Homemade Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
Who knew that homemade pepperoni pizza rolls could be this easy? All that saucy, cheesy, pepperoni goodness is rolled up together making these absolutely irresistible.
With homemade pizza night a weekly occurrence around here, sometimes I try to figure out other ways to change it up a little. Not that we don’t love ourselves some pizza. We do. We really do.
But pizza is so versatile, it just begs to be reinvented.
French bread pizza is easy and fabulous. So are these whole wheat pizza pull apart rolls – both of which make it into our pizza rotation (along with lots of variations on classic pizza; this post has tons and tons of pizza topping ideas in the comment thread).
The pizza variation that has really won us over the last few months, though, are these homemade pepperoni pizza rolls. My kids can’t get enough! Literally.
Our family can easily devour the whole batch with my kids having a healthy role – no pun intended – in that process.
If I made these every night of the week, there would certainly be no complaints. Good thing I need a little dinner diversity in my life or I can see getting stuck in a big time pizza roll rut.
Don’t let the homemade pizza dough factor stop you from making these!
I’m not kidding when I say that my favorite quick and easy foolproof pizza dough, the perfect base for these delicious pizza rolls, really is what it claims: quick, easy and foolproof.
After that, it’s basically like assembling a pizza and then rolling it all up cinnamon-roll style, which let’s be serious, is kind of fun. Right? Right!
And of course because I love you, I’ve included a step-by-step picture.
After the rolling and baking, you’re going to find yourself with a pan of bubbling, hot, saucy, cheesy pizza roll begging to get dunked in pizza sauce.
It probably goes without saying that this recipe has endless possibilities (just like pizza!) for different fillings.
Just keep in mind to pat the dough thin, avoid being totally heavy-handed with the cheese and pepperoni, and keep the toppings chopped pretty small.
All of that will help when you start with the rolling action.
All of a sudden, I’m thinking a sausage and green pepper version would be rad. Or what about a chicken, bacon alfredo version?
Oh boy, maybe I really should start making these every night. Looks like I have a lot of pizza roll ground to cover.
One Year Ago: Mandarin Orange Chicken Salad
Two Years Ago: Classic Chocolate Mint Brownies
Three Years Ago: 30-Second Chocolate Turtle Cookie Sundaes
Homemade Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 3 ½ to 4 cups (497 to 568 g) flour (see note)
Filling:
- 2 ½ to 3 cups pizza sauce (see note)
- 2 cups (227 g) freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup (142 g) pepperoni, chopped
- ¼ to ⅓ cup cornmeal
- ¼ cup (28 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet (about 12X18-inches) with parchment paper.
- For the dough, in an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (you can also do this by hand in a large bowl with a spoon), stir together the water, honey, olive oil, yeast, salt and 1 cup of the flour. With the mixer on low speed, continue adding the flour until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and forms a soft, smooth ball. Knead for 3-4 minutes (add a few minutes if using whole wheat flour). Let the dough rest, covered, in the bowl for 10-15 minutes.
- Separate the dough into two pieces. On a lightly greased countertop, press one portion of dough into a thin rectangle, about 14X10-inches.
- Spread 1/2 to 3/4 cup pizza sauce evenly across the top. Sprinkle evenly with half the mozzarella cheese and then half the pepperoni. Starting with on long side, roll up cinnamon-roll style, pinching the seam together to seal.
- Place the cornmeal in a bowl or shallow dish. Cut the dough into 1-inch sections. One by one, press the bottom of each pizza roll into the cornmeal and then place on the prepared baking sheet about an inch apart.
- Repeat with the remaining half of dough.
- Once all the pizza rolls are placed on the baking sheet, sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.
- Warm the extra pizza sauce, and serve the pizza rolls immediately out of the oven with the pizza sauce for dipping.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
That looks absolutely delicious!
Delicious! Mine were super messy, but I think it is because of the sauce. I didn’t have tomatoes or paste on hand. All I had was tomato sauce. I think it was too runny for this. It all kind of seeped through the bottom of the rolls. (In case anyone was thinking about using it). None the less, they all were eaten in no time! Thanks for the recipe!
Mel- you are the best I have never been a cook but my mother makes your recipient all up the time and they taste like manna from heaven thank you so much for your recipient!!!!!
Thanks, Travis!
I have tried making my own pizza dough at least 2x before and it failed. this worked and the guests enjoyed the rolls. I got several compliments on them.
