Pizza Roll Ups are like a piece of pizza all rolled up in a delicious little bundle. They are full of tomato sauce, ooey-gooey cheese, and, in my recipe, turkey pepperoni. My kids were the testing demographic for this recipe, so believe me when I say they are kid approved! They are make an easy weeknight dinner, kids school lunch, or after school snack.
Aren’t we all in search of dinner ideas and sack lunch ideas that our kids won’t cry or complain about? This recipe for Pizza Roll Ups is going to be your new go-to kid friendly dinner (that you will want to eat too!). They taste like take-out pizza, but made at home. Pair these with a salad and you have a dinner that is done from start to finish in less than 30 minutes!
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What You Will Love About these School Lunch Pizza Roll Ups
Are you sick of making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches yet!? Need a new sack lunch idea that your kids will actually eat, and LOVE!?
These Pizza Pinwheels make the perfect sack lunch for kids. Make them over the weekend, store them in the fridge, and then on Monday pop one or two in your kids sack lunch, add a drink, some fruit and veggies and lunch is packed!
Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheel Ingredients
Store bought pizza dough – this will be near the refrigerated biscuit dough and crescent roll dough.
Your favorite marinara sauce or pizza sauce – We love Rao’s but sometimes I find it to be a little thin for pizza roll ups. Pizza sauce is a little thicker and will stick to the bread better.
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – As always shredding your own cheese is the best, but since the cheese is rolled up in the dough a pre-shredded cheese is ok here.
Turkey Pepperoni – Use any pepperoni your family likes; turkey, pork, spicy, mini. Or you can opt for a crumbled and cooked sausage.
Butter and Garlic Powder – A little salted butter mixed with garlic powder is the perfect flavor boost for these little pizza pinwheels.
How to Make Pizza Roll Ups
Unroll the pizza dough and use a rolling pin to make the dough about 14×12, that way you will be able to cut 8 even strips from the dough.
Now cut each pepperoni into 4 pieces. It’s easiest if you make one big stack and slice them all at once.
Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough in half, then each piece in half again, and all of those in half again- voila- you have 8 strips!
Spread 1 tablespoon of marinara over each pizza dough strip, top that with the quartered pepperoni, and then finish with a sprinkle of cheese.
Roll each dough strip up, like a cinnamon roll, and place it in a greased cupcake pan.
Now melt the butter and mix in the garlic powder. Brush that mixture onto the tops of each pizza roll up.
Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. You will want to let them cool for about 5 minutes before digging in!
Make Ahead and Storage
To make these pizza roll ups ahead, prepare them and pop them in the greased muffin tin. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours. When it’s time to bake you can brush with the garlic butter and bake as directed, adding 2-3 minutes to the bake time.
Freezing baked roll ups: These freeze beautifully for up to 3 months. When you are ready to make them, reheat them in a 350°F oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re baked all the way through. Brush on extra garlic butter in the last 10 minutes for the best flavor and texture.
Freezing unbaked roll ups: You can also freeze them unbaked for up to 3 months. No need to thaw, just bake straight from frozen for about 20 minutes. Brush the garlic butter on for the last 10 minutes of baking.
What Do You Dip Pizza Roll Ups in?
Really, you don’t HAVE to dip these pizza bites in anything. But, it sure takes them over the top! Here are some different dipping sauce ideas for your Pizza Roll Ups:
- Garlic Butter (2-4 tablespoons of salted butter melted with a minced fresh garlic clove or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, stirred in)
- Marinara or Pizza Sauce
- Ranch
- Alfredo Sauce
- Pesto (I would mix the pesto with a little water or marinara to thin it out)
Pepperoni Pizza Rolls Variations
My kids like these with either cheese only or pepperoni (I like to use turkey pepperoni because it is A LOT less greasy). You can really add anything that your kids like. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- bell peppers
- black olives
- hamburger or Italian sausage
- pineapple & Canadian bacon
- mushrooms
- bacon
Classic cheese: Skip the pepperoni and keep it simple with just sauce and mozzarella. A guaranteed win for the pickiest eaters.
Supreme style: Load them up like a supreme pizza with bell peppers, black olives, mushrooms, and Italian sausage.
