Need a great party appetizer or school snack? These easy Italian pinwheels are incredibly delicious, boasting all the flavors of a classic Italian sandwich with slices of deli meat, cheese, a cream cheese spread, and crispy lettuce.
Simply roll each tortilla wrap tightly with plastic wrap, chill, and then slice to serve…you can’t get any easier than that!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Super easy: If you know how to assemble a basic tortilla wrap then you can probably make these easy Italian Pinwheels with your eyes closed!
- Basic ingredients: You won’t find the ingredients difficult to source for these Italian pinwheel sandwiches. In fact, if you are used to enjoying Italian flavor in your meals then you are likely to already have some of them in your kitchen already.
- Versatile use: Easy Italian pinwheels are great little finger foods that can be enjoyed as a school snack, as a great appetizer, or served at baby showers, bridal showers, or your next party!
One of the best things about these Italian roll-ups is the fact that they are loved by adults and kids alike, even the picky eaters!
🛒 Ingredients
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Note: The full list of this Italian roll-up pinwheel recipe ingredients with their amounts and options are listed in the recipe card below.
- Flour tortillas -- burrito size
- Genoa salami slices
- Pepperoni slices
- Provolone Cheese slices
- Romaine Lettuce
- Cream Cheese
- Panko Italian breadcrumbs
- Parmesan cheese
- Roasted red peppers
- Banana peppers
🗒 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Gather the softened cream cheese, seasoned bread crumbs, Parmesan, and the red and banana peppers.
- Mix these ingredients together in a small bowl until well combined.
- Gather the remaining ingredients in preparation for assembling the Italian Pinwheels.
- Lay a flour tortilla out on a clean flat surface.
- Spread ⅓ of the mix over a flour tortilla.
- In the center of the tortilla, place 3 slices of cheese next to one another.
- Next, layer the salami to cover the surface of the tortilla.
- After the salami, layer the pepperoni to cover the deli meat.
- Last, place the romaine lettuce on top.
- Starting at the end closest to you, tightly roll up the tortilla. Wrap each tortilla with plastic wrap to keep it rolled up. Once refrigerated for about 1 hour, proceed to slice the pinwheels in about 1-inch slices for serving.
🔪 Equipment
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You’ll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
🤔 FAQs
These are the questions we are most frequently asked about making this Italian Pinwheels recipe.
Make your Italian pinwheels 12-24 hours ahead of serving at most since the fresh lettuce will start to wilt after that. At the very least, you can make these tasty pinwheels 1 hour in advance since they need to be chilled prior to serving.
These easy Italian pinwheels are loaded with a cream cheese spread incorporating red bell peppers and banana pepper rings, then filled with slices of salami, slices of provolone cheese, slices of deli ham, and fresh Romaine lettuce with Italian seasonings.
Yes! Chilling these Italian pinwheel sandwiches is an essential step that helps to hold them together. Make sure each rolled tortilla wrap is tightly held in place with plastic wrap for refrigerating for about 1 hour.
When not being served, these Italian pinwheels need to be kept in the refrigerator and will last for up to one day since they contain lettuce that will start to wilt quickly.
I don’t recommend freezing these easy Italian pinwheels since they contain fresh lettuce that is sure to wilt and affect the pinwheel tortilla wrap once thawed. Of course, if you choose to omit the lettuce then you could freeze these tasty pinwheels for up to 2 months, wrapped individually in plastic wrap.
👩🏻🍳 Tips
- Don’t skip the chilling of these pinwheel roll-ups as this helps them to hold together better.
- While you could use a regular knife to cut these easy Italian pinwheels, a serrated knife always seems to create cleaner-looking slices.
- You can store leftover ingredients from these Italian pinwheels in separate containers in the refrigerator and use them to make a classic Italian sandwiches in the days that follow.
- Be sure to cover the entire surface of every tortilla wrap when assembling these Italian pinwheel roll-ups. Nothing is worse than biting down into a slice that’s mostly only tortilla wrap!
📚 Variations
- I’ve used the large tortilla wraps for these Italian pinwheel sandwiches but you can also make use of the regular size.
- You can vary the texture of the cream cheese spread by chopping the red bell peppers and banana pepper rings into smaller pieces with the aid of a food processor or by leaving them somewhat chunky.
- I’ve sliced my pinwheels to about 1-inch thick but this should be the thinnest that you slice otherwise the sliced pinwheels can fall apart. If you like, you can slice thicker pinwheels.
- I’ve used slices of provolone cheese and grated parmesan cheese in this Italian pinwheels recipe but feel free to use different cheese such as mozzarella cheese.
- Use Cream cheese for the spread but you can use half that and half sour cream for added ‘tang’.
🥫 Storage
Store leftover Italian pinwheels in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. After that, the lettuce that was added to each tortilla wrap will start to wilt.
📗 Related Recipes
Do you enjoy finger foods whether for lunch or as an easy snack? If so, then you’ll want to try my Classic Spicy Tuna Salad Sandwich Wraps or Caprese Flatbread Sandwich.
Of course, if you’re looking to entertain some guests then be sure to treat them to great party appetizer options such as Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms, Fried Ravioli, or Fried Polenta Appetizers!
🍽 Serve with
Serve these easy Italian pinwheels on a platter with other equally delicious party finger foods or serve them for lunch with Spicy Southwestern Ranch Coleslaw and Spicy Barbecued Chicken Wings.
📞 Chiacchierata (chat)
Don't underrate these delicious pinwheel appetizers. They are incredibly easy to whip up and adapt with an array of fillings to suit the preferences of every crowd you’re catering to.
The Italian pinwheels, loaded with deli ingredients, are true Italian sandwiches. They are winners every time!
What's new? Check out my All Our Way Store on Amazon. We'll be adding more items we love and use or wish we had to make cooking fun and easy.
📝 Recipe Card
Easy Italian pinwheels are essentially tortilla wraps filled with the best Italian flavor from fresh ingredients, wrapped tightly with plastic wrap to chill, and set in the refrigerator before being sliced to about 1-inch party appetizer size!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
📖 Recipe
Easy Italian Pinwheels Delicious Appetizers or Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 3 Flour Tortilla Large burrito size
- 8 ounce Salami Genoa style
- 30 Pepperoni slices
- Romaine lettuce
- 8 ounce Cream cheese 1 package, softened
- ¼ cup Panko crumbs Italian flavored - may use regular Italian bread crumbs.
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
- ⅔ cup Jarred roasted red peppers finely chopped
- ⅔ cup Jarred banana peppers finely chopped
Equipment Needed
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the softened cream cheese, seasoned bread crumbs, Parmesan, and the red and banana peppers until well combined.
- Spread ⅓ of the mix over a flour tortilla.
- In the center of the tortilla, place 3 slices of cheese next to one another.
- Next layer the salami to cover the tortilla.
- After the salami, layer the pepperoni to cover the the deli meat.
- Last, place the romaine lettuce on top.
- Starting at the end closest to you, tightly roll up the tortilla. Wrap each tortilla with plastic wrap to keep it rolled up.
- Refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour.
- Slice the pinwheels in about 1 inch slice.
- Serve and watch them disappear.
