I was taking stock of my fridge the other day and noticed a half jar of pesto that I bought a couple weeks ago at Aldi. I didn’t want that pesto to go to waste, so today I whipped up these fun Pesto Pizza Rolls. They are a great appetizer or fun alternative to regular pizza if you want to change things up. You can eat them as-is or dip them into pizza sauce. Either way they’re super flavorful and have a wonderfully crispy cheese edge, similar to a deep dish pizza.
Make your own Thick & Rich Pizza Sauce to go on the side!
Choose the Flavor of Your Pizza Rolls
I made my Pesto Pizza Rolls with pepperoni and mozzarella, but the sky really is the limit for fillings on these guys. You can do regular pizza sauce instead of pesto and you could do something like olives instead of pepperoni if you want to go meatless. Just stay away from really watery vegetables like tomatoes.
Homemade Dough is Optional
I made a simple homemade pizza dough for my Pesto Pizza Rolls, but if you don’t have the time, patience, or confidence to do it yourself you can always grab a ball of raw pizza dough at the store or your local pizza shop. Once the dough is ready to go this recipe is super fast!
Pesto Pizza Rolls
Servings 8Ingredients
PIZZA DOUGH
FILLING
- 1/2 cup pesto ($0.85)
- 2 oz. pepperoni ($1.10)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella ($1.33)
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce (for dipping, optional) ($0.33)
Instructions
- Combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar, and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Let the mixture sit for about five minutes or until the yeast has developed a layer of foam on top of the water.
- Meanwhile, add 1 cup of the flour to a large bowl along with the salt.
- Once the yeast has become foamy, add the olive oil to the yeast mixture, then pour the mixture into the bowl with the flour and salt. Stir until a thick batter forms. Begin to stir in more flour, a little at a time, until it forms a ball of dough that you can no longer stir with a spoon.
- Turn the ball of dough out onto a clean surface dusted with flour. Knead the dough, adding a small amount of flour as you go, for about five minutes. You should have used around 2 cups flour total from the very beginning, give or take a little.
- Place the kneaded dough back in the bowl, cover it loosely, and let it rise until double in volume. Once doubled, begin preheating the oven to 400ºF.
- Punch the dough down, scrape it out of the bowl, and onto a floured surface. Stretch the dough out into roughly shaped rectangle, approximately 10×16 inches. Try to avoid using a rolling pin, if possible, as this will compress the dough and prevent it from being nice and fluffy.
- Once shaped, spread the pesto over the surface of the dough from edge to edge. scatter the sliced pepperoni over the surface, then sprinkle half of the cheese on top.
- Roll the dough up into a log, then use a very shape knife to slice it into 8 (or more) equal sized slices. Place the sliced rolls in a casserole dish that has been coated in non-stick spray (or oil if you prefer). Make sure to use a dish large enough to allow the rolls room to expand as they bake. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over top of the rolls in the dish, allowing some to fall around the edges and between the rolls.
- Bake the Pesto Pizza Rolls in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until they are puffed up, golden brown on top, and the pesto and cheese are bubbling around the edges. Serve warm with pizza sauce for dipping.
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Nutrition
Look at those crispy edges!! 😍
How to Make Pesto Pizza Rolls – Step by Step Photos
Begin by stirring together 3/4 cup warm water with 2 tsp yeast (active dry or instant) and 1/2 Tbsp sugar. Let the mixture sit for about five minutes, or until the yeast creates a layer of foam on top of the water.
While waiting for the yeast to activate, combine 1 cup of flour and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl. When the yeast is ready, add 1Tbsp olive oil to the yeast water, then pour the whole thing into the bowl with the flour and salt. Stir until a gooey batter forms.
Begin stirring in more flour until a shaggy ball of dough forms that you can no longer stir with a spoon. At that point, turn the dough out onto a clean surface that has been sprinkled with more flour.
Knead the dough for five minutes, adding a small amount of flour as you go to keep it from sticking. Once kneaded, you should have used about 2 cups flour total (from the beginning, not since starting to knead). Place the ball of dough back in the bowl, cover it loosely, and let it rise until double in volume.
When the dough has doubled in size, begin preheating the oven to 400ºF. Punch the dough down, then turn it out onto a floured surface. Stretch and press the dough into a rough rectangle, about 10×16 inches. Try to avoid using a rolling pin if you can because this compresses the dough and it won’t puff up as nicely.
Spread about 1/2 cup pesto over the dough, edge to edge.
Add 2 oz. sliced pepperoni and 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella. Yep, that’s right, just 1/2 cup. You don’t need a lot of cheese and there will be more going on top.
Roll the dough up like a log, then use a very sharp knife to slice it into 8 equal sized pieces. I like to first slice it in half, then each half in half, and then each piece in half one more time. It’s easier to get them even that way than starting at one end and just start slicing.
Place the sliced Pesto Pizza Rolls in a casserole dish coated with non-stick spray. Make sure you use a dish that gives them a little room to expand.
Add the last 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella on top of the Pesto Pizza Rolls, allowing some to fall around the edges and between the rolls. That’s what will create those nice crispy edges!