Meat lovers: Pile on pepperoni, cooked crumbled sausage, and bacon for the meat-loving crowd.
Hawaiian: Fill with diced Canadian bacon and a little pineapple for that sweet-and-savory combo.
BBQ chicken: Swap the marinara for BBQ sauce and fill with cooked chicken, red onions, and provolone. Sprinkle with cilantro after baking.
Buffalo chicken: Toss shredded chicken in buffalo sauce and add a little mozzarella. Serve with ranch or blue cheese for dipping.
Veggie: Go meat-free with spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers, and olives.
Breakfast roll ups: Fill with scrambled egg, cooked sausage, and cheese for a fun morning twist.
Pizza Appetizer Idea
This recipe for Pizza Roll Ups would also make a great appetizer for a cocktail party, Italian dinner, or kids party. I would just make them a little smaller by slicing the pizza dough into 10-12 strips. That will make perfectly bite sized pizza appetizers.
Serving
If you are serving these roll ups for dinner, here are some side dishes to pair:
Pepperoni Pinwheels
Ingredients
- 13.8 oz tube, refrigerated pizza dough
- 20 pieces turkey pepperoni, quartered
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 8 tablespoon marinara or pizza sauce - (1 tablespoon per roll up)
- 2 tablespoon salted butter - melted
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- nonstick spray or olive oil
- flour (for dusting the pizza dough)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prep a muffin tin with non stick spray or olive oil.On a lightly floured surface roll out the pizza crust rectangle to about 14″x12″.13.8 oz tube, refrigerated pizza dough, nonstick spray or olive oil, flour (for dusting the pizza dough)
- With a pizza cutter, cut 8 even strips (easiest way is to cut the rectangle in half, then cut each half in half, then cut each of those pieces in half)
- Spread 1 tablespoon of marinara or pizza sauce on each strip, divide the pepperoni evenly on all 8 strips of dough, top with the mozzarella cheese.Roll the pizza dough strips up, so they look like cinnamon rolls, keeping the filling inside of the roll. Place them in the prepped muffin tin.20 pieces turkey pepperoni, quartered, 8 tbsp marinara or pizza sauce, 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Mix together the melted butter and garlic powder. Brush the tops of all the pizza roll ups with the garlic/butter mixture.¼ tsp garlic powder , 2 tbsp salted butter
- Bake for 15 minutes, until the tops of the pinwheels are golden. Let cool for 5 minutes before eating.Â
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. These make excellent lunches for the kids to take to school!
Make Ahead and Freezing
- Make Ahead: prepare them through step 3. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours. When it's time to bake you can brush with the garlic butter and bake as directed, adding 2-3 minutes to the bake time.
- Freezing baked roll ups: These freeze beautifully for up to 3 months. When you are ready to make them, reheat them in a 350°F oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, until they're baked all the way through. Brush on extra garlic butter in the last 10 minutes for the best flavor and texture.
- Freezing unbaked roll ups: You can also freeze them unbaked for up to 3 months. Prepare through step 3, then cover completely with plastic wrap and foil. No need to thaw, just bake straight from frozen for about 20 minutes. Brush the garlic butter on for the last 10 minutes of baking.
thalia grace says
i am not liking it too much i don’t like turkey peperonni
Lindsay says
These are great for game day and any day! My picky teens love them!
April says
Made these today for myself and 1 year old & 3 year old. They were great! If I want to reheat them tomorrow before lunch (I know they can also be served cold,, how would you suggest I do that? Thanks!
Susie Weinrich says
Just wrap them in a slightly damp paper towel and microwave for 30 second increments. So glad you loved them!
Barbara says
Excellent recipe! My daughter has food allergies and can be a very picky eater. She LOVED these, thanks for the great recipe! Can’t wait to try it for school.
Tawnie Kroll says
I don’t have kids BUT I brought these to a party last weekend and everyone loved them (adults and kids!!). Thank you!!
Emily says
Put these in my kid’s lunches this week- they loved them!!
K says
Can’t wait Tu try this! Why not spread everything on the dough, roll, then cut? Like how you make cinnamon rolls.. I’m going to try it this way, seems easier!
Johm says
These are great for kids and adults. Great idea!