Three Meat Pizza Rolls

 

Pizza Rolls are one of our favorite lunchbox main dishes. I put a general how-to in my Free Ultimate Lunchbox Resource, but I wanted to be able to share more details of the process for those who might need a little more guidance.

This specific iteration came to me one night when my kids needed to eat before the monthly Parents’ Night Out at our church. A lot of times I go and get Little Caesar’s; but this night, I thought, Why should I get subpar pizza when I can make it at home and it tastes 20 times better? (My kids, of course, think Little Caesar’s is great. Because they have no taste. But never mind that.)

They love the 3 Meat Treat® pizza from LC’s; their version is Italian sausage, pepperoni, and bacon. Here I’m using ham instead of Italian sausage, because it’s easier and I usually have it on hand. Sometimes I buy the package of prechopped tiny cubes. Other times, I just cut up a few pieces of lunchmeat.

So let’s make pizza rolls, shall we?

First, we make or buy pizza dough. I use the Pioneer Woman’s dough recipe and substitute about 1 1/2 cups of the flour with whole wheat flour. You want enough dough for two crusts.

Divide the dough in half, then roll out a half on a well-floured board or counter into a big rectangle, the long side facing you.

Spread pizza sauce onto the dough, within 1/2 an inch of the edges. Alternately you can use olive oil for a sauce-less pizza, or alfredo sauce, or pesto!

Then sprinkle toppings on: first cheese, then bacon, ham, and pepperoni.

Next you roll it up from the edge furthest from you so you have a long cylinder. Then cut into 1-inch slices. Place the slices, face up, on a cookie sheet spread with parchment paper or a silpat. (If you want them really crusty, you can also put the rolls inside muffin tin cups sprayed with cooking spray.)

Bake at 450 for 12-14 minutes, until the dough is cooked through and brown.

Three Meat Pizza Rolls

INGREDIENTS

  

Dough

• 1 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 ½ c. warm water
• 2 ½ c. all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ c. whole wheat flour or sub additional all-purpose
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ⅓ c. olive oil

Toppings

• 1 c. pizza sauce jarred or homemade
• 1 ½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¼ c. bacon bits
• 16 slices pepperoni cut into fourths
• 6 slices lunchmeat ham diced

INSTRUCTIONS

 

Make the dough

• Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a bowl or measuring cup. Set aside.
• In a mixer with the dough hook, mix flour and kosher salt together. With the mixer on low, drizzle in the olive oil until all is added. Stir the yeast mixture and slowly add it to the flour until the dough forms a ball. (You can also mix by hand with a wooden spoon.) Transfer dough ball to an oiled glass or wooden bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise in a warm spot for 1-2 hours. After this time, use right away or refrigerate until you're ready to make the rolls.

Assembling and Baking

• On a well-floured surface, roll half the dough out into a large rectangle, as thin as you can get it. Spread with ½ cup pizza sauce. Sprinkle with ¾ cup cheese, 2 T bacon bits, half the ham, and half the pepperoni pieces. Roll like you would for cinnamon rolls: working from the long end furthest from you, tightly roll the dough toward you. Seal the edges, then cut into 1-inch slices. Place slices facing up on a parchment paper or silicone mat-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 450F for 12-14 minutes, until the dough is cooked through and browned. Repeat process with the second half of the dough and remaining ingredients.

Lunchbox Directions

• I let these cool, then drop into a gallon-sized freezer bag and freeze. I put them frozen in the lunchboxes and they are defrosted by lunch. My kids don't mind eating them cool or at room temperature, although you could try heating them in the morning and wrapping them in foil to keep warm.