Homemade Pizza Rolls

After years of putting out party food the vegetarians in the room can actually eat, I’ve found these homemade pizza rolls turn on one dull step: the chill before you slice. You roll pizza dough around sauce, mozzarella, and vegetarian pepperoni, then chill the log so it cuts into clean pinwheels instead of squashing under the knife. That half hour in the fridge is what gives you tight spirals instead of filling that slides out in the oven.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• They go together ahead of time. You can roll and slice the logs, freeze the pinwheels raw, and bake them straight from frozen when people turn up.
• The filling is vegetarian without feeling like a stand-in. Vegetarian pepperoni, pizza sauce, and mozzarella give you the full pizza-roll flavor, so no one at the table is picking around them.
• They bake instead of fry. You get crisp edges from a hot oven and a sheet of parchment, not a pan of oil to stand over.
• The filling is yours to change. Once you’ve got the roll-and-chill method down, what goes inside is up to whoever’s eating.
• It’s a job you can hand to a child. Rolling the log and laying on the filling is the kind of hands-on task kids like doing.

Ingredients You’ll Need

You’ll need all the ingredients shown in the photograph below.

• Pizza dough. Store-bought refrigerated dough is the easy route, and it’s what I use on a busy day. If you’d rather make your own, my homemade pizza dough recipe rolls out well for this. Either way, let it come to room temperature first, because cold dough springs back and tears when you try to roll it thin.
• Pizza sauce. You need about two-thirds of a cup, spread thin. Spoon over a homemade pizza sauce or a jarred one, and leave a half-inch border of bare dough along the edges, since too much sauce makes the center soggy and stops the seam from sealing.
• Italian seasoning. Two teaspoons scattered over the sauce.
• Shredded mozzarella. One cup. Finely shredded rolls up tighter than the thick-cut kind. If you’re out, a couple of mozzarella sticks torn into pieces do the job.
• Vegetarian pepperoni. This is what makes them read as pizza rolls rather than cheese rolls, so it’s doing the real flavor work. You lay the slices across both sheets of dough before rolling.
• Fresh basil. For scattering over the top at the end. It’s a garnish, so leave it out if you haven’t got it.

How to Make Homemade Pizza Rolls

A complete printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.

Roll the Pizza Logs

Divide the dough in half and roll each piece into a rectangle about 10 by 12 inches on a lightly floured surface. Press your fingertips all over the dough to dent it, which stops it from bubbling up as it bakes.

Brush the tops with the olive oil, spread on the pizza sauce, scatter over the Italian seasoning, add the mozzarella, then lay the vegetarian pepperoni on top, leaving half an inch clear at the edges. Roll each one into a tight log and set it seam-side down on a baking sheet.

Chill, Then Slice

Refrigerate the logs for 30 minutes. This is the step that makes the difference: a chilled, firm log cuts into clean spirals, while a warm, soft one squashes and loses its filling.

Cut each log into twelve slices about an inch thick, using a serrated knife or a length of unflavored dental floss so you’re not compressing the roll as you go.

Bake Until the Edges Crisp

Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment. Space the slices out so air moves around them, or they steam instead of crisping, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the sides are lightly browned. Serve them straight away with an extra pinch of mozzarella and the fresh basil.

These sit in the same family as my other quick pizzas. If you like a handheld, snackable take, you’ll know the appeal from my pizza bagels and this tortilla pizza, and pizza rolls bring that same idea into something you can make a big batch of and freeze.

Recipe Notes and Expert Tips

• Cut with floss if the knife drags. A serrated knife works on a well-chilled log, but unflavored dental floss slides under the roll and pulls up through it without flattening the spiral or pushing the filling out.
• Go light on the sauce. A thick layer is the main reason pizza rolls turn out soggy in the middle and come unsealed at the seam, so spread it thin and keep the border bare.
• Give them a minute before serving. The cheese comes out molten, and a couple of minutes on the tray lets it set just enough to bite without sliding out of the spiral.
• Don’t crowd the tray. Leave space between the slices so the hot air can get around them. Packed together, they soften each other’s edges instead of crisping.

Recipe Variations

• Swap the vegetarian pepperoni for other pizza toppings, whatever you’d put on a pizza. Mushrooms, peppers, and olives all work, as long as you pre-cook or pat dry anything watery first so the rolls don’t go soggy from the inside.
• For a milder, kid-friendly version, leave the pepperoni out and fill them with just mozzarella and a little ricotta. Ricotta runs wetter, so keep that layer thin, or the middle turns soggy.
• Brush the tops with garlic butter instead of olive oil before baking for a glossier, more golden finish.

How to Store Leftovers

Once they’re baked, let them cool before you pack them away. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days and freeze for up to 3 months.

Reheat them in a hot oven or an air fryer to bring back the crisp edges; the microwave warms them through but leaves them soft. If they’ve been out on a party table, refrigerate what’s left within 2 hours, since the cheese makes them perishable.

To get ahead, assemble and slice the pinwheels, then freeze them raw on a tray before you bake; they keep for up to 3 months, and you can bake them straight from frozen, adding a couple of minutes to the time. Don’t leave a sauced, unbaked log sitting out at room temperature, since the moisture works into the dough and softens it.

What to Serve With Homemade Pizza Rolls

Pizza rolls want something to dip into. A bowl of warm marinara sauce is the obvious one, and a garlicky pizza aioli is what I put out when I want something with a bit more going on. For a light dinner rather than a snack, a sharp green salad on the side cuts through the cheese and turns a tray of pinwheels into a meal.

FAQs

More Pizza Recipes to Make Next

If these went faster than you expected, here’s where I’d point you next.

• Flatbread pizza. For the nights you want pizza flavor without waiting on a thick crust to cook through.
• French bread pizza. When you’re feeding a few people and want big, shareable slices that vanish fast.
• Neapolitan pizza. For the weekend when you don’t have enough time to make a proper base from scratch and want to keep it quick.
• Marinara pizza. When you want the stripped-back version: just sauce, garlic and oregano, no cheese at all.