Cheese Pizza Rolls
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Made with homemade or store-bought pizza dough, marinara sauce, herbs, and mozzarella cheese, these vegetarian-friendly cheese pizza rolls require just 40 minutes of prep time, and another 15 or so in the oven, so you’ll have savory, cheesy pizza rolls ready to devour in less than an hour. They’re made with standard freezer, spice rack, and pantry staples, so no need for a grocery store run. Plus the leftovers reheat nicely, so you can save the leftovers for lunch or snacking over the next couple of days. I like to pair mine with salad, soup, or an assortment of sliced raw vegetables, along with plenty of ranch dressing or blue cheese dip for dunking!
Key Ingredients
- Pizza Dough – You’ll need 250 grams of store-bought or homemade pizza dough. This is equivalent to one ball, or enough for dough to make one pizza. You can make this recipe with homemade pizza dough, but if you’re in a hurry, feel free to substitute frozen dough instead. Many local pizzerias also sell balls of their fresh, house-made dough.
- Olive Oil – I like to use garlic oil to brush my pizza dough, but standard extra virgin olive oil works, too. You can also play around with different flavors, by using an oil infused with ah herb such as rosemary or basil.
- Sauce – You’ll need about 1/2 cup of marinara or pizza sauce to coat the dough, plus more for serving. You can also use tomato passata, homemade tomato sauce, or the tomato jam from my tomato tart recipe if you want to make spicy pizza rolls (and have time to make your own sauce!)
- Cheeses – I scattered my dough with a combination of shredded mozzarella cheese and grated Parmesan. I like Parmesan, but you can use other hard cheeses (like Grada Padano or Pecorino Romano) too.
- Herbs – I’ve used dried oregano, dried basil, and dried thyme, plus fresh parsley as a garnish. You can substitute an Italian seasoning blend, add some garlic powder or onion powder, or up the chili flakes for extra heat. And fresh basil and oregano both taste great with these pizza rolls, either in addition to or instead of the fresh chopped parsley. A fresh herb garnish also adds a nice pop of green for visual appeal.
Tips, Tricks, and Variations
- Roll tightly. When rolling up your roll-ups (ha!), try to keep the dough as tightly rolled as possible. This helps your rolls to hold together when transferred to the tray, and prevents them from fall apart in the oven.
- Go light on the sauce. Resist the urge to add too much extra sauce. I know it’s tempting, but you’ll end up with a wet, saucy, gooey mess. Instead, try serving your pizza rollups with a dish of warm marinara or pizza sauce for dipping.
- Mark the dough. I use my knife to mark the rolled dough before cutting. Pre-marking the dough ensures that the pizza rolls stay relatively even in size. This recipe makes about twelve homemade pizza rolls if cut into 1-inch slices.
- Slice with serrated. You don’t need fancy tools to make these cheese pizza rolls, but the one tool I wouldn’t skip is the serrated knife. Using a serrated knife (the kind with a saw-toothed edge) will make slicing through the pizza log much easier, and with much cleaner and more even results.
- Change up the toppings. As a vegetarian myself, I wanted to create a meatless alternative to the pizza roll recipes already available online, most of which contain pepperoni, bacon, or other types of meat. That said, you can add thinly sliced ham or pepperoni if desired. (Vegan pepperoni also exists!) Finely chopped black olives or finely chopped jalapeño might be a nice addition. I don’t recommend using larger chopped vegetables, because they won’t roll easily into the dough. For chunky toppings, you’re better off making a standard pie instead.
- Make vegan pizza rolls. For a vegan option, substitute vegan cheese and a vegan egg wash alternative.
Cheese Pizza Rolls
- Total Time40 minutes
- Yield12 2 1/2-inch pizza rolls 1x
An easy recipe for cheese pizza rolls, made from homemade or store-bought pizza dough. The perfect vegetarian alternative to traditional pepperoni pizza rollups.
Ingredients
250 grams pizza dough, store-bought or homemade (1 ball, or enough for 1 pizza)
1 tablespoon garlic oil
120 milliliters marinara or pizza sauce (1/2 cup)
100 grams shredded mozzarella cheese (1 cup; 3 1/2 ounces)
15 grams grated Parmesan cheese (2 tablespoons), plus more to garnish
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch chili flakes, optional
Salt and pepper, to taste
Chopped fresh basil or parsley, optional, to garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425° F (220° C). Line a half-sheet rimmed baking tray with parchment.
On a silicone rolling mat or lightly floured countertop, roll the pizza dough to approximately 11 x 13 inches. Trim the edges so the dough forms an even rectangle, about 10 1/2 inches x 12 inches. Position the rectangle with the longer side facing you.
With a pastry brush, brush the dough with garlic oil, evenly coating the entire surface.
Use a rubber spatula to spread the marinara sauce evenly over the dough.
Scatter the mozzarella cheese evenly over the marinara sauce.
Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
Sprinkle with the dried oregano, dried basil, dried thyme, and chili flakes, if using. Season with salt and pepper.
With your hands, roll the dough toward you to form a log.
With a serrated knife, slice the log* into 1-inch pieces. You should have approximately 12 pieces total.
Arrange on prepared tray.
Sprinkle tops of the rolls with additional Parmesan cheese.
Bake pizza rolls in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown.
Garnish with chopped fresh herbs and additional parmesan cheese. Serve hot, with extra marinara sauce on the side.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, place pizza rolls on a parchment-lined tray and heat in 400° F (205° C) oven for 5 minutes, or until warmed through.
Notes
*I find it helpful to use my knife to mark the dough before cutting, to ensure that my slices are even in size.
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
To store: Wrap leftover baked pizza rolls in foil or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
To reheat: Place pizza rolls on a parchment-lined tray and reheat in a 400° F (205° C) oven for about five minutes, or until warmed through.
To freeze: Wrap baked and cooled pizza rolls in foil. Reheat from frozen.
More Savory Recipes You Might Enjoy
Savory Pithivier
Peach and Goat Cheese Pizza
Vegetarian Sausage Rolls
Mushroom Tart
Lentil Meatballs
And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
Hi! Have you tried freezing them? Would you freeze them before or after baking? What temp and time would you use when taking them out of the freezer?
I haven’t tried freezing these, but I suspect it would probably work! If you want to give freezing a try, I would bake, cool, wrap the rolls in foil, and freeze, then follow the instructions for reheating from refrigerated but extend the bake time as required to account for frozen vs. refrigerated.
The unbaked rolls are somewhat messy, so I think freezing before baking might be tricky. But next time I make these I’ll have to test both ways and add the instructions. And if you try it in the meantime please let me know how it goes!
My whole family loved these pizza rolls! They were easy to make, and really delicious out of the oven. I used store-bought pizza dough to save on time. I’ll be making them again for sure.