Made with fluffy bread, heaps of adorable mini pepperoni, swirls of pizza sauce, and grated mozzarella cheese that is gooey inside and crispy on top, these pizza pinwheels are fun to make and even more fun to eat. Serve them up for lunchtime, snack time, or as a game day or award show night appetizer.
I love making this recipe because it's so easy to customize with your favorite pizza toppings, and pizza pinwheels are freezer-friendly, too! I've got all the step-by-step instructions and photos you need to make the perfect pizza pinwheels plus some other topping suggestions and instructions for freezing and defrosting in the blog post below!
Jump to:
About This Recipe: Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels
A lot of recipes for pizza pinwheels use pizza dough as the base dough, but I wanted to make sure these were super fluffy and pizza dough just isn't built that way.
My pizza dough recipe is designed to be stretched thin and crispy, so I decided to use my easy soft sandwich bread as the base dough for these pinwheels instead. (It's the same dough I used to make my cinnamon swirl bread, too, super easy and versatile!)
In the theme of keeping things quick, easy, and straightforward, the sauce is my 5-minute no-cook pizza sauce. It's basically a dressed-up 6 ounce can of tomato sauce. And yes, if you prefer to use a store-bought pizza sauce, that's fine too.
It might look like the sauce has disappeared when you cut into the rolls after baking, but it's still there, I swear. The sauce absorbs into the dough as it bakes, taking on that flavor and moisture to make the rolls super soft and gooey in the middle!
I used freshly grated low-moisture whole milk mozzarella cheese (it melts the best!) and mini pepperoni to fill these pizza pinwheels.
You can leave the pepperoni out to make them vegetarian, or substitute them with your favorite vegetable pizza toppings like mushrooms, broccoli, green peppers, or onions!
Ingredient Notes
Here are the ingredients that you'll need to make these cheesy pizza pinwheels! See recipe card (at the end of the blog post) for quantities.
- Flour - You don't need any fancy specialty flours to make these pizza pinwheels! I use King Arthur Baking's all-purpose flour which has a slightly higher protein content (11.7%, closer to a bread flour) than other brands of all-purpose flour. If you're using generic or store-brand flour, you may see better results with their higher protein bread flour.
- Instant Yeast - I use instant yeast because it's designed to be added directly to your dry ingredients without having to be proofed in water first. Instant yeast is sometimes also called "rapid rise" or "quick" yeast. I designed this recipe to use 1 packet of yeast. If you're using active dry yeast, use the same amount of yeast, just mix it with the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes to become foamy before adding to the dough.
- Salt - I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt which is half as salty as other brands. If measuring by weight, you can use any type of salt. But if you're measuring by volume and using a different brand of salt, even a different brand of kosher salt, cut the amount of salt in half.
- Water - Warm water is crucial for helping this dough rise in the times given in the recipe. Aim for water around 90°-95°F. It should be decidedly warm but not hot, since truly hot water will kill the yeast.
- Olive Oil - Whatever olive oil or extra virgin olive oil you have on hand is just fine here. The olive oil adds fat to the dough, giving it a super soft texture.
- Honey - I use honey to add a bit of sweetness to this sandwich bread. If you don't have honey and would rather use sugar, increase the amount called for by 20%.
- No-Cook Pizza Sauce - Tomato sauce, garlic, oregano, basil, and salt. Easy peasy!
- Mozzarella Cheese - As always, I recommend using a low-moisture, whole milk mozzarella cheese. This will give you the best melt.
- Pepperoni - I used these Pepperoni Minis, which I was able to find at my local Stop and Shop. You can also order them online. If you can't find mini pepperoni, just cut regular pepperoni into quarters or sixths instead.
Making the Dough
This recipe follows a pretty standard bread dough making process.
- Whisk the dry ingredients — flour, salt, yeast — together.
- Add the wet ingredients — water, oil, honey — to the dry ingredients.
- Mix until the dough comes together in one mass on the dough hook.
- Knead until the dough is smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky to the touch, about 5 minutes.
Psst! If you want more detailed step-by-step photos and troubleshooting for this bread dough (like how to knead it by hand), check out my soft sandwich bread recipe post! It's exactly the same base dough.
Shape the dough into a ball by tucking all the edges under so you have a nice smooth top. Place it in a lightly oiled bowl, turning the dough once to coat it in oil.
Cover the bowl (I use these plastic hair processing caps as bowl covers) and place it in the fridge to rise for one hour.
There's enough yeast in this dough that it will still rise in the fridge, but it may not dramatically double in size, that's okay. Cold dough is easier to shape and handle, so doing this first rise in the fridge will make it easier to shape the pizza pinwheels.
This dough will be fine in the fridge for up to 2 or even 3 hours, so don't worry if you don't get to it exactly an hour later.
While the dough is in the fridge, make the no-cook pizza sauce and grate the mozzarella cheese so they're both ready to go when the dough is. If the cheese is too soft to grate, freeze it for 15-20 minutes first. Then pop the grated cheese back in the fridge until you need it.
