Fun and delicious Pizza Pinwheels made with buttery and flakey puff pastry, salty prosciutto and gorgonzola cheese. These little pizza bites are perfect for an Italian-inspired aperitivo with drinks and make great party food.
These pizza pinwheels are such a fun and easy little recipe perfect for so many occasions be it finger food for parties, picnics or as an aperitivo with an Aperol Spritz in hand.
You can adapt them with various toppings, the list is endless really (see our suggestions below) but we've gone with one of our favourite flavour combinations; salty prosciutto and gorgonzola cheese.
The base is made with buttery and flakey puff pastry, we use ready-rolled making these pinwheels super easy, quick and convenient to make.
See the recipe below including notes on ingredients, step by step photos, tips, variations and a video tutorial. For the full printable recipe scroll to the bottom or click the recipe link below
Jump to:
Ingredients
See the photo below that shows you everything you need to make the pizza pinwheels plus some tips and notes on ingredients.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Puff pastry - we use ready-rolled puff pastry to make things really easy. If you use a block of pastry that needs to be rolled out make sure to roll it to around ½cm (¼ inch) thick.
- Passata (tomato puree in the US) - passata is perfect for a pizza base, especially for these pizza pinwheels as it's thick and flavourful. If you make your own tomato sauce make sure it's cooked down enough and not too watery.
- Dried oregano - a little dried oregano added to the passata gives it a wonderful flavour.
- Prosciutto crudo - you can use any cured prosciutto you like you could even use speck for a more smoky flavour.
- Gorgonzola - we used Gorgonzola Piccante because it has a crumbly texture but you can also use Dolce you'll just need to dollop small amounts rather than crumble it.
- Mozzarella - avoid wet fresh mozzarella for this recipe as it'll have too much moisture and make the pastry soggy. Use either a block of mozzarella that's usually used for pizzas or pre-grated (this is probably the only time I'll recommend using pre-grated mozzarella).
Step by step photos and instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 200C (390F). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Mix the passata with a pinch of dried oregano and mix to combine.
Spread the tomato passata over the sheet of pastry and lay over slices of prosciutto. Add crumbled pieces of Gorgonzola cheese on top followed by the mozzarella (photos 1-4).
Roll the pastry up into a log and cut the pastry into 1 inch thick slices (removing the ends with not much filling). Use a sharp knife for this so it’s easier (photos 5 & 6).
Place the pinwheels on the baking sheet and brush with beaten egg. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes (photos 7 & 8).
Variations and topping ideas
The variations and topping combinations for these pizza pinwheels are endless but two important tips to note when it comes to fillings are;
- Less is more - don't overfill them or they'll be too difficult to roll and cut.
- No soggy toppings - don't add too much moisture or the pastry will turn soggy - that's why I recommend using pre-grated (shredded) mozzarella and not fresh mozzarella.
Instead of tomato passata, you could spread basil pesto on the base which would be really delicious.
Cheese - You can also choose different cheeses such as Scamorza, Fontina, Provolone and Taleggio.
Meats - you could opt for salami, ham or other cured meats such as speck which is a smoked cured prosciutto.
Veggies and more - olives, capers, anchovies, sun-dried tomatoes, grated zucchini (I use zucchini for my daughter just squeeze out as much liquid as possible before using).
Recipe tips
- Use ready-rolled pastry - this is by far the easiest way to make this recipe. Rolling out the pastry just adds an extra and unnecessary step and these are meant to be quick and easy.
- Don't take too long - you need to assemble the pizza pinwheels relatively quickly or the pastry will soften too much and be difficult to cut.
- Soft pastry - Â if you find your pastry has got too soft put it back into the fridge or even the freezer to chill and firm up a bit again.
- Prosciutto - to make the pinwheels easy to cut make sure to tear the prosciutto into smaller pieces instead of whole slices.
- Cutting the pinwheels - use a sharp knife and cut the pinwheels in one swift motion to avoid squashing them.
Recipe FAQs
We recommend using ready-rolled puff pastry but you can also use pizza dough (either homemade or ready-rolled pizza dough for ease).
Yes, you can prepare the pinwheels in advance but they must be stored in the fridge if they are not cooked. Cooked pinwheels can be stored at room temperature for a few hours or kept in the fridge.
Yes, you can freeze the pinwheels before or after cooking. Freeze them flat on a tray without touching each other then once frozen you can transfer them to a freezer bag. Cook straight from frozen
More Italian appetizers to try
If you’ve tried this Pizza Pinwheels recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest or sign up to our Newsletter to see more of our delicious food
📖 Full Recipe
Pizza Pinwheels with Gorgonzola and Prosciutto
Ingredients
- 1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry (320g/11.2oz)
- 2-3 tablespoons passata (tomato puree US)
- 1 small pinch dried oregano
- 5-6 slices Prosciutto di Parma
- ½ cup cubed Gorgonzola piccante (50g)
- ½ cup pre-grated Mozzarella (60g)
- 1 beaten egg
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200C (390F). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
- Mix the passata with a pinch of dried oregano and mix to combine.
- Spread the tomato passata over the sheet of pastry and lay over slices of prosciutto. Add crumbled pieces of Gorgonzola cheese on top followed by the mozzarella.
- Roll the pastry up into a log and cut the pastry into 1 inch thick slices (removing the ends with not much filling). Use a sharp knife for this so it’s easier.
- Tip: if you find your pastry has got too soft put it back into the fridge or even the freezer to chill and firm up a bit again before slicing.
- Place the pinwheels on the baking sheet and brush with beaten egg. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
Notes
- Soft pastry - Â if you find your pastry has got too soft put it back into the fridge or even the freezer to chill and firm up a bit again.
- Prosciutto - to make the pinwheels easy to cut make sure to tear the prosciutto into smaller pieces instead of whole slices.
- Cutting the pinwheels - use a sharp knife and cut the pinwheels in one swift motion to avoid squashing them.
- Storage - Cooked pinwheels can be stored at room temperature for a few hours or stored in the fridge for around 2 days.Â
- Freezing - you can freeze raw or cooked pinwheels just make sure to freeze them flat on a tray without them touching each other. Once frozen they can be transferred to freezer bags. Cook straight from frozen.
Nutrition
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Leave a Reply