A quick and fun appetizer for the whole family to enjoy!
I’ve been making this appetizer for years and it’s always been a huge hit! When I first started cooking, it was an easy appetizer that I used to make for pretty much every party I went to, especially during the holidays. It became such a fan favorite throughout the years that I now make them pretty much every single year for Thanksgiving! My Spinach & Cheese Pinwheels are so easy to make with just a few simple ingredients! This is such a great recipe for those who don’t love cooking or usually don’t cook too much or even if you’re just short on time and need a quick and yummy appetizer for your guests!
This is also a really fun dish for your kids to try! If you want them to get some veggies in their body, this is a fun shaped food for them to eat and also get their spinach in! And of course, who doesn’t love cheese?! You can just omit the red chili flakes so that it’s not spicy for them. The delicious flaky pastry puffs paired with the sautéed spinach and cheesy goodness will be a hard one for them or for your guests to resist!
I like to make a batch before hand and keep it in the freezer so that I have these on hand whenever I need a quick fix for entertaining. It’s such a simple and delicious appetizer and it always gets wiped out. I’ve also made these using Pillsbury Crescent Dough, so if you don’t have the puff pastry dough on hand, you can totally use this instead and you will achieve the same great flavor! I recommend using fresh spinach that you can sauté and then use as the filling for these pinwheels, however, if you’re in a pinch, you can totally experiment with frozen spinach too! The finely chopped garlic mixed with good quality extra virgin olive oil will help flavor the spinach and give it this beautiful garlicky aroma that you won’t be able to resist. However, if you don’t eat garlic, you can simply sauté the spinach in some olive oil and red chili flakes and follow the recipe without the garlic.
A few tips for getting this right:
- Make sure you let your dough thaw ahead of time so that it’s easy to work with and roll out
- Chop the spinach up so that you don’t have large leafy pieces in your pinwheels
- Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil because that is going to determine the flavor of your spinach, but don’t use too much because spinach releases moisture as it is, so you don’t want your spinach to become too watery
- Cooking time may vary slightly based on your oven, but between 15-20 minutes should do the trick
- Feel free to make and assemble ahead of time and then freeze until you’re ready to use!
These are a total hit in my household, especially during the holidays! I hope you guys will give it a try and enjoy them as much as my family does! And remember, let’s keep our hearts happy and our bellies full, always! Don’t forget to tag me in your creations! Love seeing everything you all make!
Spinach and Cheese Pinwheels
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb baby spinach roughly chopped
- 1 sheet Pepperidge Farm pastry dough or Pillsbury Crescent Dough
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced finely
- 2 tbsp red chili flakes
- 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese finely shredded
Instructions
- In a sauté pan, heat olive oil and add garlic and red chili flakes and cook until raw smell of garlic is gone
- Add in chopped spinach and cook until all spinach is wilted and combined with the garlic and chili flakes. Set aside and allow to cool
- Take pastry dough and lay on a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper and roll out the edges until the sheet of dough is slightly larger and thinner on all sides
- Add an even layer of the cool spinach mixture on to the dough, sprinkle some chili flakes, and the shredded cheese on top
- Starting from the bottom of the longer (horizontal) side, roll the dough into a sphere, like a cinnamon bun, using the plastic wrap to help you roll
- Wrap the roll in the plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes so it can get a little hard
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Once the spinach and cheese roll has hardened a little in the freezer, remove, and cut into 1/2 inch thick pieces. You should be able to cut about 20 pinwheels out of this dough
- Spread each pinwheel about 2 inches apart on a greased baking pan and bake in oven for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry puff is golden brown
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Notes
- I used the Pepperidge Farm pastry dough for this recipe
- You can make this ahead of time and freeze until you are ready to use, just thaw in the refrigerator until you can cut through it and bake in the oven
