Pepperoni Pizza Rolls: prepared with my kitchen-tested pizza dough recipe, these pepperoni pizza rolls are an instant crowd-pleaser. Packed with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni, these rolls are extra awesome dipped in your favorite pizza sauce.
Our team won the SuperBowl last year and to say the city of Baltimore went bananas is an understatement. The streets were packed, the crowd was roaring. Our plans aren’t quite as exciting for the SuperBowl this year, but I have an AWESOME new snack to bring along. These are pepperoni pizza rolls and you can use frozen or homemade pizza dough!
It took me 3 tries to get these pizza rolls right. The 1st time I made them, the rolls completely fell apart as I was cutting. The 2nd time, I burnt them to a black crisp. But the 3rd time was a charm! The rolls were pizza perfection: crispy on the bottom, tender on the inside, super cheesy, and packed with pepperoni. You will love making and eating pizza this way.
Homemade Pizza Dough
You can use store-bought, but I encourage you to try homemade pizza dough. This lean dough makes a crust that is extra flavorful and crisp with a super soft and chewy interior. You can watch me make the dough in this helpful video tutorial. The entire dough recipe yields 24 pizza rolls, but you can cut the dough in half to yield only 12 rolls. (Extra pizza dough freezes and thaws beautifully.)
Or use my whole wheat pizza dough instead. The same steps apply, just swap out the crust. You can use either dough recipe for homemade garlic knots, too.
If you wish to use a rich bread dough for a softer, dinner roll or homemade breadstick like texture, I highly recommend making these pizza pull apart rolls instead!
Baking with Yeast Guide
Reference this Baking with Yeast Guide whenever you work with baker’s yeast. I include practical answers to all of your common yeast questions.
How to Make Pizza Rolls
Pizza rolls are surprisingly simple and if youโve made cinnamon rolls before, youโre familiar with the process. Itโs all pretty similar to making stromboli. After the pizza dough is prepared, follow these 3 easy steps:
- Roll out the dough, make dents in it with your fingers, and brush with olive oil. Why? The little dents in the dough prevent air bubbles and the olive oil prevents any sogginess.
- Fill the dough with your favorite pizza toppings like pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. Thinly sliced peppers, onions, and cooked crumbled sausage works too!
- Roll up the dough and chill for 25 minutes. Why? Chilling will prevent your rolls from falling apart as you cut. During that time, preheat your oven. You want the entire oven to be hot and ready!
Top with some parmesan cheese and bake into crispy, melty perfection.
Dip the bottom of the rolls in a little cornmeal before baking. This is completely optional, but adds a wonderful CRUNCH on the bottom.
I havenโt met anyone who doesnโt like cinnamon rolls and pizza, and with todayโs recipe, you get the best of both worlds.
More Favorite Appetizers
Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
- Yield: 24 rolls
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
You’ll have fun both making and eating these Homemade Pizza Rolls! Made with my tested pizza dough recipe, this is a perfect party snack. Use your favorite pizza toppings such as pepperoni, cheese, and pizza sauce. The recipe can be halved to make 12 rolls.
Ingredients
- 1 recipe homemade pizza dough*
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2/3 cup pizza sauce (homemade or store-bought)
- Italian seasoning or ground basil, to taste
- garlic powder, to taste
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 60–65 pepperoni slices
- optional: 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
- optional: extra mozzarella cheese and fresh basil
Instructions
- Prepare pizza dough through step 4. When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each half into a large rectangle, about 10×12 inches.
- To prevent the filling from making your pizza rolls soggy, brush the tops lightly with 1 teaspoon olive oil each. Using your fingers, push dents into the surface of the dough rectangles to prevent bubbling.ย See photo above for visual.ย Spread 1/3 cup pizza sauce on top of each dough rectangle. Sprinkle each lightly with Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
- Sprinkle 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella evenly over sauce, then top with pepperoni slices. Carefully roll dough rectangles into tight logs. Place logs onto 1 prepared baking sheet, seam side down and place baking sheet in the refrigerator to chill, uncovered, for at least 20 minutes. Chilling prevents the rolls from falling apart as you slice.
- During that time, preheat oven toย 400ยฐF (204ยฐC). Line two large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Remove logs from the refrigerator and cut each into 12 1-inch slices. Pour cornmeal into a plate or bowl. Dip the bottom of each roll into cornmeal and place 12 on each baking sheet, cornmeal side down. The cornmeal is optional, but gives the bottom of the rolls an extra delicious crisp. Sprinkle the tops of the rolls with extra cheese, if desired.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the sides are lightly browned.ย Cool for 5 minutes, then serve with fresh basil on top (if desired) and extra pizza sauce for dipping. Pizza rolls should be enjoyed immediately, though they can be covered tightly and stored for a few days in the refrigerator. Reheat to your liking.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: If you plan to make this snack ahead of time, prepare the rolls throughย step 3ย where you chill the logs in the refrigerator. Cover the rolls tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 day. The next day, proceed with the recipe. Baked pizza rolls freeze well, up to 3 months. Bake frozen rolls atย 350ยฐF (177ยฐC) for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.ย See the pizza crust recipe for how to freeze and thaw the pizza dough.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer (for pizza dough) | Rolling Pin | Pastry Brush | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper
- Half Batch: Recipe can easily be halved to yield 12 rolls. Freeze half of the pizza dough for another time.
- Whole Wheat Version: If desired, use whole wheat pizza dough instead.
