Easy Homemade Vegan Pizza Rolls with Vegetables — Plantbasedredhead (2024)

Vegan pizza rolls are a hearty and dairy-free snack that appeals to adults and children, whether they follow a vegetarian or vegan diet or not. This recipe features easy-to-make pizza scrolls, bites, or pinwheels, as pizza rolls are also called, filled with a flavorful combination of tomato sauce, wholesome vegetables, and vegan cheese. You have the flexibility of creating your rolls from scratch with homemade dough and sauce or opting for a quick version using store-bought products. Additionally, you will be provided with a variety of vegetable filling options. And for those seeking a healthier spin on their vegan pizza rolls, I’ll guide you on how to achieve that.

The three components of pizza rolls

Pizza rolls are not only delicious but also convenient bite-sized portions of pizza (aka pizza bites). They taste fantastic whether served warm or cold and are perfect for on-the-go enjoyment. Whether as a snack or vegan finger food for a party, these pizza rolls are a delightful option for children and adults.

The popular vegan party snack can easily be prepared vegan, of course without losing even a hint of taste – let me convince you.

Pizza rolls consist of the following three parts:

• Yeast dough (that is actually a pizza dough – alternatively you can use a ready-made pizza dough or even puff pastry)
• Tomato sauce (alternatively use a store-bought pizza sauce or pasta sauce)
• Filling (what usually is the topping on a pizza)

Before I go into detail about the individual ingredients and the pizza rolls cooking instructions, I would like to recommend a few other recipes that you could bring to a party (or make for your party), namely this wonderful Viennese potato salad, this hearty , vegan Mediterranean pasta salad, a creamy vegan tzatziki sauce or a savory Liptauer spread.

Serving size

This recipe is for approximately 12 pizza rolls. If you ask yourself what the serving size of pizza rolls is then it depends on whether they are meant to be a snack or a main dish – yes, also this is possible. If you want to serve them as a main dish, then four pizza rolls are equal to one pizza. You could serve your pizza rolls with a salad. If you want to eat them as a snack then I would calculate two rolls per person.

Ingredients

… for the pizza dough

We prepare our homemade pizza dough basically with the same ingredients as for a regular Pizza.

• flour (pizza flour or all-purpose flour)
• salt
• warm water
• yeast (fresh yeast or dry yeast)
• a little sugar
• olive oil

You can also make your vegan pizza rolls from puff pastry (if the puff pastry is vegan). Or you can use store-bought vegan pizza dough (usually pizza dough is vegan). For puff pastry pizza rolls, I recommend that you reduce the filling to about 1/2 to 2/3, or you use two packs of puff pastry, as they are usually relatively small (at least here in Austria).

… for the tomato sauce

The best sauce for pizza rolls is a simple, thicker, and tasty tomato sauce.

The ingredients for the tomato sauce are also very simple:

• tomato paste
• water
• olive oil
• sugar
• oregano
• garlic, salt and pepper

Alternatively, as pizza rolls sauce you can use store-bought tomato sauce (like a marinara sauce), pizza sauce, or even pasta sauce if it is not too thin. Or you can use tomato passata instead of tomato paste with water, just like a classic pizza. You can even use pesto or olive tapenade instead of tomato sauce.

… for the filling

If you are wondering whether pizza rolls are vegan then let me point out, that the pizza dough and sauce are usually vegan. What makes pizza rolls vegan or not are the toppings, or in this case fillings.

If you prepare vegetarian pizza rolls, with no meat on them, then you simply have to swap the cheese for a vegan option, like vegan mozzarella cheese, that’s it.

There are virtually no limits to the pizza roll filling and you can fill it like you would top a pizza. It is only important that the ingredients are cut relatively small and that you don’t overload them, otherwise rolling will be difficult. So large artichoke pieces (like I like to have on pizza) are less ideal.

The following ingredients have proven successful for me:

• red onion (chopped)
• corn
• basil
• olives (cut into rings)
• vegan cheese (grated)

If you are looking for more ideas for your vegetable pizza roll filling, hopefully, the following list can inspire you:

• dried tomatoes (cut into fine strips)
• zucchini (small cubes or thinly sliced ​​with a vegetable peeler)
• bell peppers (small cubes)
• pepperoni (cut into rings or stripes)
• wild garlic (chopped)
• spinach (if necessary, remove the stems and chop the leaves),
• fried eggplant (cut into thin slices or small cubes)
• capers (the very small ones)
• spring onions (cut into fine rings)
• smoked tofu (cut into small cubes)
• vegan feta (ideally homemade almond feta cheese)

If you have any other ideas for the filling, please share them in a comment at the end of the post.

Before we delve into the details of how to make vegan pizza rolls, let me swiftly guide you on what adjustments to make if you’re seeking an option with higher nutritional value.

Healthy pizza rolls?!

Have you asked yourself whether pizza rolls are healthy? Sorry, no, they are not. They are not unhealthy but also nothing that provides a lot of good for your health.

