Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels | Hot or Cold!
These buffalo chicken pinwheels have cream cheese, cheddar, optional blue cheese, ranch seasoning, and you can make them two ways! Bake them up in puff pastry for a rich and flaky appetizer. Or, wrap the filling in tortillas for an easy, no-cook party snack. These pinwheels are amazing for get togethers, game day, tailgating, & more!
Ingredients
Buffalo Chicken Filling
- 8 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened (226 grams)
- 3/4 cup freshly-shredded sharp cheddar cheese (75 grams)
- 1/4 cup freshly-crumbled blue cheese, optional - see notes (30 grams)
- 1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce, I like Frank's (80 grams)
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons homemade ranch seasoning or store-bought (12 grams)
- 2 Tablespoons freshly-snipped chives or green onions (8 grams)
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (250 grams)
- Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
- Ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing, for serving
Baked Pinwheels
- 2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed (520 grams)
- 1 egg
No-Bake Pinwheels
- 4 burrito size flour tortillas
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer (optional)
- Bread knife
Instructions
Buffalo Chicken Filling
- Combine the softened cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled blue cheese, buffalo sauce, ranch seasoning, chives (or green onions), and chicken in a large mixing bowl.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the filling until it's well-combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl every once in a while. (Alternatively, you can mix everything together by hand with a rubber spatula.) Taste and add salt and pepper, if needed.
Baked Pinwheels
- 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 buffalo chicken filling over the puff pastry sheet all the way to the edges. Starting with the long end towards you, tightly roll the puff pastry into a long log, sealing the edge well. Repeat with the remaining filling and sheet of puff pastry.
- Place the logs on a sheet pan, cover, and freeze for 20-30 minutes or refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. Once they're chilled, use a sharp knife to cut the logs 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 pinwheels with the egg wash. Bake for 15-18 minutes until the pinwheels are crisp and golden-brown. Repeat with the remaining pinwheels. Serve warm with ranch or blue cheese dressing.
No-Bake Pinwheels
- Divide the buffalo chicken filling between the 4 flour tortillas. Spread the filling evenly over each tortilla, until it's about 1/4-inch thick.
- Starting at the bottom, roll each tortilla tightly into a long log. Wrap each log in plastic wrap or parchment paper to help them hold their shape. Then, refrigerate the pinwheels for 2 hours or overnight.
- Once the pinwheels are chilled, unwrap them. Using a bread knife, slice each log into 1/2-3/4-inch pinwheels. You should get between 11-12 pinwheels per log. Serve at room temperature with ranch or blue cheese dressing.
Notes
If you're not a fan of blue cheese, you can replace it with cheddar instead. Just use 1 cup (100 grams) of shredded cheddar cheese.
Make sure you're using freshly-shredded cheddar cheese and freshly-crumbled blue cheese. Pre-shredded will make the filling grainy.
You'll need pre-cooked chicken for this recipe. I like rotisserie chicken (skin and bones removed) but drained, canned chicken would work too.
If you use the homemade ranch seasoning in the recipe card, leave out the cayenne for less spice. Or, add it if you want spicier pinwheels. Leftover ranch seasoning can be used on snack mix, popcorn, chicken, etc.
Don't forget to thaw the puff pastry before making this recipe! You can thaw it at room temp for about 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge.
A lot of pinwheel recipes have you cover the whole tortilla with filling. But I like to leave the sides filling-free since the ends of the tortilla roll-ups usually fall apart once they're sliced anyways. (See photos in the post for a visual.)
Serving: 1pinwheel, Calories: 102kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 12mg, Sodium: 164mg, Sugar: 0.3g, Calcium: 24mg, Iron: 0.4mg
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