A deliciously fun appetizer for your game day, holiday or party needs, these Italian Pinwheels are tasty, fast and a fun addition to your meal!
Who doesn’t love pinwheels? I know that I can’t resist them, but I’m a complete appetizer freak! So there is really some reason why I cant resist.
These Italian Pinwheels are a seriously easy and tasty appetizer recipe that you can never go wrong with. One of the recipes that I get asked over and over again to bring to all the gatherings!
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- The flavors and ingredients in this recipe mimic a traditional Italian sub, so they work together very well along with being a little easier to eat.
- They make a bunch, which is the best because when you go to a party or gathering, you don’t want to bring something that won’t feed enough people.
- These can be made ahead of time with no issues, so you won’t be scrambling the day of thinking of what fun appetizer recipe you will make.
I’ve had so many people make these for holiday’s, baby showers, bridal showers, birthday parties et. They are one of those recipe that just go together well.
Do you want to know what the secret is with this Pinwheel recipe? They are a copycat recipe from some pinwheels I had at Walmart from their deli section a while back.
HOW TO MAKE ITALIAN PINWHEELS, STEP BY STEP:
In bowl add your cream cheese, red pepper, banana pepper, italian bread crumbs and parmesan cheese , mix together until blended and everything is combined nicely (Photos 1 & 2).
Spread your mixture on your tortillas until it just about reaches the edges, you can leave a little bit so it doesn’t seep out. Then layer 3 slices of your provolone cheese down the center of your tortilla (Photos 3 & 4).
Next layer on your Genoa salami slices until it covers your tortilla then top with about 10 of your pepperoni slices (Photos 5 & 6).
Lastly add your romaine lettuce down the center and then roll up tightly and refrigerate before you are ready to chill (Photos 7 & 8).
Nothing really beats a good old pinwheel recipe. They are handheld which are perfect for grab and go. They are fresh, crisp and flavorful and absolutely feeds a crowd.
This recipe makes 24-36 pinwheels depending on how large you slices them, we do about an 1″ thickness, so they aren’t too big but not too small either, who wants a chincy pinwheel, amiright?
This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled depending on the amount of people you are serving, we have made both double and tripe batches before with no issues.
Another great thing about this Pinwheel recipe is that they make amazing lunch box additions. We have sent our kids to school many times with these in their bags and they always gobble them up without hesitation.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- We use the large burrito sized tortillas, you can use smaller if you like, but this is what we recommend.
- We use the regular sized pepperoni slices, but also have used the large sized ones when we are able to find them and it works amazing.
- These need time to chill or they won’t hold together well, so at least chill them an hour before slicing and serving.
- Slicing with a serrated knife we have found works the best, it produces cleaner cuts that if you were to use a regular knife.
- To get a smaller chop on your peppers, place them in a food processor, works like a charm.
These are perfect for any age group, the peppers only give it a hint of spice where it won’t be too overwhelming for those who have sensitivity to things spicy.
Also, this recipe is amazing with different cuts of meat as well ham, turkey, etc. It is really a sandwich made in handheld form which everyone seems to enjoy!
So if you’re looking for a fabulously fun appetizer to bring anywhere you go, then you have to whip up a batch or two of these addicting Italian Pinwheels!
If you like this pinwheel recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried these ITALIAN PINWHEELS or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Italian Pinwheels
Ingredients
- 3 flour tortillas burrito size
- 1 8 oz pkg genoa salami
- 30 small Pepperoni slices
- 9 slices Provolone cheese
- Romaine lettuce
Pepper Spread:
- 1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 2/3 cup roasted or sweet red peppers we used jarred, chopped small
- 2/3 cup banana peppers we used jarred, chopped small
Instructions
- Mix all your pepper spread ingredients in bowl until well comined.
- Spread 1/3 of the mix onto tortilla.
- In center of tortilla place 3 slices of cheese next to one another.
- Next layer enough salami tocover tortilla.
- After that layer pepperoni covering the salami.
- Then lastly add your romaine lettuce on top of that.
- Roll up tightly and refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour.
- Slice into pinwheels and enjoy!
Notes
- We use the large burrito sized tortillas, you can use smaller if you like, but this is what we recommend.
- We use the regular sized pepperoni slices, but also have used the large sized ones when we are able to find them and it works amazing.