Mel – you’ve never steered me wrong before so I don’t know why it took me so long to try these. I just whipped up a batch for lunch and my family is oohing and aahing and singing my praises! They were skeptical as I was rolling them up bc they didn’t look that neat, but upon pulling them out of the oven my 17yo boy was yelling to his two sisters not to even come down bc they weren’t good, trying to save more for himself! I made pepperoni and plain cheese and every roll is gone in under 15 min! I think it’s safe to say these will be a new family favorite. Now if you could just make my growing kids stay young a little longer……
Thanks Mel!
Haha, I need the secret for that, too! They grow up too fast.
How much dough does it make? I’m going to us store bought dough. I think it’s 1 lb. Will I need to cut it in half?
It’s probably right around 1 to 1 1/2 pounds but I don’t know exactly.
I just weighed my dough and each half was about a pound. So yes, if you have one pound of dough, make half a recipe.
We love these! I’ve made them several times and they’ve been great every time. We also like ham and crushed pineapple on our pizza rolls. Question: have you had any success freezing these after they’ve been baked? I’d love to make extra and have some on hand to reheat.
Yes! We freeze them after they’ve baked and cooled all the time. Works great!
Best way to reheat them? I am making them this week but I know we will need to freeze some.
Foil covered in the oven at about 250 degrees for 20 minutes or pop them on a plate in the microwave (uncovered) and defrost for 1-minute intervals at 50% power until warm.
These were terrific. My whole family, and my kids’ friends, loved them. The one challenge I had was that because the dough was warm (especially after being kneaded by my hot little hands), I found the rolling and the cutting to be challenging — ie quite messy. After letting the dough rest after kneading it, could I refrigerate it for, say 1/2 hour, to make the rolling and cutting easier? Or am I the only one who had this trouble? Thanks for any insight you can provide.
Yes, you can definitely refrigerate (although sometimes doing so will tighten up the gluten making the dough kind of spring back when you roll it out). If it’s overly sticky or warm, you might try adding just a touch more flour.
Thank you!
Hi! I was hoping to make these tomorrow, but all I have is active dry yeast. Will that work in this recipe? Would I need to let it rise longer before rolling it out? Thank you!
Sure, that will work. Just proof the yeast in warm water and a pinch of sugar until it is bubbly and foamy before using in the recipe.
Thanks so much! They turned out perfectly 🙂
How much water would I use for that? 🙂
About 1/4 cup.
I already started making these when I realized that I didn’t have cornmeal. I went ahead and now my children are demanding i make these all day every day!! We loved them!! Gotta try to remember to buy cornmeal next time I go out!
being a pizza roll this offends me very much stop the violence this should be illegal
Mel,
Another A+. The first question my family asks, even before what’s for dinner, “Is it from Mel?”
I was afraid that I screwed this up because my roll was ooie gooie between the marinara squeezing out a little and the lightly greased surface….but cooked like perfection!
Mel, you never let my family down! You rock. These quickly moved from my Pinterest “recipes to try” to “favorite recipes” folder.
Awesome!
These have become a favorite at our house! I also like to sprinkle some garlic bread seasoning on top of the slices before baking. Thank you for this recipe!
Yum!
Scrumptious and everyone ate these up! I made them with Canadian bacon which kept getting caught in my dental tape. I use dental tape for my cinnamon rolls and it works beautifully. A word of warning, I didn’t really measure and I think I filled my rolls to full because it was an oozing mess cutting them up. No one cared, however, they still cooked well. Also, the dough was so easy and light. I just used all purpose flour. I need to add some wheat next time. Thank you!
I’ve made pizza rolls from another blog before and they were okay, but not great. When I saw you post these I knew I had to try them! I did half wholewheat, half white bread flour, and subbed ham for the pepperoni because it’s what I had on hand. They were amazing! I hid half before everyone came home and popped them in the freezer for quick school lunches down the road. Thanks Mel 🙂
Yay!
I’ve been making these for a while — my lazier version of your pull apart pizza rolls. Tonight I tried a new version though that turned out yummy. Cheeseburger: turkey burger cooked up with onion and garlic, cheddar cheese, fresh onion, pickle and a little ketchup and mustard.
Um, yum!!
I made these instead of homemade pizza this week, and everyone was in love with them! They’re definitely going into our regular rotation. Thank you for the recipe!!
