Bring homemade pizza rolls with dough to the table and everyone will love you forever! I never met anyone who could stop after eating just 1 of them. And for good reason.
They are deliciously cheesy, tomatoey and packed with your favorite pizza toppings! They also freeze really well, which is great if you need to stock up on delicious and fun party food.
DON’T OVERFILL
I usually find homemade pizza rolls with pizza dough to be too bready with too much bread roll to actually eat before reaching the filling. I then often end up thinking that there isn’t enough filling. But this disappointment is now a thing of the past! This recipe has, for me, the perfect ratio of bread to filling. It has my favorite pizza toppings and just enough dough to be considered a roll.
When it comes to making homemade pizza rolls with pizza dough, it’s important to keep in mind not to overfill them. As with pizza in general, less is more.
You should only spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the pizza dough. Otherwise, it will be too liquid, the dough will soften and the sauce might pierce through the dough. It would be next to impossible to roll up the dough to make a log in this state. I speak from experience, there is no salvaging this kind of mess!
If you overfill them with other ingredients (like cheese, diced ham, etc…) they will spill out while you roll up the dough. The pizza rolls might also risk not cooking properly.
MAKE THEM YOUR OWN
These are my favorite toppings but feel free to make your homemade pizza rolls with pizza dough with whatever toppings you prefer. The sky is your limit! Simply remember not to spread too much sauce and not to overfill your rolls with whichever delicious filling ingredients you pick.
- swap the mushrooms for ⅔ cup of pineapple chunks to make Hawaiian pizza rolls
- swap the mushrooms and diced ham for 8oz of Italian sausages (remove the cases and cook in a pan until broken up and browned up, about 5 min, before sprinkling over the sauce) to make sausage pizza rolls.
- you can swap the diced ham for diced pancetta, sliced pepperoni, cooked bacon,…
- for really cheesy cheese pizza rolls, ditch the mushrooms and diced ham and replace them with 1 cup of shredded mild cheddar and 1 cup of shredded Monterey jack.

SHORT ON TIME
If you are short on time you can use store-bought ready-to-bake pizza dough to make this recipe. The rolls won’t be as puffy and tender but it will save you a couple of hours. Make sure that the 2 pizza crusts dough you buy are rectangular though. Unroll the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface and then follow the recipe to fill, shape, and bake the pizza rolls. If you use frozen pizza crusts, you will have to thaw them first.
HOW TO MAKE PIZZA DOUGH FROM SCRATCH

- Place the flour, yeast, sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl and whisk briefly to combine.
- Make a well in the center and pour in the olive oil and three-quarters of the water.
- Stir together with your hands to make a shaggy dough. Add the remaining water, a little at a time, if needed to gather all the flour left in the mixing bowl.
- Knead well on a lightly oiled surface for 10 min or until you have a smooth, elastic, still slightly sticky dough that bounces back when pressed with a finger.
- Tip the dough into a clean large, lightly greased, mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with oiled plastic wrap.
- Leave the dough to rise until doubled in size, about 1h.
HOW TO SHAPE ROLLS

- Gently push the dough to deflate it and divide it into 2 equal-weight pieces. Shape the pieces of dough into rough rectangles.
- Roll out one of the rectangles on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle, roughly measuring 25*30cm (10*12 in).
- Spread half of the sauce over the dough. Sprinkle half of the filling ingredients over the sauce.
- Tightly roll up the dough, starting from a long edge, to form a 30cm (12in) long cylinder.
- With a sharp knife, cut the cylinder into 8 equal-sized slices.
- Place the slices on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle more cheese over the top of the rolls. If you want your homemade pizza rolls with pizza dough to be softer, lightly brush the sides with a little bit of olive oil.
FREEZING
You can totally freeze homemade pizza rolls with pizza dough! They are best eaten on the day they are made so if you want to preserve them at their utmost freshness, freezing is the best option. You can either freeze them:
→ unbaked: Follow the recipe up to step 4 but instead of baking the pizza rolls, place the baking sheets in the freezer. If you don’t have enough space you can place them all on 1 baking sheet (but make sure that they don’t touch one another). Freeze the rolls until solid, about 1h. Then individually wrap each roll in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and place them into a large freezing bag. You can keep unbaked homemade pizza rolls for up to 2 months.
When you want to bake them, unwrap them and place them on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Let them sit at room temperature while you preheat the oven to 205°C (400°F) for 15 min. Slide the homemade pizza rolls into the oven, and bake for 20 min. I bake mine, one tray at a time in the middle of the oven, and I leave the other tray at room temperature in the meantime.