Bake the Pesto Pizza Rolls for about 30 minutes, or until they are puffed up, golden brown, and the cheese and pesto are bubbling around the edges!
Excuse me while I sneak one of these… thx. ;)
These look amazing! I think I’ll make them tomorrow! I’m not holding my breath for an answer before then, but just in case (and maybe for the benefit of future comment-readers): if I use storebought dough, do I need to let it rise at any stage? Or is storebought dough already…pre-risen? Or whatever? :) Thanks!!!
You can just use the store bought do as-is. :)
These are really good, I wish I’d thought up this recipe. You can use a rolling pin, just let the dough rise a bit before topping and rolling. Red pesto also works great as does any pasta sauce. If you use a jarred sauce, consider to cook it down to thicken before spreading it on the dough.
These were insanely good and a recipe I will be returning to as often as I can while maintaining a facade of healthy eating. My notes:
1. I couldn’t get the dough to stretch with a rolling pin but they puffed up just fine.
2. 30 minutes was a bit long for my oven, so others might want to keep an eye on them.
3. You are WRONG about the cheese! We put a really nice blanket on there and some caramelized on the bottom of the pan for each roll and it was GLORIOUS.
I suggest not using a rolling pin in the recipe. You want to stretch it by hand. :)
This looks amazing, and I’m looking fwd to trying it. I wanted to tell you a big THANK YOU, because the vast majority of the recipes that I save and actually use — repeatedly — come from you. HUG!!!
These look great, and I bet my picky kids (and husband) would eat them! About how long does it take for the dough to double, in your experience?
Pesto and pizza? ROLLS?! Uh, YUM. This sounds so, so good! I think I need to have a day of just cooking/baking and get some food organised for the upcoming week!
I can’t express how wonderful these are. My hubbie says it is the best meal I’ve made him. I used a gluten free dough ball, rolled it out in the rectangle you suggested. I made homemade pesto, topped with vegan cheese and added sautéed garlic & onions. Then I put tofu pepperoni pizza on top and rolled it up. I took the technique I learned from my sushi making class and cut the roll starting from the middle out. I can’t believe how well these turned out; problem was, we ate up the 8 rolls in one sitting (and there are two of us!) I’d make a double batch next time and believe me, I’m pulling this recipe out of my pocket next time I have guests. Excellent!
This seems a bit random but do you think that I could cut up artichokes or would they be too watery? I have half a jar of marinated artichokes I would like to use up instead of just eating them with a fork.
I would definitely try to get most of the liquid out of them and chop them fairly fine.
Trying these for my lunch Sunday meal prep. Such an awesome idea! Thanks for these!
Can I make this with half bread flour and half white whole wheat flour? Or will the texture be off? Thanks :)
The texture will always be a bit more dense when you substitute some whole wheat flour, but I find that if you stay at 50/50 or less it’s not usually too bad.
I’ve made these a few times now trying out different flour options.
Half bread flour and half white whole wheat actually had the lightest texture, proofed the best/fastest and the dough was easiest for me to work with. I’m guessing it has to do with the higher gluten content of the bread flour (note: I did NOT try all bread flour which logically would work even better). All white whole wheat flour was my personal favorite both in taste and texture but it was definitely denser and didn’t rise as much as either the mixed flour attempt or using regular all purpose flour and had a much heartier flavor. The all purpose flour version was fine in terms of finished texture and rising properties but it was the hardest for me to work with (the dough tore a few times while trying to stretch it) and personally I preferred the taste when whole wheat flour was included.
Another thing to mention is that the all purpose flour version I made and served primarily as written, omitting the pepperoni, with pizza sauce for a football watching party and folks gobbled them up. The versions including the whole wheat flour, I not only omitted the pepperoni but substituted in swiss cheese and used a mix of basil and sundried tomato pesto and served the rolls with soup (the mushroom soup recipe posted by Beth a few days after this one) and/or salad without the pizza sauce so these changes may have impacted my flavor preferences.. The flours I tried with different versions were King Arthur’s Bread Flour, Gold Medal All Purpose Flour and Bob’s Red Mill Ivory Wheat Flour. If cost is the primary deciding factor for folks, at my grocery store the all purpose flour costs about half as much as the other two flours… but, the “special” flours are still fairly inexpensive (less than $5 for 5 lbs).
Oh my god this is amazing. A. MAZING.
I left out the meat, increased the pizza sauce, and did a 20 minute second rising after they were in the casserole dish and they were fabulous. They are quite filling, three of us ate this with salad and we have two rolls left over.
Made these last night with a blob of pizza dough from Trader Joe’s. I used Canadian bacon and slices olives. I can’t express HOW AMAZING these turned out! It was like eating pizza and crunchy breadsticks at the same time. I made my younger son plain sauce and cheese roll ups…amazing too! Thanks for the great recipe! This is the only way I’m making pizza at home from now on.
Yummy!!!!! :-)
Great Recipe; I love going to Aldi as well! Is it possible to use mushrooms or spinach instead of pepperoni/olives?
Yep! I’d sauté the vegetables first, though, to remove the moisture.