all of it)
- 1 cup (approx) of shredded mozzarella cheese
- Grated Parmesan cheese, to taste
- A few shakes each of black pepper and ground oregano
- Toppings of choice: cooked onion and garlic, roasted red pepper, sundried tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, banana peppers, baby spinach, artichoke, olives, and/or sliced almonds
Instructions
- Remove pizza crust from refrigerator and let sit for 20-30 minutes on the counter. Preheat oven to 350F and spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Using a lightly floured surface or silicone mat, press the crust out into a 11x15" rectangle. It doesn't have to be perfect.
- Spread desired amount of sauce onto the crust, stopping about ⅛" from the edges. Don't spread the sauce too thick.
- Add desired toppings, making sure they cover all the way to the edges of the sauce. Don't pile the toppings too high - that will make the pinwheel slices harder to cut.
- Add Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and sprinkle with black pepper and ground oregano.
- Starting on the long end, tightly roll up the pizza into a log. Use a sharp knife - I like a large serrated bread knife - to cut into 1 inch slices.
- Place the slices onto the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes until crust is golden.
- Serve warm with additional marinara, garlic butter, and/or ranch sauces if desired.
Notes
Recommended Equipment
Large Bread Knife - I find a large serrated edge bread knife to be best for making clean slices.
Nonstick Pastry Mat - I LOVE these for manipulating bread doughs, pastry/pie crusts, etc. The built in measurements make it so easy to measure my baked goods.
The toppings I used in the photos were red sauce, pepper and oregano, fresh basil leaves, cooked onions and garlic, Parmesan, and Mozzarella cheese.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Category: Entree
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: pizza rolls, pinwheels, appetizer, main dish
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