→ baked: Once baked and fully cooled, place the homemade pizza rolls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze them until solid and then wrap each roll in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Place them into a large freezer bag. You can keep the baked rolls in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To reheat them, preheat the oven to 175°C (345°F). Place the frozen rolls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle extra shredded cheese over the tops and bake them until reheated throughout, about 25 min. They will be a bit drier than if you had frozen the homemade pizza rolls before having baked them.
Looking for another appetizer? Here are some of my favorite recipes:
- Turkish sarma (stuffed vine leaves)
- Mucver (zucchini fritters)
- Tuna cream cheese dip

Homemade pizza rolls with pizza dough
- Prep Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- rise: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 16 pizza rolls 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Bring homemade pizza rolls with pizza dough to the table and everyone will love you forever! They are deliciously cheesy, tomatoey, and packed with your favorite pizza toppings.
Ingredients
For the pizza dough:
- 455g bread flour (3 ¼ cups), plus extra for dusting
- 10g instant yeast (2 ½ tsp)
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 ⅓ tsp fine sea salt
- 35ml extra-virgin olive oil (2 ½ tbsp), plus extra for oiling the work surface and bowl
- 315ml lukewarm water (1 ⅓ cups), it shouldn’t be over 45°C (115°F)
For the filling:
- 115g shredded mozzarella (1 cup)
- 65g grated parmesan (⅔ cup)
- 115g canned sliced mushrooms (4 oz), drained weight (or swap for 4oz of additional ham/pancetta/pepperoni if you don’t like mushrooms)
- 140g shop-bought pizza sauce (5 oz)
- 140g diced ham (5 oz), or use diced pancetta, sliced pepperoni…
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Make pizza dough. Place the flour, yeast, sugar and salt into a large mixing bowl and whisk briefly to combine. Make a well in the center and pour in the olive oil and three-quarters of the water. Stir together with your hands to make a shaggy dough. Add the remaining water, a little at a time, if needed to gather all the flour left in the mixing bowl. Rub a little bit of olive oil on your work surface and tip the dough on it. Knead well for 10 min or until you have a smooth, elastic, still slightly sticky dough that bounces back when pressed with a finger. Tip the dough into a clean large, lightly greased, mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with oiled plastic wrap. Leave the dough to rise until doubled in size, about 1h, in a warm place. I usually preheat the oven to the lowest setting for a couple of minutes, turn the oven off and place the mixing bowl in there.
- Prepare the filling. Combine the mozzarella and parmesan in a small bowl. Set aside a small handful that you will use to sprinkle over the rolls. Drain the mushrooms and tip them on a plate lined with two layers of paper towels. Put more paper towels on top to try to absorb as much moisture as possible.
- Shape the pizza rolls. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 205°C (400°F)*. Gently push the dough to deflate it and divide it into 2 equal-weight pieces. Shape the pieces of dough into balls and then flatten them to a rectangular shape. Roll out one of the rectangles on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle, roughly measuring 25*30cm (10*12 in). Spread half of the sauce over the dough. Sprinkle half of the sliced mushrooms, diced ham and seasoning over the sauce. Lastly, top everything with half of the cheese. Tightly roll up the dough, starting from a long edge, to form a 30cm (12 in) cylinder. Brush off any excess flour stuck on the dough while rolling. With a sharp knife, cut the cylinder into 8 equal-sized slices. Place the slices, cut side up, on one of the prepared baking trays. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Sprinkle the top of the rolls with the cheese you set aside earlier. If you want your pizza rolls to be softer, lightly brush the sides with a little bit more olive oil.
- Bake! Bake the rolls for 17 to 20 min until lightly browned on top and the sides are golden. I bake the rolls, one tray at a time in the middle of the oven, and I leave the other tray at room temperature in the meantime. Let the rolls cool slightly. Serve them with extra pizza sauce for dipping if desired (I think they are good enough to stand on their own though).
Notes
* 190°C (375°F) if you use a convection oven
The rolls are best eaten on the day they are made but they will keep stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. They will dry out a bit over time.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 179
Keywords: good appetizers that freeze well, finger snacks for parties, delicious nibbles
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