These pinwheels are made with refrigerated crescent roll dough. They look complicated but are actually really easy & can be made in the air fryer!
The trickiest part is cutting them with the ingredients inside. It’s really important to work quickly because the colder the dough is, the easier it is to work. In order to make sure the dough is the coldest it can be, I took all the items that were needed out first & prepped my station before I started assembly.
The next thing I did was to wrap the air fryer baskets with foil & spray them with cooking spray. I learned the hard way that if you’re making pinwheels in the air fryer (especially if they have cheese inside 🙂 ), you need to make sure the basket has either foil or parchment paper on it or else the goodies are dripping out as they cook. Of course I forgot to take a picture of the foil-wrapped basket without the food on it, but you can get the idea here…
Step 1: Open refrigerator dough & roll it out into the rectangle that it comes in. Press the perforations together so as to make one large rectangle.
Step 2: Spread the dough with basil pesto. I buy this kind from Costco – it’s in the refrigerated section. It’s delish & we use it for many things. I spread it with a butter knife, as if it were mayo.
Step 3: Add your ingredients, one layer at a time. Get the layers as even as possible & all the way to the edges if you can. My layers were pesto, then spinach leaves, then provolone, and then ham.
Step 4: Roll it up! Start one of the shorter ends & roll it jellyroll fashion (or sleeping bag style!) and try to get it as tight as you can. It’s okay if you have trouble because the melty cheese & the puffed up dough will fill in the gaps as it bakes.
Step 5: Cut it! This is the trickiest part. Having an extra sharp knife is going to be key here. Just don’t lop off any appendages. From beginning of assembly to being able to cut them took me all of 5 minutes.
Step 6: Turn on the air fryer for a manual cook. I cooked these at 360 degrees for 10-11 minutes, after a 5 minute pre-heat. Eat them while they’re hot!
I LOVE this recipe because its so easy & so versatile! You can make these with literally anything you have on hand. Just be sure to use even layers & go all the way to the edges. Be creative & try different combos. You could use different pestos or even pizza sauce. Any type of meat & cheese, or even just cheese & pesto/sauce. These can be appetizers, or a dinner side dish. Dip them in your soup instead of a grilled cheese sandwich. They are perfect for happy hour with neighbors too. Or you could do my signature move & plop an over-medium egg on top & call it breakfast. 🙂
Basil Pesto Pinwheels
Ingredients
- 1 can refrigerated crescent dough
- 2-3 tbsp basil pesto (or use a tomato or pizza sauce instead)
- 1 handful fresh spinach
- 3-4 slices provolone cheese (or any cheese you have on hand)
- 3-6 slices thinly sliced ham (or any other leftover meat / deli meat you have on hand)
Instructions
- Prep work station: Get out all ingredients and have them ready. Cover the air fryer baskets with foil or cut-to-fit parchment paper. If using foil, spray lightly with cooking oil.
Open can of crescent dough. Spread it onto a cutting board & then press the perforated seams together to make one rectangle. Working quickly, spread the basil pesto or sauce over the dough using a butter knife (like spreading mayo!) and make sure to go all the way to the edges. Add the leaves of spinach making one layer over the pesto / sauce.Add the cheese in one layer, cutting to fit if necessary. Add the meat in one layer, cutting to fit if necessary. Roll the filled dough in jelly roll fashion starting at one of the short ends. Using a sharp knife, cut the pinwheels into rounds and lay them flat on the prepared air fryer baskets. You should end up with 10 – 12 pinwheels. Set the air fryer to manual cook at 360 degrees for 10 minutes; rotate baskets half way through. Check to make sure the dough is golden brown. (If not, cook for an additional minute or two.) Serve immediately & Enjoy!
