Savory Pizza Scrolls with Puff Pastry
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Forget what you know about classic pizza. This recipe for pizza scrolls with puff pastry is an elegant version of your favorite party snack! With pepperoni, mozzarella, and fresh basil, they have all the flavors of classic pepperoni pizza in a crisp, flaky package. And you can make them in advance for a stress-free appetizer. Seriously, everyone loves these little bites!
I can’t even think about how much pizza I ate this past weekend when we were in Vegas. Between my in-laws Sicilian-style pizza for dinner to a kinda-tipsy-post-wedding slice to even more leftover pizza when I finally woke up the next morning, lots of cheese and tomato sauce was had. Some tequila was drank. I danced with my friends and I stayed up way too late eating wedding cake and I still have heartburn about it.
It was worth the heartburn though, because all that pizza inspired these cute little roll-ups. Pizza is one of those things that is perfect for a party but also doesn’t really work as an appetizer. But sometimes, I just want a little bite of pizza along with some garlic butter chicken wings or a few cheesy sausage jalapeño poppers.
This recipe was inspired by these pizza croissants that I used to make all the time when I was in pastry school. But instead of divvying up a bunch of slices, these two-bite snacks are much easier to serve as an elevated appetizer for parties or game day!
Grab some puff pastry
A lot of pizza pinwheels are made with pizza dough, but I actually like to use puff pastry. It’s a bit lighter for an appetizer and makes for a flaky, buttery bite. If you can find it, I would definitely use all-butter puff pastry, it’s so good!
For the filling, you’ll need red sauce (I use this roasted tomato sauce), whole milk mozzarella cheese, parmesan, pepperoni, oregano, and fresh basil. If you want that shiny crust, you’ll also need a large egg for egg wash but it’s 100% not necessary. I also like to add some red pepper flakes for spice!
More topping ideas
This recipe is super customizable so feel free to use any of your favorite pizza toppings. Try swapping the pepperoni with sausage, peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives, whatever you like. You could even use ham and pineapple if you’re freaky like that.
Just make sure that the toppings are relatively flat or finely chopped. They need to be small so you can easily roll up the pastry!
Make the roll-ups
For easy slicing, make sure that you 1. chill the puff pastry log until it’s firm, and 2. use a very sharp knife. Otherwise, the pinwheels will just get smushed.
Make-ahead & freeze
If you want to make these bites in advance, freeze the raw pinwheels! After you slice the puff pastry log, line the scrolls on a sheet pan and freeze them until they’re solid, 1-2 hours. Pop the frozen pinwheels in a parchment-lined zipper bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Also, you can bake them straight from the freezer, just add 1-3 minutes to the cook time if needed!
Refrigerate & reheat
If you have leftovers, just refrigerate them in an airtight container for 3-4 days. To re-crisp the puff pastry, reheat them in the oven or air fryer at 350°F (177°C) for 5-6 minutes.
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Quick & Easy Pizza Scrolls with Puff Pastry
Ingredients
- 2 sheets of puff pastry, preferably all-butter, thawed (520 grams)
- 2/3 cup roasted tomato sauce or store-bought, divided (180 milliliters)
- 3 cups freshly-shredded whole milk mozzarella cheese, divided (300 grams)
- 1/2 cup freshly-grated parmesan cheese, divided (50 grams)
- 5 ounces pepperoni, divided (140 grams)
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped, divided (12 grams)
- 2 teaspoons oregano, divided
- Red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
- 1 large egg
Equipment
- Box grater
- Bread knife
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Roll one sheet of puff pastry into a 10×12-inch rectangle. Spread half of the tomato sauce over the puff pastry sheet all the way to the edges. Evenly top the tomato sauce with half of the mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, pepperoni, basil, and oregano. Sprinkle red pepper flakes over the top to taste, if desired.
- Starting with the long end towards you, tightly roll the puff pastry into a long log, sealing the edge well. Repeat this process with the remaining ingredients so you have two puff pastry logs.
- Place the logs on a sheet pan, cover, and freeze for 20-30 minutes. (Alternatively, refrigerate the logs for 30 minutes or up to 3 days.) Once the logs are firm, use a sharp knife to cut them into 1/2-inch slices, about 20-22 pinwheels each. Line the pinwheels 2-3 inches apart on the prepared sheet pans. Refrigerate any remaining pinwheels for later.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg with 1 Tablespoon of water to make an egg wash. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops and sides of the pinwheels with the egg wash. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until the scrolls are crisp and golden-brown. Repeat with the remaining scrolls. Serve warm with extra tomato sauce.