We make copycat pizza muffins from a place called Floridino’s in Chandler, AZ. They have white (ricotta, parm, mozzarella, and diced fresh tomato), Buffalo chicken (chicken and mozzarella dipped in ranch), BBQ chicken, pepperoni, and combo (ham, Italian sausage, ground beef, and pepperoni, and cheese, of course). Just a few more topping ideas!
Tried to get my family to go there for lunch today just for the pizza muffins. They are one of our lunch vendors at school, but I wanted to make my own. Maybe we’ll go tomorrow! The white muffin sounds amazing.
These looked messy when I put them on the pan but they cooked up so pretty and were delicious! I’m going to add this recipe to my list of good take-in meals because they fit my criteria: not too time-consuming, everyone (including kids) likes them, and the leftovers are good.
These turned out fantastic. Thank you for the recipe!
I made these tonight for dinner and they were so fun and easy for little hands to hold and eat! My two year old struggles with regular pizza slices (he eats them sideways, from the middle…:). I love the idea to put these in school lunches. Thanks Mel!
I’ve been making these for awhile now. My kids love them! They work great thrown in the freezer in individual bags. Then I grab them out and toss them in school lunches. They are thawed by lunch time and so yummy!
Measuring the olive oil before the honey is my preferred method. This way the honey slips easily out of the measuring spoon. 🙂 We are making these right now! The kids are super excited. Thanks for another fabulous recipe.
I love this tip. Works great!
We made these last night. YUM! Total hit at our house. Will be adding these babies to our rotation! THANK YOU!
These were way to good! I can’t tell from your picture how many you fit on a pan? Mine got a little smooched when baked!
I fit the whole batch on one sheet pan. Glad you loved them!
HI Mel, I made these (unbaked) as a freezer meal for someone else. Can you help me with the cooking instructions I should leave? (I put them into two foil baking pans and although I know I should’ve left them an inch apart, there wasn’t enough room so I ended up squeezing them a bit closer.) Thank you!
Maybe put a note that says thaw in the fridge overnight, remove and let rest/rise at room temp until puffy then bake (as directed in the recipe). They could also probably take them straight from the freezer and thaw in the counter for 6-8 hours.
These were surprisingly good, I was impressed. Every one in my family ate them, which is a rare occurance! I used 2/3 all purpose and 1/3 whole white wheat and they were perfect.
I made these, and they were soooo good. Everyone in my family loved them. I even added some cooked sausage (3 oz. sausage and 3 oz. pepperoni), and they were delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
These were so fun! I even forgot to pat the dough and rolled it with a fairly heavy hand and they were still awesome! I cut some of mine more like 1/2 inch thick and we preferred those because the crust was a bit more crispy-ish. I had leftovers and stuck them in freezer. Today I pulled a few out and took to pool for lunch today- frozen and all. They thawed perfectly and the kids were so happy!! They freeze/thaw great! Also, just had to tell you that these make my heart happy because we are constantly trying to find things for our picky eater (who sees dietician regularly). These seem like the perfect find since she can afford to eat pizza everyday, but we can’t. 🙂 They seem to freeze and thaw so well, take less space in freezer, and less messy than regular pizza. Thank you!!
So happy these are a solution for your challenging eater, Trisha!
These were awesome and I loved how quickly the dough came together. It’s also now my new favorite pizza dough! Thanks- your recipes are always hits in my house!
These were fantastic and so, so easy! I love how quickly they came together… Even with “help” from the small population. Plus, the carbs were a snap to figure for my diabetic husband. Thank you!
Heard at my dinner table tonight:
“This recipe is a keeper!”
“They almost taste like pizza…” (That one got a “duh” look from the rest of the family)
“Is this one of Mel’s?” (This gets said anytime I make something yummy)
These were a big hit with the whole family! Thanks!
Made these this week and they were delicious, all the kids loved them. I loved the addition of the cornmeal. Definitely will be making these again and again!
Just made them tonight for dinner. Delicious! They were gone in a flash.
I don’t have bread flour on hand, but I always have vital wheat gluten. Do you think 1/4c wheat gluten + 1 3/4c all purpose + 2 cups whole white wheat would work? I know you should add flour to the right consistency, but do you think about that ratio should work?
