Baked Pizza Pinwheels

pizza pinwheel with melted cheese and topped with parsley

5 from 8 votes

These bite-sized Baked Pizza Pinwheels are a perfect game-day appetizer or fun family dinner idea! Made with just a few simple ingredients, you can customize these to be just the way you like your pizza.

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Total Time35

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pizza appetizer

Servings: servings

Calories: 236kcal

Author: The Chunky Chef

Ingredients

2 (13.8 oz each) cans refrigerated pizza dough I use Pillsbury classic crust variety
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 cups pizza sauce homemade or store-bought
2 cups pepperoni slices chopped
1 cup shredded or grated Parmesan cheese divided
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
fresh parsley or basil for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly spray 2 standard muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Line a large work surface with wax or parchment paper (for easy clean up). Add cornmeal to a shallow bowl and set aside.
Open pizza crust cans and spread each crust out on the prepared wax or parchment paper, into a roughly 10x12 inch rectangle. I just use my fingers to make it easier, but you can use a rolling pin if you'd like. Place rectangles so the shorter edges are towards you, so the rectangles are oriented vertically.
Spread about 1 cup of pizza sauce onto each crust, leaving about a 1 inch border at the top of each crust.
Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese onto each crust, then top that with about 1 cup of chopped pepperoni on each crust.
Sprinkle about 1 cup of mozzarella cheese onto each crust, reserving the last 1 cup of mozzarella for later.
Roll a crust up, starting from the bottom, in a tight log shape. When you get to the top of the rectangle (where you left the border), stretch that dough up onto the roll and pinch the seam shut to seal it.
Use as sharp serrated knife and slice the roll in half, then slice each half into 6 equally sized slices.
Dip the bottom of a slice into the cornmeal, then place in the prepared muffin pan. Repeat with remaining slices. Repeat steps 6-8 with the other pizza crust.
Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese evenly over the pinwheels, then bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Notes

Recipe makes 24 pizza pinwheels, with an estimated serving size of 2 pinwheels per person.
If you're having trouble slicing the log into slices, you can cover it loosely and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Refrigerated pizza crust may be substituted with 1 lb of frozen or fresh pizza dough.

Storage

Leftover pinwheels should be refrigerated in an airtight container and eaten within 5 days.

Reheat either in the microwave or a 350°F oven until hot.

Freezing

For longer storage, pinwheels can be frozen! Place baked and cooled pinwheels on a lined baking sheet and freeze for 1-2 hours, or until frozen.

Transfer frozen pinwheels to a freezer-safe container, label it with the date, and freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition