Cheesy Pizza Pinwheels Recipe

Pizza pinwheels are bite-sized pieces of pizza goodness that have the qualities we love in pizza — like flavored tomato, melted cheese, and crispy crust — but are served in a fun, shareable, and compact format. The visible spiral shape of the pinwheels adds extra fun to the food, and the alternating layers make each bite a more sensory textural experience. Pizza pinwheels are an alternative to regular pizza, but they're also perfect for serving as a snack, appetizer, or as part of a buffet, since they're a convenient finger food.

Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a recipe for pizza pinwheels made with a classic mozzarella filling. Tomato puree flavored with garlic, salt, pepper, dried oregano, and fresh basil is spread on defrosted puff pastry dough before being topped with grated Parmesan and shredded mozzarella. All that's left is to roll up the dough and bake before enjoying these rich, crispy, flaky, cheesy, delicious pinwheels. To add to the convenience, pinwheels can be easily made ahead and frozen. Just defrost and reheat them in a 350 F oven for 10 minutes before serving.

Make this recipe as is, or experiment with different types of dough or fillings. Your favorite pizza toppings will work just as well inside this rolled format. For an extra attractive presentation, brush the tops of the pinwheels with beaten egg before baking so they literally shine.

For this recipe, you will need a puff pastry sheet. Make sure to thaw it ahead of time following the package directions, and keep it cold before using it. This recipe doesn't require pizza or pasta sauce, but just tomato puree. This can be found canned or bottled in the pasta aisle of the supermarket. Bottalico explains that, while living in Italy, she observed Italians making pizza with puree rather than sauce, and flavoring it with olive oil, garlic, salt, and herbs. This gives Italian pizza a lighter taste than its American counterpart. You can choose to sub tomato sauce in this recipe if desired, and it will also work well. The other ingredients you will need are garlic, fresh basil, salt, black pepper, dried oregano, grated Parmesan, and shredded mozzarella.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Unfold the puff pastry sheet onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin to enlarge it slightly.

Spread the tomato puree on the sheet with a spoon, leaving a ½ inch border on one long end.

Distribute the garlic, basil, salt, black pepper, and oregano on top.

Evenly distribute the Parmesan and mozzarella over the tomato and spices.

Carefully and tightly roll the pastry, starting from the long end without the border. Press the seam gently to seal.

Slice the roll into 1-inch pieces with a sharp knife and place them cut side up on a greased or parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Let cool slightly and serve.

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This pizza pinwheel recipe was created with frozen puff pastry dough, which offers a rich, flaky bite and a ton of convenience. For a more traditional pizza taste and texture, you can use pizza dough. Go all out if you're up to making your own, otherwise, there are many store-bought pizza dough options that will fit the bill. Just make sure to buy either a ball of dough that you can roll out (they can be found frozen at the supermarket and must be defrosted first) or raw dough that comes in a tube in the refrigerated section near similar tubes of crescent roll dough. Once the dough is rolled out, proceed with the recipe as written.

Crescent roll dough is another option. This doesn't come in one large piece like pizza dough, but in several smaller triangles, usually 8. If you want to make pinwheels with a nontraditional shape, go ahead and use the triangles as is. They will still have the fun spiral shape. Otherwise, make 2 larger rectangular sheets of dough by pinching 4 triangles together for each, and then use the dough as directed in the recipe.

Finally, a quick option is to use large flour tortillas, although they won't puff up in the oven so the effect will be much flatter. Warm them first before rolling them up to avoid cracking.

Pizza pinwheels definitely rank among many easy air fryer recipes that don't require firing up the regular oven. An air fryer is smaller, so you don't need to use as much energy to cook a small batch of food, and the cooking time is also cut almost in half, cutting down the time you need to wait to take that first delicious bite.

The process for making pizza pinwheels in the air fryer isn't that different from the oven method. In our directions for the regular oven, we recommend greasing the baking pan or lining it with parchment paper. Do the same with the air fryer rack or basket, but keep a few tips in mind. First, cooking sprays aren't recommended for greasing when using an air fryer. Rub the basket with high-heat oil instead. Parchment paper will make cleanup easier if you have certain types of air fryer racks, such as those made of wire mesh, which are more difficult to clean stuck pieces of food off of. If possible, use perforated parchment paper (or punch or cut small holes in it yourself) to increase air circulation, which is the whole point of how the air fryer works. Make sure the paper doesn't drape up or over the edges of the rack or basket.

Instead of the 400 F temperature in our recipe, preheat the air fryer to 350 F. The pizza pinwheels will be ready in just 12-15 minutes.

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