I made them with 1/4 c vital wheat gluten and then split the other 2 3/4 between whole white wheat and all purpose flour. They were amazing and the perfect pizza solution for my kids. No left over crusts and my two year old didn’t just eat the cheese off. These were a winner at my house.
Yes, those ratios are about exactly what I would do…just make sure to add the white whole wheat flour gradually at the end so the dough isn’t too stiff. 🙂
Can these be made a day ahead and baked the day of my luncheon, tomorrow?
Yes, I think that would work great!
These were DEVOURED. Thank you!
Looks a lot like the West Virginia treat pepperoni rolls!
I’m excited for this one! Pizza that dunks in sauce is the best ever. Glad you had a great trip. We’re headed to Spain (not humanitarian) for our first ever get away in 14 years! How was the jet lag?
Have fun, Heather! Yes, the jet lag was a beast but honestly, not quite as bad as I thought. We tried to not oversleep once we got to Africa and get on local time as quickly as possible.
we have homemade pizza every weekend too, My little girl is the pickiest eater ever, but she LOVES pizza, will even eat the toppings of veggies, a miracle!! How exciting you went to Africa. Please share pictures. As much as I love your food recipes, I also love your non-food posts too. They are extra fun.
I have made these for years but never taken the time to make my own dough. Today I made them using your dough recipe and they were fantastic! I separated the dough into 4 portions and everyone added the toppings of their choice. Thanks, Mel, for a quick and easy recipe. Thumbs up from everyone in my house!
I’ve been making something very similar to these for years (no cornmeal though). I bake a batch then freeze them. The kids can put one in their lunch,still frozen, and it’s thawed by noon. Works great as another item in the rotation!
I made these for dinner tonight, they were so good!! Even though they didn’t look as pretty with my 3 and 1 1/2 year old helping. 🙂 thanks for another awesome recipe!!!
Just made these for lunch…AWESOMENESS!!!! They are fast, easy and sooo good!! The cornmeal is just the right touch to add texture and keep the roll from unrolling. They were devored in literally seconds. Thanks!!!
What’s the purpose of the cornmeal? Could it go without?! I’m dying to make them and have everything on hand, except for the cornmeal!
Hey Stacey – the cornmeal helps the rolls keep their shape a bit, plus it just adds a bit of authentic pizza flair but you could probably go without.
Hi Mel! I want to make these tonight for the kids but am a bit confused by the very short rise time. Is that enough time to allow for the yeast to work or am I missing something?
You can let them rise longer, Monica, but they don’t really need it. The dough is purposely rolled really thin so all the layers really come through and they aren’t meant to be super thick and fluffy, if that makes sense.
These looks great! Last night I was wondering this same question with regular pizza: could you make these up and stick the pan in the fridge for a few hours before baking?
Absolutely! You could even make them, put them on the pan, cover and refrigerate overnight. I haven’t tried freezing them, but I suspect they’ll freeze great (unbaked or baked and cooled).
Sorry, I’m sure I’m missing something – but the recipe says to divide the dough in half and then roll out one portion. What do you do with the other portion? I’m assuming roll it out separately and do another one?
Hi Laura – sorry for the confusion. You just repeat the process with the other half of the dough.
Mel! I have made a variation of these for a few years and I think you will love it. It is a copycat of the Pepperoni Rolls from the restaurant Old Chicago. For the cheese I use half mozzarella half pepperjack. For the filling I mix those together along with some chopped green onions (both white and green parts) and some dried oregano, basil, and black pepper. Then instead of pizza sauce, I spread ranch dressing (I have used homemade and it is great) on the dough before topping with the cheese mixture. I haven’t tried using cornmeal before, but I do brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with parmesan and italian seasoning before baking. They are divine dipped in pizza sauce. They are my husband’s favorite!
and obviously I add the chopped pepperoni in with the cheese mixture 🙂
Sounds yummy! Do you think these can be frozen at some point before baking (or maybe baked halfway before freezing)? I’d love to make them for my son’s birthday but we are coming back from vacation the day of the party so advance prep is pretty crucial to the menu:)
Hi Jolene – I haven’t tried freezing them (we literally eat the whole batch) but I bet they’d freeze great – either assembled and unbaked or already baked and cooled.
Welcome back! These look great! on the menu for our pizza night this week. BTW, the link for the homemade sauce is missing 🙂
Thanks, Barbara – just fixed it. 🙂