Puff Pastry Pizza Scrolls

Puff pastry pizza scrolls (pinwheels) come together quickly and easily, with only a few simple ingredients. Made with puff pastry for minimal fuss, they are packed with ham and cheese and baked until bubbly. They are the perfect finger food for parties, gatherings or an easy lunchbox treat.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Quick and easy – ready in around 30 minutes from start to finish, these easy pinwheels are made with a handful of simple ingredients and use frozen puff pastry for convenience.
• Versatile – easy to adapt with your chosen ingredients. Make them vegetarian or swap to add any of your favourite pizza toppings. Keep it simple by using up ingredients from the fridge and freezer. The options are endless!
• No yeast or dough needed – perfect when you need something quick and easy but don’t have time to make dough.
• Freezer-friendly – make them ahead and keep in the fridge or freezer for when you are short on time and feeling hungry.
• Portable finger food – like these puff pastry mini quiches, vegetable pasties and beef party pies, they are perfect for parties, entertaining and snacking.

Prefer to make them with dough? Try these pizza scrolls, cheese and Vegemite scrolls or pizza pockets.

Ingredients you will need

** This post contains tips and instructions to achieve the best possible results. This photo is a great guide for when you are in the supermarket, but for full ingredient quantities and methods, please scroll down to the detailed recipe card below!

• Puff pastry – use regular puff pastry or butter puff pastry; either will work. Thaw the pastry on the bench while you prepare the other ingredients. It will need to be fully thawed before rolling, or it will crack. In Australia, puff pastry comes frozen, in ready-made 25 x 25cm squares. You’ll need 3 sheets (or more if multiplying the recipe). You can also make your own puff pastry, if preferred.
• Pizza sauce – you can use homemade pizza sauce or store-bought. When using store-bought sauce, check the ingredients and try to get one without fillers or additives. If you don’t have pizza sauce, you can use concentrated tomato paste sprinkled with fresh or dried Italian herbs. Or swap for pesto.
• Ham – shredded ham is ideal for making pizza scrolls. However you can swap for salami, pepperoni, shredded chicken, or keep it vegetarian with any of your favourite veggie pizza toppings.
• Mozzarella – I recommend grating your own mozzarella for this recipe. Pre-shredded cheese won’t melt and bubble as nicely, thanks to the anti-clumping agents used. You can also swap the cheese for a different flavour. Try tasty (cheddar) cheese, asiago, gruyere, Swiss or whatever you like.
• Basil – fresh basil enhances the flavour. Alternatively, you can swap for any fresh or dried Italian herbs.

Step by step instructions

Full ingredient notes and quantities can be found in the detailed recipe card below. But here is a brief overview of what you can expect;

1. Spread the pizza sauce over the defrosted puff pastry sheets, leaving a 1-2cm gap at the top to seal.
2. Sprinkle with the grated mozzarella to cover and add the ham and basil (or your choice of toppings).
3. Before rolling, brush the top border of pastry with a little water, milk or beaten egg to help seal the scroll.
4. Start rolling the pastry at the bottom and continue rolling to the end. Aim to keep the roll tight, to prevent the fillings from falling out.
5. Keeping the roll seam-side down, use a sharp knife to cut the roll into 8-10 scrolls.
6. Bake on lined baking trays until flaky, golden and bubbling.

Tip: when placing them on the baking tray, leave enough space between each scroll; they can spread slightly in the oven.

Expert tips

• Make sure the pastry is fully thawed before attempting to roll it, or it will crack and break. The pastry should be kept cool or it can become too soft and hard to roll. If it is a hot day, or the pastry becomes too soft, place it back in the fridge to firm up.
• Leave a gap at the top of the pastry when you add the sauce and toppings. There should be some bare pastry at the end to make sealing the scrolls easy.
• Don’t overfill the scrolls. They will fall apart or burst in the oven.
• Make sure they are properly sealed. Otherwise, they can fall apart and lose their structure in the oven.
• Swap for your favourite fillings – any pre-cooked meats or chopped vegetables like capsicum, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, roast pumpkin, spinach leaves will work. Or, you can try your favourite combos like spinach and feta, BBQ chicken and pineapple or basil and marinara.
• If using wet ingredients like pineapple, tomatoes or grated zucchini, remove excess moisture by pressing them with a paper towel before use. This will prevent any excess moisture from releasing in the oven, making the scrolls soggy.
• Try not to press down on the pastry too firmly when cutting the rolled pastry, or the scrolls will become misshapen. The best way to avoid this is to use a sharp knife and make sure the pastry thawed, but cold.
• Make sure the oven is pre-heated. The scrolls need to enter a hot oven for even cooking and crisp results.
• This recipe can be easily multiplied for feeding a crowd.

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