Oozing with cheese, these healthy pizza rolls are made with a hidden veggie red sauce and whole-wheat pizza dough that's rolled into a scroll, then baked to perfection! I've designed this recipe to be high in protein with cottage cheese in the dough, making wholesome pizza rolls ups that are highly rated by everyone who tries them!
This recipe takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour to get into the oven, it makes a large batch of 18 large pizza scrolls. The veggies are blended into the sauce and they are covered in cheese. This recipe is perfect to prep ahead as they freeze well too!
My blog is dedicated to snacks, or you could say, on-the-go healthy food! I'm mostly known for my muffins and protein bars, but I love to come up with a delicious savory protein snack from time to time, too, just like my veggie egg bites and high-protein hummus!
It's been a full season for my family lately, and these pizza buns have been perfect to prep ahead and pull out of the fridge or freezer when we are headed out the door! We like to warm them up in a pan or the oven, but it would be even quicker in a microwave.
My high school was right beside a Safeway grocery store, and I would see someone eating a cheesy pizza bun almost every day. Yes, it's a fun savory snack, but now as someone who studied nutrition for 2 years and wants to feed my kids healthy snacks, I wanted my pizza rolls to be nutrient-dense. Therefore, the pizza dough is half whole wheat (which contains protein and minerals!), I added cottage cheese to the dough, and I loaded the sauce with red pepper and kale (or you can use what greens you have).
Ingredients
- Yeast: For this recipe, I use instant dry yeast, as we make the dough and use it right away without a rise time.
- Red sauce: I used a pasta sauce for these pizza buns, but any pizza sauce or red sauce works great!
- Kale: I add kale to the red sauce by blending it together in the food processor. Spinach or arugula could be used instead!
- Red pepper: The pepper gets blended into the sauce. I found one whole pepper to be a strong flavor, so that's why the recipe calls for ½ pepper.
- Mozarella cheese: If you are in a time crunch, you can buy pre-grated cheese, however I just run it through the food processor with the shredding dish.
Pizza roll instructions with photos
Here's how I make pizza roll-ups with step-by-step photos from the pizza dough, to the sauce, and into the oven, all in my kitchen!
In a glass measuring cup, place the yeast, honey, and warm water. Let it sit until the yeast becomes bubbly.
In a large mixing bowl, place the flour and the salt mixed together. Then add the bubbly yeast mixture and the cottage cheese.
Knead into dough, add flour as needed until it is not super sticky. Use your hands to knead for 3 to 5 minutes.
Use a food processor to grate cheese with the grater disc (or without a food processor, grate with the cheese grater). Place the cheese into a bowl and set aside.
Without washing the food processor I put the red pizza sauce, the greens, and slightly chopped up peppers.
Pulse everything until the vegetables become small chunks, about 20 to 35 seconds. This is your pizza sauce with hidden veggies.
Flour the counter. Now, use a rolling pin to roll the pizza dough into a large rectangle on the counter.
Spread the sauce over the long rectangular dough and then sprinkle with half of the cheese.
Roll the dough into a long log; this part feels a bit delicate. Pinch the roll together so the dough sticks. It may be slightly messy. You're going to use a knife to cut the log into pizza rolls. If you don't want to cut on your countertop, you can use tooth floss to cut the rolls (just like I do with cinnamon buns).
Then place them on a cookie sheet that is covered in parchment paper or with a silicone mat - so that it's easier to wash up later. With about an inch between each roll, I reshape them with my fingers to form a circle and press them down slightly to make them flatter. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese, then bake for 30 minutes at 400 Farhrenheit (200 C).
Danika's Tips
- When making these pizza scrolls, I like to use stretchy mozzarella. In Canada, I found the Spatulo pizza mozzarella was really perfect. It's a red label.
- I like to do about an inch and a half of dough for each roll, which may break apart a little bit when cut, but that's okay because we want them pretty wide, and they aren't perfect rolls like cinnamon buns.
- Once I put them on the pan, I squish them down with my fingers and form them back into a circle shape.
- Then you're going to cover with cheese generously, if any falls on the pan, put it back up on top!
🍕 Did you make these pizza roll ups? Would you take 5 seconds to give a star rating and review just below the recipe? That means a lot to me and helps the growth of Beside the Mountain blog.
Pizza Scrolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 ½ cups warm water
- 3 cups wheat flour
- 3-4 cups white flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cottage cheese
Filling
- 5 cups mozzarella cheese about one large block (about 500 grams)
- 2 ½ pizza sauce
- ½ of a red pepper
- 1 cup spinach or kale
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°Fahrenheit (200°C). Dough: In a glass measuring cup, combine the instant yeast, honey, and warm water. Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes, or until it becomes bubbly and foamy on top.In a large mixing bowl, combine the whole-wheat flour (3 cups), white flour (3 cups), and salt. Add the cottage cheese and the yeast mixture, then stir until a dough ball forms. If the dough feels sticky, add ½ cup-1 cup more flour as needed. Use your hands to knead the dough for 3–5 minutes, until smooth. Set the dough aside while you prepare the filling.
- Filling: Using a food processor fitted with the grater blade, shred all of the mozzarella cheese. Transfer the cheese to a bowl and set aside. Without washing the food processor, switch to the S blade. Add the pizza sauce, ted pepper, and kale or spinach. Pulse for 20–30 seconds, until the vegetables are finely chopped and blended into the sauce.
- Assemble: On a floured countertop, roll the dough into a large rectangle (approximately 30 inches long and 12 inches wide). Spread the red pizza sauce evenly over the dough, then sprinkle with half of the shredded cheese. Starting from the long edge, carefully roll the dough into a large log. Pinch the seam closed with your fingers. The dough will feel delicate at this stage.
- Cut and shape: Using a sharp knife or unflavored dental floss, cut the log into pizza rolls, about 1½ inches thick. This should make approximately 18 rolls. Place the rolls onto two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Gently reshape each roll into a circle if needed, then lightly press down to flatten slightly. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the tops.
- Bake: In the preheated oven, bake at 400°F (200°C) for 30 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Notes
Nutrition
Danika Vanderpyl, C.H.N
I create snack recipes with healthy ingredients that are mostly already in your kitchen. I'm certified in Holistic Nutrition and I care about giving my kids real food. Let me share my nutrient-dense easy snacks with you.
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