Pizza Rolls

Easy homemade pizza rolls are a family favorite.

This post was updated Sept 2024.

Pizza rolls are easy to make, kids love them, adults love them, and the possibilities for customizing are practically endless. I shared a picture on my Instagram and Facebook pages of my kids lunches with these pizza rolls and I got so many requests for the recipe!  

Pizza rolls are one of my favorite things to pack for lunch - really anything in the pizza for lunch category is always a hit with the kids.

The full pizza rolls recipe is at the end of this post, so keep reading because I’ve got lots of handy tips for you about how to make these. But if you really want to just skip to this easy recipe, you can click the button below.

You can make these with as little 3 items from your fridge, only a few minutes to put together.

You could totally go make some of these now and be eating them in 20 minutes - that's how fast!  And as with most of my favorite recipes - the ingredients here are very flexible.

I think these might be one of the perfect kid foods.

They're small enough for little hands, they are not messy, they seem to travel and keep well, and - best of all - they taste like pizza!

A few tips about how I make these pizza rolls. 

Because my goal with this recipe is to have something that comes together super fast and easy, I go with a packaged dough most of the time.  Usually I use a can of crescent roll dough from Trader Joe's. But use any quick and easy dough you like.You could also use biscuit dough, or certainly if you have homemade dough, go for it!  

If I'm buying pre-made dough I try to look for one that's not got too much nasty stuff in it.  The TJ's brand is not too bad.  It's not as easy to handle as some others (maybe because it's missing some of the chemical dough conditioners and junk), but for this recipe that's ok. You're not actually making crescent rolls with it.  

For the sauce I used a canned pizza sauce or sometimes just plain tomato sauce. Any kind you like will do.  I use traditional mozzarella for ours most of the time, but any flavor if cheese you like would be great too. 

The amounts of the sauce and cheese are also flexible - it's really about your personal taste. Just don't add too much - you don't want to squish it all out when you cut.

These are such great kid food, my kids scarf them up.  

But the husband and I eat our fair share too.  I think they are a perfect make-ahead item for kids lunches.

Everybody loves homemade pizza rolls!

Let's be honest - a big green salad with a few of these on the side, doesn't that sound like a perfect weeknight dinner?  These freeze great.  Whenever I make them I always at least double the recipe and I put a bunch in the freezer.  

It doesn't get any easier for packing a school lunch - to pull out a few of these, throw in a few carrots and a little fruit, and lunch is done. 

Pizza Rolls Recipe

Author: Lisa Marsh, WhatLisaCooks.comPrint Recipe

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Easy Homemade Pizza Rolls

A crowd pleasing favorite!

ingredients:

• Dough - 1 can of prepared crescent roll dough. Or any other dough of your choice. 
• A little flour (any kind will do - it's just for rolling the dough)
• A few tablespoons of pizza sauce (or just plain tomato sauce)
• About 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, or whatever cheese you like.
• Other fillings of your choice - cut into small pieces (pepperoni, ham, veggies, etc.)

instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
   

Prepare dough

1. Take the dough out of the can, sprinkle both sides with a little flour
2. Fold it over on itself once or twice (otherwise it's trying to come apart at the seams)
3. Roll out into a rectangle until it's about 1/4 inch thick

Add toppings

1. Spread pizza sauce or tomato sauce thinly and evenly across the whole piece of dough
2. Sprinkle cheese evenly 
3. Add other toppings as desired
   

Roll and slice

1. Start rolling from the long edge, you want your final roll to be long and narrow.  Try to get it as tight as you can without feeling like you're squishing it.

2. At this point if you've handled it a lot and you feel like your dough is getting too soft to slice, stick it in the fridge for 20 minutes or so to firm up. 
3. Slice into 3/4 inch pieces with a very sharp knife.
   

Bake

1. Lay your cut rolls out evenly on a baking sheet - either spray with a bit of cooking spray or line with parchment
2. Bake at 350 for about 12-14 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and dough is golden brown.

NOTES:

Double or triple or quadruple this recipe and make lots extra. These freeze great and are perfect for the lunch box.

Created using The Recipes Generator

Corn Dog Muffins

I think this may officially go down as the very best kid food item I have ever made.  I have always loved corn dogs, and my kids love them too.  I love the idea of making them at home, but I don't have a deep fryer, and I have no intention of getting one.  So when I came across this idea of making corn dog muffins I just knew we had to have it.  It's super easy - basically just good homemade cornbread with a piece of hot dog.  Cooking in the oven as muffins means no mess from frying, and I loved that I could make different size options using different size muffin pans and cutting the hot dogs.  I have a great corn bread recipe that I love - it's adapted from this recipe, with a few changes to make it the way I like it (I changed the oil to butter and reduced the sugar).  It's just right - buttery, and just a little sweet.  The touch of sweetness worked perfectly with the salty hot dogs. 

Ingredients for the corn bread:

• 1 1/2 cups medium or coarse ground cornmeal

• 2 1/2 cups milk

• 2 cups unbleached white bread flour

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 cup melted butter, (cooled slightly so it doesn't cook your eggs)

And you'll need a package or two of good quality hot dogs.  I only buy the Applegate brand. 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small bowl, combine cornmeal and milk; let stand for at least 5 minutes (longer is better).

2. Grease your pans with your preferred oil. I have a coconut oil spray that I like, butter would be great too. Or use muffin papers or silicon cups and then greasing won't be necessary.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar (if you use honey, mix that with the wet ingredients instead. Mix the eggs and butter in with the milk and cornmeal, and then combine the wet and dry ingredients. Mix until smooth. Spoon it into your prepared muffin cups to about 3/4 full.

4. Cut your hot dogs to the size you want and stick them in the center of each muffin cup.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 15 - 30 minutes until golden brown (depending on size of muffin - 15-20 for minis, 25-30 for big ones, just watch and make sure they don't get too brown), or until a knife inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean.

Notes:

• Medium or coarse ground cornmeal is a must in this recipe. I tried it once with a finer grind and it was too heavy and dense. I usually buy Bob's Red Mill medium grind.

• Soaking the cornmeal in the milk also makes a huge difference, the recipe calls for 5 minutes, I think longer is even better.

• The original recipe for cornbread made one 9x13 inch casserole pan. I think this ends up with about 2 dozen standard size muffins, or more/less depending on size.

• This recipe works great with gluten free flour!

• I have not tried this with whole wheat flour. I think it would be pretty dense. But I am curious to try. Although I'm a big believer in everything in moderation, so I don't mind a little white flour in some cornbread occasionally.

• I think you could easily substitute honey for the sugar, maybe just reduce the milk by a little.

Let them cool a little and pop them out of the pans, and serve with some good organic ketchup and/or yellow mustard. I of course had to make a double recipe because we love leftovers - and these things are so good that there would have been no leftover if I hadn't made lots extra.  I've packed them in school lunches, and I've put a bunch in the freezer for another day. 

And - next time you're making a big pot of soup or chili or stew, make up a batch of this cornbread without the hot dogs - it comes together pretty quick for a weeknight side. 

Let me know what you think!