Assembling Pizza Pinwheels
Assembling pepperoni pizza pinwheels can get a bit messy, so make sure you have a nice clean work surface and some paper towels or ugly, boring kitchen towels handy before you get started.
Prep your baking pan in advance. You'll also want to make sure you have the cheese grated, toppings ready, and the sauce made before you begin rolling your dough.
Pat the dough into a rough square shape, tugging and smushing a little at the corners to help form right angles.
Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, approximately 10"x18" in size. Dust with flour as needed to prevent sticking.
Lift the edges of the dough in between rolls to allow the dough to shrink back slightly. You want the dough to be at that 10x18" size when it's relaxed and doesn't shrink back when you release it.
Use the back of a spoon to spread three-quarters of the pizza sauce across the dough all the way to the edges. Leave ½" at the top clear.
Top the dough with grated mozzarella cheese and mini pepperoni, again, making sure to get it all the way to the edges.
Now, it's time to roll. Start from the bottom and carefully roll the dough up into a coil.
Use your thumbs to roll the log forward while your fingers form bumpers on either side of the roll to keep the edges even.
Finish by rolling the dough so that the seam side — that open edge — is underneath the log.
Rolling the dough up and cutting the dough into rolls is a messy process. Embrace it and approach it with confidence; it will all work out in the end, I promise.
Use a sharp serrated knife in a careful sawing motion to divide the log into three equal pieces.
Then cut each third into thirds. Use a sawing motion back and forth to avoid squishing the spiral.
Carefully arrange the 9 pizza pinwheels in three rows of three in an 8" baking pan lined with parchment paper.
Top the rolls with dollops of the remaining pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and mini pepperoni.
Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350°F until the cheese is well browned on top.
Remove the pan from the oven and carefully remove the pizza pinwheels out of the pan and onto a cooling rack. This allows steam to escape and air to circulate around them so they don't get soggy.
Let the pizza pinwheels cool a little bit before you begin tearing them apart. The cheese and sauce inside are very hot and you don't want to burn your fingertips with the steam that escapes!
Equipment Notes
This recipe is scaled to bake in a 8x8" square cake pan, though it will also work well in a 9x9" square pan.
As always, I recommend using a metal pan rather than glass, ceramic, silicone, or stoneware. If you're using a glass pan, you may need to adjust the baking time and temperature!
USA Pan Square Baking Pan (8")
Dimensions: 8x8x2.25". Square aluminized steel baking pan with sharp right-angle corners and rippled surface for increased airflow.
Pizza Pinwheel Variations
Just like pizzas, there are so many different sauce, cheese, and topping combinations you can use to make these pizza pinwheels instead of red sauce and pepperoni.
- Instead of dried basil and oregano, add 1 teaspoon Burlap & Barrel Pizza Party blend or other pizza seasoning blend, like King Arthur Baking Company's Pizza Seasoning.
- Add 1 tablespoon of King Arthur Baking Company's Pizza Dough Flavor to the dry ingredients to give your pizza pinwheels that long-fermented pizza crust flavor.
- Replace the pepperoni with crumbled sausage, diced mushrooms, green peppers, olives, bacon, ham, or other pizza toppings.
- Sweet and spicy: Drizzle the baked pizza pinwheels with hot honey for a little bit of heat.
- For super savory pizza pinwheels, use the sauce from my chicken marsala pizza with shredded chicken, fontina cheese, and fresh oregano in your pizza pinwheels.
- Pesto pizza sauce with sausage crumbles is another great variation on these pizza pinwheels.
- For spicy pizza pinwheels, add ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes to the pizza sauce. Use spicy pepperoni instead of mini pepperoni.
Storage Notes & Freezing
Pizza pinwheels are best enjoyed within 24 hours of baking. Once cool, wrap well and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. These pizza pinwheels freeze and defrost really well!
To freeze, cut the cooled rolls apart and place in a large airtight bag with as much air pressed out as possible. To prevent freezer burn, wrap each roll in plastic wrap before placing in the bag. To reheat from frozen, microwave pizza pinwheels for 40-45 seconds or place in a 350°F oven for 15-20 minutes.
Practical Tips and Recipe Notes
- If it's very humid where you live, hold back about 25 grams of water at the start. If the dough looks or feels dry, drizzle it in 1 teaspoon water at a time during the mixing stage.
- If you're using active dry yeast, no need to adjust the amount of yeast, just mix the yeast with the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes to become foamy before adding to the dough.
- Add 1 teaspoon basil and 1 teaspoon oregano or 2 teaspoons pizza seasoning blend to the dough for extra pizza flavor.
- If you don't have parchment paper just make sure to grease the pan well.
- If using a serrated knife to cut the rolls doesn't work for you, you can also use unflavored, unwaxed dental floss. Slide it under the roll, then cross the ends and pull to tighten the loop, cutting through the roll.
- Having trouble figuring out where to cut or tear the baked pizza rolls apart? Flip the whole thing over and cut from the bottom — it's much easier to see their edges that way!
