lunch

Having a few quick and easy appetizer recipes in your back pocket is a great way to ensure you have something delicious to bring to those last-minute parties. With the help of crescent rolls, you can whip up an easy party snack in a matter of minutes! These pepperoni pizza pinwheels are packed with pizza flavour and look like they’re difficult to make. But since they’re made with crescent roll sheets, you easily whip up a yummy appetizer without any effort at all. Watch me in the video below make these pizza scrolls as well as some other great make ahead lunch recipes that are perfect for school lunches:

My kids love grabbing these scrolls out of the freezer to pack in their lunches or for a quick snack. 

Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels

Ingredients needed:

• 1 package refrigerated crescent roll sheet
• ½ cup marinara or pizza sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 10 pepperoni slices, finely chopped
• optional: other pizza toppings such as finely chopped green pepper, sliced black olives, or sliced mushrooms

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Unroll the refrigerated crescent roll dough and spread the marinara or pizza sauce in an even layer over the top of the dough.
3. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top of the sauce.
4. Add the pepperoni to the top of the cheese.
5. Roll the dough up into a long log, then use a sharp knife to cut the log into 10 1-inch slices.
6. Place the slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the scrolls for 10 to 12 minutes, until the dough is golden brown. 

Freezing instructions:

1. Once cool, transfer to a resealable freezer bag. 
2. Take out the excess air and freeze.
3. Serve cold or heat on a paper towel in the microwave until warm. 

Pizza Pinwheels Recipe Ideas

This simple recipe is perfect for a quick party snack. But what I love most about these easy appetizers is that they can be customized to suit your own tastes! Try these pizza pinwheels recipe ideas the next time you make your appetizers to create a new pizza snack every time you make them.

• Add more toppings. Pepperoni is a classic pizza topping. But that doesn’t mean you need to stick to adding only pepperoni to your pizza pinwheels. You can add any type of pizza toppings you choose to your scrolls. Just make sure the toppings are finely chopped to ensure the dough rolls properly.
• Try different cheeses. Enhance the flavour of your pizza pinwheels with the help of different cheese blends. In addition to mozzarella, you could sprinkle parmesan, Romano, asiago, or Monterrey jack cheese in your pinwheels.
• Add some seasoning. With the help of flavourful marinara sauce and spicy pepperoni, your pizza crescent rolls don’t require added seasoning. But if you want to add even more taste, try adding some classing Italian seasonings to the dough before you start rolling. You could sprinkle Italian seasoning blend on the crust or add some basil, oregano, garlic, or red pepper flakes to the pizza pinwheels before you bake them.
• Decorate with garnishes. The pinwheel design of these pizza crescent rolls makes them look amazing without the need for garnish. But if you really want to dress up your appetizers, try topping the pinwheels with a simple garnish. Before adding garnish to your pinwheels, melt a small amount of butter. Brush the butter over the top of the baked pinwheels, then sprinkle the top of the pinwheels with dried herbs to add a pop of green colour to the top of each appetizer.
• Get the kids to help. If you’re going to be including these in your child’s lunches or offering them as an after school snack, get them to add the pizza toppings they love. This is such a fun, kid friendly recipe already, but getting them in on the preparation makes it even more fun!

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Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: pizza pinwheels, pizza scrolls

Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 package refrigerated crescent roll sheet
• ½ cup marinara or pizza sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 10 pepperoni slices finely sliced
• other pizza toppings such as finely chopped green pepper, sliced black olives, or sliced mushrooms optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Unroll the refrigerated crescent roll dough and spread the marinara or pizza sauce in an even layer over the top of the dough.
3. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top of the sauce.
4. Add the pepperoni to the top of the cheese.
5. Roll the dough up into a long log, then use a sharp knife to cut the log into 10 1-inch slices.
6. Place the slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the crescents for 10 to 12 minutes, until the dough is golden brown.

Freezing instructions:

1. Once cool, transfer to a resealable freezer bag.
2. Take out the excess air and freeze.
3. Serve cold or heat on a paper towel in the microwave until warm.