- These need time to chill or they won't hold together well, so at least chill them an hour before slicing and serving.
- Slicing with a serrated knife we have found works the best, it produces cleaner cuts that if you were to use a regular knife.
- To get a smaller chop on your peppers, place them in a food processor, works like a charm.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Cheryl S
We love these for a snack too!!
Alicia
Ohmygoodness!! Like walking into an Italian deli in San Francisco. I didn’t have Italian breadcrumbs so I made some fresh real quick and added Italian spices. Also grated fresh parmesano/reggiano. Simply delizioso!
Tornadough Alli
So happy you liked these and happy you were able to make it fit what you had on hand!
Sydney Neufeld
I used elements of this recipe to make wraps i took on a picnic. The main reason I diverted from the recipe was I couldn’t get the exact ingredients readily in Australia. So I used similar substitutes. The biggest difference was the cream cheese paste. I roasted a red capsicum, added Parmesan and then added about a dozen calamata olives. I omitted the yello capsicum and bread crumbs. I used a food processor to blend the ingredients. The result was spectacular. I haven’t tried the original version, but recommend you try this variation.
Melody
Easy and crowd pleaser!!!!
Tornadough Alli
Yay! Thats what I love to hear! They are super easy and they dont last long thats for sure!
Melissa
Delicious! The perfect boat snack.
Kay
You say “Parmesan cheese” but didn’t say what kind. In a later comment you say “regular grated Parmesan” but that still leaves me confused. “Grated Parmesan” is what it says on the can that you put on pasta- it can also be grated fresh from a block. So is it “grated from the can” or “fresh grated from a block”. They have really different tastes and textures and I want to get it right. Thanks!!
Tornadough Alli
Sorry about that, it is grated from can not freshly. I can see how that gets confusing!
Amy
These are so good! I used the soft taco size tortilla and just made one for lunch (and saved the extra spread for later). It was more filling than I expected too! The only change I made was using spinach instead of Romain
Tornadough Alli
I will have to try spinach! I’m so happy you liked it!
Jolie
Are you using 1/3 of the sauce on each tortilla or 1/3 of the sauce for all three tortillas? If the latter, what do you do with remaining sauce?
Tornadough Alli
It’s 1/3 sauce on each tortilla.
Denise Petkus
This looks like such a fun and delicious appetizer recipe. Still smiling over the “romantic walks to the fridge”! Can identify with that.
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert
These are mouth watering! These are on my must-make list!
Kitty
I love how colorful these pinwheels are!
Julie
I love pinwheels – such a fun party eat!
Andie Thueson
These look like the perfect party appetizer! Yum!
Kristen
Seriously such a great recipe for parties! Everyone loves them
Stacey
Wow, these were fantastic! Took them to a trip to the lake, and they held up wonderfully in the cooler. Only change I made is to use Peperjack instead of provolone, because that’s what I had on hand. But wow, these were delicious, I’m gonna use that pepperspread on all kinds of things now! Thanks for the recipe!
Tornadough Alli
Aren’t they so good! And yes that spread is so good on ALL the things! So happy you enjoyed.
Angela Ter-Zakarian
Hi TORNADOUGH,
Just one word to mention, delicious. I am a type of girl who loves to try different things. This helps to search for food items on regular basis. Thanks for putting your creative work into practice. I would definitely try it on my next family gathering.
Keep cooking keep sharing
Angela Ter-Zakarian
Ashley
What kind of Parmesan cheese did you use?
Tornadough Alli
Hi Ashley, I used regular grated parmesan.
Bailey Johnson
Okay, thanks so much for your quick responses! Excited to try this recipe this weekend!!
Bailey Johnson
About how much does this recipe make? I’m wondering if I need to double it for Sunday football get together.
Tornadough Alli
Hi Bailey, they make about 18-24 depending on how thick you slice them 🙂
Bailey Johnson
Wonderful, and do you use soft taco or burrito sized tortillas??
Tornadough Alli
Regular taco ones, I’ll edit that in my directions to include 🙂
Julie @Bread Booze Bacon
I made these pinwheels a couple of days ago for my girlfriend’s bridal shower and everyone loved them! I lucked out and had some leftovers and have been snacking on them every since. Thanks for the great recipe!
Tornadough Alli
That’s awesome Julie! I’m so happy everyone loved them. I need to make these again soon 🙂