As I like to prepare comfort food or treats but often make them healthy, like this sugar-free oat flour cake or dairy-free scalloped potatoes, let me quickly show you what you could change on this recipe to easily make healthy pizza rolls:

• Dough: Skip the tiny bit of sugar (the yeast likes sugar, but it is not essential) or use another sweetener (except Xylitol, as it is useless for the yeast), and use whole wheat flour instead of the regular white flour. If you swap the whole amount of flour to whole wheat flour, please add a tiny bit (maybe 3 tbsp or so) more water. Also, be sure to know that the pizza rolls will still be tasty but not that fluffy and soft. Alternatively, you could only swap half of the flour.
• Tomato sauce: Skip the sugar (we add it for some balance to the acidity of the tomatoes, but it can be skipped).
• Topping/fillings: Skip the store-bought vegan cheese because it is usually crapy: fat and starch, with zero value for your body. But I understand if you were looking for pizza rolls with vegan cheese, as they simply are tastier than without cheese. I suggest you use some homemade almond feta cheese instead, it is super tasty and consists of only good ingredients.

Preparation

Admittedly, my description of this vegan finger food looks like a lot of work. This is primarily because there are three components, and secondly, I prefer to provide detailed explanations to ensure the recipe is (hopefully) thoroughly understood.

But trust me: these homemade vegan pizza rolls are really easy to make, and fun. And also quick, if you work with store-bought dough.

… of the pizza dough

Blessed be my kitchen machine. If you like cooking and baking and haven’t gotten one yet, be sure to gift yourself. I never want to be without mine again. I have a Bosch MUM 5 *) (page links to Amazon Germany) that doesn’t cost a fortune and is a good start – and it reliably kneads the dough smoothly. If you are living in the States, you could check out models by KitchenAid *). Alternatively, you can of course do everything with your muscle strength.

For your pizza dough, all you have to do is

• put the flour in the bowl
• add the salt and mix a little with the flour
• form a hollow in the middle
• pour in warm water
• crumble in the fresh yeast or add the dry yeast
• add the olive oil
• and turn on the food processor and let it work.

After about 10 minutes you will have a smooth dough, which you shape into a ball, put it back in the bowl, and cover the bowl with a damp tea towel (wet it and wring it out).

Then let your pizza roll dough rise in a warm place (room temperature) for about an hour until it has roughly doubled in size. You can also let it rise overnight (or during the day if you want to prepare the dough in the morning for the evening) in the refrigerator. If you choose the latter option, take the dough out of the fridge approximately 30 minutes before you want to roll it.

In contrast to the classic pizza dough, we don’t let the pizza dough rest overnight a second time because here we don’t aim for a perfect pizza.If it fits into your schedule and you want a particularly great result (even better taste and consistency because the yeast can work more slowly), you can carry out the additional fermentation overnight. As I said, you can, but you don’t have to.

… the tomato sauce

There’s not much to say here and we can compensate the previous chapter. Only: Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl with a fork. That’s it.

… the filling

For the filling, you can mix all the ingredients beforehand while the dough is rising. But you can also place them one after the other.

… the pizza rolls

Finally, it’s time for the vegan pizza rolls themselves, the symphony of dough, tomato sauce, and vegetables, with vegan cheese.

To do this, first pull the risen yeast dough into shape on a floured surface and then roll it out, preferably in the shape of a rectangle. Don’t roll out the dough too thin (otherwise it will tear too easily), but also not too thick (otherwise there will be too much dough for too little filling). Approx./max. 0.5 cm (0.2 inch, half as thick as a finger) is a good guideline.

Now spread the tomato sauce on your dough rectangle, leaving about 2-3 cm (1 inch) free on the upper long side. With this “naked” part, the rolls are finally “stuck” together.

Next, spread the filling over the tomato sauce. Please leave a little space on the left and right, because the filling will spread outwards when rolling and otherwise fall out.

Speaking of rolling: Now it’s finally time to roll the pizza rolls. To finalize your vegan finger food, roll the occupied rectangle starting from the long side away from you into a long, thick roll. Try to roll as compactly and tightly as possible so that everything stays together as much as possible.

The thick roll is finally cut into slices approx. every 3 cm (a bit more than 1 inch) – these are now the individual pizza rolls. If they don’t look round and are out of shape, it doesn’t matter at all, because the dough will rise during baking and everything will be fine at the end.

Carefully place the individual pizza rolls with the cut side up (= or down) on a baking tray lined with baking paper (parchment paper). Now give your rolls another short break of 30 minutes before baking, as is the case with these apple cinnamon rolls. During this time you start to preheat the oven to 200 degrees (390 Fahrenheit) top/bottom heat.

After about 30 minutes, you can put the baking tray with your deeply relaxed pizza rolls on it into the oven on the middle rack. The pizza rolls cooking time is about 20 to 25 minutes. You cook – or better bake – them until they are turning golden brown.

When the vegan pizza rolls are finished baking, turn off the oven and open the door. Let them cool down a bit, ideally until they are warm, otherwise there is a risk of burns.

Preparation in advance and durability

A few words about preparation in advance and durability. As described above, you can let the dough rise overnight, or during the day if you want to bake fresh pizza rolls in the evening.

Alternatively, you can bake the pizza rolls a day in advance. Please keep your pizza rolls in the fridge, by placing them in a large food storage container with a lid. They last at least three days in the fridge.

You can then reheat them again for a few minutes, either in the oven or I do this on the warming rack of my toaster *). Yes, you can also microwave your pizza rolls for a few seconds to warm them up.

Theoretically, it is also possible to freeze your vegan pizza rolls. But you have to be careful that they don’t stick together, otherwise you’ll end up with one big lump. To do this, you freeze them at a distance before finally putting them in a container or freezer bag.