Other popular freezer snack and lunch ideas:

• Beef and Bean Burritos
• Corn Dog Mini Muffins
• Taco Cups
• English Muffin Pizzas
• Ham and Cream Cheese RollUps

Tacos are a great choice for a quick weeknight dinner. But eating plain tacos every week can get pretty boring! Why not change things up by preparing some taco cups, instead? These freezer-friendly individual taco pies are a simple meal idea that everyone in the family is sure to love!

These are great for kids’ lunches or snacks. They are so easy to make. I like to always have make ahead snacks in the freezer such as corn dog mini muffins, English muffin pizzas, or ham and cheese roll-ups.

How to Make Taco Cups:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
• ¼ cup water
• mini tart shells
• shredded cheddar cheese

Assembly Instructions:

1. Cook the mini tart shells according to the package instructions.
2. While the shells are cooking, brown the ground beef. When the beef is cooked through, stir in the taco seasoning and water. Continue to simmer until the sauce is thickened. Remove the pan from heat and allow to cool.
3. Fill each tart shell with taco meat and top with shredded cheese.
4. Return the shells to the oven to cook until the cheese is melted, around five minutes.
5. Allow the taco pies to cool completely, then transfer them to a freezer bag.
6. Remove excess air from the bag and seal, then place them in the freezer.

* Note: If you have any of the taco meat mixture leftover, place it in a medium size freezer bag, seal, and freeze. You can then use it to add to eggs or hash browns, on top of nachos, or for tacos.

Oven Cooking Instructions:

1. Allow the taco cups to thaw completely.
2. Place the cups in the oven to bake at 350° for 10 to 15 minutes, until the meat is warm and the cheese is melted.

Microwave Cooking Instructions:

1. Take as many cups as you want out of the freezer.
2. Remove the foil and reheat in the microwave.

I recently made these in a day of make ahead snacks to ensure my kids always had something to snack on or bring for lunches. You can check out all that I made in the video below:

Taco Pie Serving Ideas:

Once you have the basic taco cups prepared, you can dress them up according to your family’s tastes! There are a variety of fun ways to serve your mini taco cups. One simple way to change up the taste of this taco pie recipe is to use a different meat. Instead of ground beef, you could also try ground turkey or chicken. Shredded chicken or pork are more great options for creating different flavour taco cups.

But if you would prefer to stick to the recipe, you could also add more flavour to your taco cups with the help of fresh toppings. Try these topping ideas to give your family members a chance to prepare their own individual taco pies for dinner:

• diced tomatoes
• salsa
• chopped lettuce
• sliced avocado
• sour cream
• hot sauce
• jalapeño slices
• crushed tortilla chips or taco shells
• chopped green onion
• extra cheese
• guacamole
• pico de gallo
• chopped cilantro

In addition to sprinkling toppings over your baked taco pies, you could also make additions to the recipe itself. Simply mix any of these easy add-ins into your ground beef mixture to give your taco cups even more flavour:

• refried beans
• diced tomatoes with green chilies
• kidney or chili beans
• black beans
• Mexican rice
• quinoa
• salsa
• chopped onions
• diced tomatoes
• queso cheese
• chopped bell peppers
• chopped jalapeño peppers
• corn

These are such a fun food with so many variations possible. 

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Taco Cups

Course: Lunch, Snack

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: taco cups

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
• ¼ cup water
• mini tart shells
• shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Assembly Instructions:

1. Cook the mini tart shells according to the package instructions.
2. While the shells are cooking, brown the ground beef. When the beef is cooked through, stir in the taco seasoning and water. Continue to simmer until the sauce is thickened. Remove the pan from heat and allow to cool.
3. Fill each tart shell with taco meat and top with shredded cheese.
4. Return the shells to the oven to cook until the cheese is melted, around five minutes.
5. Allow the taco pies to cool completely, then transfer them to a freezer bag.
6. Remove excess air from the bag and seal, then place them in the freezer.

Microwave Cooking Instructions:

1. Take as many as you want out of the freezer. Remove the foil and reheat in the microwave.

Oven Cooking Instructions:

1. Allow the taco cups to thaw completely.

2. Place the cups in the oven to bake at 350° for 10 to 15 minutes, until the meat is warm and the cheese is melted.

Recipe Notes

If there is any of the taco meat mixture leftover, place it in a medium size freezer bag, seal, and freeze. It can then be used to add to eggs or hash browns, on top of nachos, or for tacos.