This easy 'cheats' muffin tin pizza whirl rolls recipe made with pizza base mix is a great make-ahead freezable lunch box recipe for kids
As I mentioned in yesterday's lunch box rice salad pots post, I've been trialing lots of new lunch box recipes recently in preparation for back to school next week and today I have another to share with you.
I really love cooking and baking and in an ideal world, I'd love to make everything from scratch, but like so many of us, as a busy work-from-home mum, sometimes I have to make do with shortcuts, so today's recipe is a quick corner-cutting one for easy muffin tin pizza whirl rolls.
This recipe is a great one to make in bulk at the weekend and pop in the freezer for lunches for the weeks ahead, it's so handy to have a stash of lunch supplies squirreled away in the freezer for those 'need to go food shopping but arrgh I need to pack a lunch first' moments!
It's also got some extravegetables hidden inside - I like to sneak in those veggies wherever I can to help top up their 5 a day.
My recipe shortcut is to use a packet pizza base mix to make these rolls. You can of course make your own pizza dough from scratch (as I like to do when time isn't so short!) but I find that emptyinga bag straight into a bowl without having to do any weighing and measuring can often help my tired brain to cope whenlife is extra busy.
If you're feeling up to it, this is a nice easy recipe to make with the kids too, my boys love 'helping' with the kneading and spreading and sprinkling over the toppings is a nice easy task that even my toddler can help with.
So here, for better or worse is my quick and easy pizza mix pizza rolls recipe!
Muffin Tin Pizza Whirl Rolls
Ingredients (makes 16):
- 2 x 145g packs pizza mix
- 2 tbs tomato puree
- 1 tsp mixed herbs
- 100g roasted red peppers (from a jar)
- ½ medium courgette/zucchini (approx. 100g)
- 150g grated pizza cheese*
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180°C (gas mark 4/350°F). Spray or brush a couple of muffin tins lightly with oil.
Pour the two pizza mix packets into a large bowland follow the instructions on the back of the pack to make the dough.
Knead well for 5 minutes, then roll the dough out on a floured surface to form a large rectangle.
Measure out the tomato puree into a small bowl, then add a dash of cold water and the mixed herbs. Stir to combine, then dollop all of it onto the rectangle of dough and spread right to the edges with the back of the spoon.
Drain and finely chop the red peppers, then sprinkle evenly on top of the tomato puree mixture.
Wash and grate the courgette (zucchini), then sprinkle evenly over the whole sheet of dough.
Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top, again making sure it evenly covers the whole sheet of dough, right to the edges.
Starting at one of the long edges, roll the sheet of dough up in a spiral, taking care to keep all the topping tucked into it as you roll. Gently press in the edges along the length of the roll to seal.
Using the sharpest knife you have, cut the roll into 16 equal pieces, taking care not to squash it too much as you do so.
Place one spiral of dough into each hole in the muffin tins.
Place the muffin tins in the preheated oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until cooked through and golden. Check on them after 15 minutes and turn the tray around in the oven to cook them evenly if necessary, and do keep an eye on them as they can easily burn if left unattended.
Once your rolls are cooked though, remove from the oven and leave to cool for a minute or two. As soon as they have cooled down enough to handle, remove from the muffin tin and cool on a wire rack. It's really important that you don't leave them to cool in the muffin tin for too long or they might go a little soggy on the bottom.
Serve warm, or leave to cool completely then freeze in a single layer to use later. Once frozen through, place them in a freezer bag, removing as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn. Rolls can be removed from the freezer the night before you need them and left out to defrost overnight. If eating at home, you can reheat the rolls in the oven for a few minutes to serve them warm if wanted.
NOTES:
Feel free to swap or add in any extra toppings, we sometimes add ham, pepperoni, sweetcorn, spring onion or a few chopped cherry tomatoes to ours.
*I bought pizza cheese in our local supermarket, it's just a mixture of ready grated cheddar and mozzarella. You can substitute with just cheddar or just mozzarella if preferred.
I used pizza mix to make these too - they're also perfect for lunch boxes and freezing!
If you enjoyed this recipe you might also like these fun and easy pizza recipes:
Pitta Bread Pizzas
Pesto Pizza Quesadillas
Naan Bread Pizza
For more easy lunch ideas and recipes,check out theLunchbox and Picnic Recipes sectionhere on the Eats Amazing blog orpop over and follow my lunch themed Pinterest boards for fun and healthy lunch box ideas from all over the web;Kids Lunch Box Ideas&Packed Lunch Ideas.
Do you have any favourite make-ahead lunch box recipes? Do tell me about them in the comments below, I'm always looking for new suggestions!
Grace
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Muffin Tin Pizza Whirl Rolls
These easy 'cheats' muffin tin pizza whirl rolls made with pizza base mix are great for freezing for kids school lunch boxes
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Course: Lunch
Cuisine: American, British, Vegetarian
Servings: 16 Rolls
Author: Grace Hall
Ingredients
- 2 x 145g packs pizza mix
- 2 tbs tomato puree
- 1 tsp mixed herbs
- 100 g roasted red peppers (from a jar)
- ½ medium courgette/zucchini (approx. 100g)
- 150 g grated pizza cheese*
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 180°C (gas mark 4/350°F). Spray or brush a couple of muffin tins lightly with oil.
Pour the two pizza mix packets into a large bowland follow the instructions on the back of the pack to make the dough.
Knead well for 5 minutes, then roll the dough out on a floured surface to form a large rectangle.
Measure out the tomato puree into a small bowl, then add a dash of cold water and the mixed herbs. Stir to combine, then dollop all of it onto the rectangle of dough and spread right to the edges with the back of the spoon.
Drain and finely chop the red peppers, then sprinkle evenly on top of the tomato puree mixture.
Wash and grate the courgette, then sprinkle evenly over the whole sheet of dough.
Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top, again making sure it evenly covers the whole sheet of dough, right to the edges.
Starting at one of the long edges, roll the sheet of dough up in a spiral, taking care to keep all the topping tucked into it as you roll. Gently press in the edges along the length of the roll to seal.
Using the sharpest knife you have, cut the roll into 16 equal pieces, taking care not to squash it too much as you do so.
Place one spiral of dough into each hole in the muffin tins.
Place the muffin tins in the preheated oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until cooked through and golden. Check on them after 15 minutes and turn the tray around in the oven to cook them evenly if necessary, and do keep an eye on them as they can easily burn if left unattended.
Once your rolls are cooked though, remove from the oven and leave to cool for a minute or two. As soon as they have cooled down enough to handle, remove from the muffin tin and cool on a wire rack. It's really important that you don't leave them to cool in the muffin tin for too long or they might go a little soggy on the bottom.
Serve warm, or leave to cool completely then freeze in a single layer to use later. Once frozen through, place them in a freezer bag, removing as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn. Rolls can be removed from the freezer the night before you need them and left out to defrost overnight. If eating at home, you can reheat the rolls in the oven for a few minutes to serve them warm if wanted.
Notes
NOTES: Feel free to swap or add in any extra toppings, we sometimes add ham, pepperoni, sweetcorn, spring onion or a few chopped cherry tomatoes to ours. *I bought pizza cheese in our local supermarket, it's just a mixture of ready grated cheddar and mozzarella. You can substitute with just cheddar or just mozzarella if preferred.
I hope you will want to try this yummy recipe, please pin it so that you can find it again!