- Muffin Pan or 9×13-inch Baking Pan: You can bake these rolls in muffin pans or 9×13-inch baking pans. Bake time is the same.
- Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hello Sally, can I use this recipe to make cheese sticks? Thank you.
Hi Yendi, yesโhere is our cheese sticks recipe using the same dough.
These were a hit! I regret only making a half batch :). Super easy to roll and slice, too.
I’m just about ready to start making these again for about the 10th time. I always have a half batch of Sally’s pizza dough in my freezer. This is a great recipe that gets requested often in my household. Don’t omit the suggested cornmeal. It is a game changer.
I made this recipe like 10 times and these come out amazing every time. I also make a version with minced beef topping and it is out of this world
Hi! Can the chilled log stay in the fridge for two days? Just trying to plan how to make these ahead of time with a restrictive schedule. Thanks!
Hi Tina, we only recommend keeping the chilled log in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. See recipe notes for alternate freezing options. Hope it’s a hit!
Can you freeze these pizza rolls?
Absolutely! See Notes after the recipe for details.
What is the approx. weight of the prepared pizza dough…..should I decide to buy it from my pizza guy instead of making it from scratch. Am I looking for. 1 lb? 2 lb?
Hi Brenda, you’ll need about 2 pounds of dough. Enjoy!
Turned out so well and friends loved them while we watched football. I didn’t have cornmeal so I used bread crumbs on the bottom instead and it worked great for the little crunch and to keep the rolls from sticking to the sheet. The pizza dough recipe worked great as well and was very easy to follow!
I tried this recipe, using your dough recipe. I made half and kept froze other half of the dough. I was surprised that they rolled up well even with all that pepperoni. I sprinkled some parmesan on top before baking and added some oregano to the dough. They didn’t look as pretty as yours, but tasted delicious.
I donโt know if I did something wrong, but these were very difficult to roll, the Dough kept roping, and when I baked them the bottoms burned. They were okay, but not worth the work.
Hi Sally,
Just wanted clarification on making ahead. Should the buns be baked first and then frozen or can I freeze unbaked buns?
Hi Michelle, it wouldn’t be a problem to freeze the unbaked rolls (although theyโre still wonderful baked, frozen, and then reheating!). Bake time will be about the same as reheating the baked rolls. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Hey Bess,
I live a in a high altitude, dry city. I usually have to adjust flour amounts to yeast dough recipes.
I even see differences based on the weather of the day I am baking.
Maybe weather/topography is the source of your need for more flour.
These turned out great. Added small diced green bell pepper too, for added flavor.
Made up a quick batch tonight to send with my husband for guys night. They turned out wonderful and Iโll be making another batch to store in the freezer for kidsโ snacks. My only comment is that, as with all of Sallyโs recipes, I had to add a considerable amount of extra flour to reach the โslightly tackyโ phase. No complaints though, because Iโve learned what to expect and they always turn out perfect! Someday Iโm going to figure out what Iโm doing different than her!
I am glad Iโm not the only one who has to add significantly more flour! I figured maybe itโs because I live in a rather humid environment.
Does this dough recipe not need to rise before shaping into pizza rolls? The instructions say to follow dough recipe through step 3 which is โkneadingโ, step 4 is โrisingโ. I have always allowed the dough to have the first rise before shaping. This has confused me. Thank you.
Hi Gail! Prepare the pizza dough recipe through step 4. So yes, allow the dough to rise. Thank you for asking!
Thank you for making this correction to the recipe. I made these today and they were delicious.
Guidance please.
I have to make 2 batches of these for 2 different parties this weekend. One at 7pm on Saturday and one at 2pm on Sunday.
How far in advance can I make the 2 batches of dough?
Not too worried about the assembly and baking, but will not have time to make the 2nd batch for Sunday.
Of course, I’m using your dough recipe. Wouldn’t use any other!
As always thanks in advance.
Hi Sheila! See recipe notes for our recommended make ahead instructions – the dough logs can be chilled up to 1 day.
This recipe turned out so badly. I was very disappointed because your cake recipes are amazing. This is my favorite site for cake recipes that are perfect. I have 10+ years experience making pizza dough that turns out every time. I tried this new recipe to make pizza dough and pizza rolls and the dough was too sticky. This recipe needs 1-2 cups more flour. I should have gone with my experience that the dough was too sticky instead of trusting the recipe. The pizza roll logs fell apart even though I had them in the fridge for 20+ minutes. The temperature of 400 is also not good. Needs to be more like 425 or 450 to ensure even baking top and bottom.
So I made these and the flour to water ratio was perfect as stated. Not sure what LRM’s problem was with her vast experience. Apparently she is the only one who had this problem as no one else reported such an issue. The baking temperature was also not an issue. I have made so many of SBA’s recipes across the board and can honestly say I’ve never encountered an issue that rendered the recipe terrible or even mediocre for that matter. I think I would try making a recipe at least twice before disparaging the author or making claims that it is a bad recipe.
I feel like this is a silly question, but when you roll these into logs, do you roll up the long side or the short side?
Hi Alison, not a silly question. The long side.
Look forward to making these and bringing to friends’ gathering. Are they ok to to serve room temperature? Love all your recipes Sally!
Great family friendly recipe!
Delicious! My picky eater grand children loved these rolls!
Hi Sally!
I love to make a variety of cookies at one time, but itโs so much work! Can you recommend a cookie dough recipe that a person could make a variety of cookies from, that wouldnโt be a lot of work?
Hi Leslie! We love to use our chewy chocolate chip cookie dough as a base for other cookie recipes.