Recipe FAQ
A kitchen scale is more accurate than cup measurements and will give you the right ratio of dry and liquid ingredients so that the cookie dough behaves the way we want it to. I tested and developed this recipe using weight measurements. If I were to convert it to volume measurements, I would be using Google — just like you would. And there's no set standard for how much "1 cup" of flour weighs, and different cup measures have different capacities (so dumb, I know) which means I wouldn't be able to promise you'd get the same delicious results!
Yes, you can use bread flour in this recipe. The dough may be a little bit drier as bread flour is more absorbent than all-purpose flour, but it will give you a chewier, softer roll. Pizza flour is a bit harder to substitute only because there are so many varieties of it; in theory any of them should work here, but you may need to adjust the amount of flour or water, or knead the dough longer to develop the right elasticity. Adjust as needed!
TL;DR — Recipe Summary
- Mix the dough ingredients together until a sticky, cohesive dough forms.
- Knead the dough until it is smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky.
- Shape the dough into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover and rest until doubled in size.
- Deflate the dough, roll into a rectangle. Top with pizza sauce, mozzarella, and mini pepperoni.
- Roll it up and cut into 9 rolls. Arrange the rolls in a square baking dish. Top with the remaining pizza sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni. Cover and rise for 1 hour.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350°F.
- Transfer to a rack to cool slightly before tearing apart.
📖 Recipe
Easy, Cheesy Pizza Pinwheels with Pepperoni
Equipment
- Square cake pan (8x8")
Ingredients
- 400 grams all-purpose flour
- 8 grams salt
- 7 grams instant yeast (see notes for active dry yeast)
- 236 grams warm water (90°F)
- 20 grams olive oil
- 8 grams honey
No-Cook Pizza Sauce
- 6 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt (use 2X diamond crystal kosher salt)
Toppings
- 226 grams low-moisture, whole milk mozzarella cheese (8 ounces, grated)
- ½ cup mini pepperoni (or chopped up pepperoni)
Instructions
- Mix. Mix the flour, salt, and yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add warm water, honey, and olive oil. Mix with the dough hook, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the dough comes together in a shaggy mass on the dough hook and clears the sides of the bowl.
- Knead. Increase the speed to low-medium and knead for 3-5 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, and elastic. The dough may cling slightly to the walls of the bowl but should pull away cleanly.
- Rise. Tuck the edges of the dough under to create a ball of dough with a smooth top. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and place in the fridge to rise for 1 hour.
- Make the sauce and grate the cheese. In a small bowl whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce. Grate the mozzarella cheese and set it aside (in the fridge if needed) until you need it.
- Shape. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and press it into a loose square shape. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it's about 10x18", dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Periodically lift the dough to release tension — it will shrink back slightly. Then resume rolling.
- Fill. Use the back of a spoon to spread about three-quarters of the pizza sauce all over the dough, leaving a ½" strip at one short end clean. Reserve the remaining pizza sauce for later. Top the pizza sauce with about three-quarters of the grated mozzarella cheese and mini pepperonis.
- Roll and cut. Starting with one of the short ends, roll the dough rectangle into a log. Use a sharp knife to divide the log into thirds, then divide each third into thirds. It will get messy, don't worry about it. Place the pizza pinwheels in a parchment-lined 8" square or greased round pan.
- Rise again. Top the pizza pinwheels with dollops of the remaining pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese, then finish with more mini pepperonis. Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap, then let rest somewhere warm for 1 hour until the rolls are nice and puffy looking.
During the final 30 minutes of the rise time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake. Bake in the center of a 350°F oven for 40-45 minutes, or until an internal temperature of 195°-200°F for doneness.
- Cool. Use the parchment paper to carefully lift the pizza pinwheels out of the pan and onto a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.
RECIPE NOTES
- If you're using active dry yeast, mix it with the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes to become foamy before adding the water to the dough.
- If it's very humid where you live, I recommend holding back about 25 grams of water to start. If it looks or feels like the dough needs it, drizzle it in 1 teaspoon at a time during the mixing stage.
- If it's very cold where you live, your dough may rise more slowly; it's okay if it needs an extra 15-45 minutes to rise.
Kat
I was watching for this recipe to come out before camping season 'cause I thought they'd make a great portable snack, and they did! The bread is fluffy and there is indeed enough sauce going on to make each bite feel like a good one. The centre pieces are obviously a little more saucy, so next time I'll probably focus more of the drizzle on the outside. They're such a fun way to have pizza buns, and we enjoyed these even 2 days after they were baked and stored in a cooler. I found the recipe easy to follow and the process was entirely manageable; I had actually made traditional pizza buns a month earlier and found these pinwheels easier and quicker. Will absolutely make these again for future camping trips. Wonderful, thanks!
Liz
EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED THEM TO BE! It's unusual to have your first attempt at a recipe look exactly like the photo, but it happened with these! Recipe was easy to follow, buns were light and fluffy, I am looking forward to making these again! As always, the hardest part is patiently waiting for them to cool when they come out of the oven