Pesto Pinwheels: Easy Snack

Ever get a snack attack and want something savory and quick? How about no real work?

Well here you have it. These pesto pinwheels use all no-work no-hassle ingredients. That’s because they’re all prepared!

The beauty of these is you can change up the cheeses and even substitute things like pizza sauce if you have no prepared pesto on hand. Since pizza dough is a common ingredient for many other things, it’s not unusual to have a tube of the refrigerated kind right in your fridge.

How About That Super Bowl?

If you’re having a Super Bowl party with guests or if it’s just the family watching, snacks are always in order. Have you ever run out of tidbits to eat? I know I have so I rely on recipes such as this where I can get them up and out in less than 30 minutes.

I’ve done a lot of entertaining in my day and there’s nothing worse than running out of food. I’ve had guests who’ve been overzealous in their eating so I make sure I’m always prepared with recipes like these pesto pinwheels or even something totally prepared that I keep in my freezer. It’s terribly embarrassing to run out of stuff. It happened to me once when I was not prepared so I make sure I have things on hand,

So even if you’re not hosting a party but you get midnight snack attacks where you want something savory, this really fills the bill. And the leftovers? They reheat very well in the microwave or air fryer.

Pizza Dough

If you don’t happen to have the ready-made stuff on hand, pizza dough is pretty easy to make from scratch.

However, if you have a tube of crescent roll dough, that can stand in nicely. They will, of course, have a different texture but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. They’ll be a lot richer tasting.

The Recipe

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Pesto Pinwheels

For those last-minute snack attacks.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy super bowl snacks, pizza dough appetizers, snacks with pesto

Servings: 8

Calories: 239kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 tube refrigerated pizza dough
• 1/2 cup pesto
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Lightly spray a 8 or 8-inch square pan with non-stick spray.
• Roll out pizza dough to a 16 x 8-inch rectangle.
• Spread pesto on top of pizza dough, leaving 1-inch/2.5 cm on one long end plain.
• Sprinkle with the cheeses and roll up from the long end opposite the plain end. Cut into 16 rolls (a serrated knife works best) and place 4 across and 4 down in the prepared pan.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

For EU/UK--don't use larger than a 23 cm square pan. I'm not sure of your standard sizing but I'm basing it on 9-inches square.

Nutrition

Serving: 2rolls | Calories: 239kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 660mg | Potassium: 16mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 438IU | Calcium: 147mg | Iron: 2mg

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Meatless Meal Or Side

I love recipes like this because they’re versatile as well as being easy.

First of all, this is a wonderful side dish or appetizer. However since it’s essentially a pizza, it can double as a meatless main dish.

Whatsmore, what better way can there be to use home-grown tomatoes if you have them or buy them seasonally at the farmer’s market? And the fresh herbs in the cheese mixture add such a great flavor–and do use fresh herbs. This flatbread wouldn’t be as good if you used the dried stuff!

Cooking Method

I found there to be a few problems, to say the least, with the cooking method in the original recipe.

Pizza dough is soft and a bit hard to handle–especially placement on an outdoor grill. My instructions for cooking the dough on the grill still doesn’t make the dough easier to handle, but at least when one side is done, it’s easier to flip. The original recipe leaves the flip side raw for some reason. Additionally, shaping the dough on the baking sheet eliminates the need to transfer it.

I also found that once you add the cheese and tomatoes (outside grill method) the flatbreads just seem to steam. Tomatoes are watery so there should be a method that evaporates some of that moisture. My broiler method does, plus it makes the tomatoes taste better and browns the edges of the dough and the cheese.

Make It Easy On Yourself

One thing I recommend from the original recipe is to use the pizza dough that comes in the tube. It’s pre-rolled so it eliminates that step.  The only reason I didn’t use it and made my own is that I forgot to pick it up at the store!!!

All you have to do with the tube stuff is unroll it and cut it in half. I have included a link to homemade dough in the recipe ingredients if you want to go that way.

The Recipe

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Herbed Cheese & Tomato Flatbread

Here’s an Uptown pizza everyone will love

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Brunch, Dinner, Main, Main/Side, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: flatbread, pizza recipes, tomato recipes, vegetarian recipe

Servings: 12

Calories: 181kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 tube refrigerated pizza dough
• 1 -OR-recipe homemade pizza dough if you wish to make your own
• 3 medium tomatoes thinly sliced
• 2 tbs olive oil

Cheese Spread:

• 8 oz cream cheese softened
• 2 cloves garlic finely minced
• 2 tbs fresh chopped chives
• 1 tsp fresh chopped thyme
• 2 tbs chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tbs grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Garnish:

• 1 tbs finely chopped fresh basil
• 1 tbs chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbs grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

Instructions

• Preheat broiler to high. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray foil with non-stick spray; set aside.
• In a small bowl, mix all the cheese spread ingredients; set aside.
• Divided pizza dough in half and roll out each into a 12 x 6-inch rectangle and place on prepared sheet. Brush each with half of the oil.
• Broil for 3-4 minutes or until the dough is beginning to get brown. Flip dough and broil this side for the same amount of time. Remove and cool slightly on the baking sheet. Leave the broiler on.
• Spread half the cheese spread on one dough rectangle and the remaining spread on the other dough rectangle.
• Divide sliced tomatoes randomly on each rectangle. Sprinkle with the 2 tbs of grated cheese.
• Place the flatbreads under the broiler and broil for about 5 minutes or until tomatoes begin to dry on top and cheese is beginning to brown.
• Sprinkle with the basil and 1 tbs chopped parsley.
• To prepare bread on the outside grill--grill each side of the bread over high heat about 3-4 minutes each side. Finish the flatbreads as per broiler instructions

Notes

Adapted from Taste of Home

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 181kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 526mg | Potassium: 102mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 640IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 1mg

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