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Sausage and Cream Cheese Pinwheels

These delicious baked pinwheels with sausage and cream cheese are excellent for appetizers, lunch, and snacking. My sausage and cream cheese pinwheels recipe is easy and quick! That’s why it’s a favorite pinwheel appetizer recipe.

This simple appetizer has so many great flavors and textures. Pinwheels are always a big hit in our house, I’m sure they’ll be a new favorite in yours as well.

If you haven’t tried any of our other pinwheel recipes you definitely need to check out Taco Pinwheels, Salami Cream Cheese Pickle Pinwheels, and Baked Ham and Cheese Pinwheels!

pin showing the finished pinwheels ready to eat

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One of the best things about making pinwheel recipes like these sausage and cream cheese filled pinwheels, is that they are really simple and made with limited ingredients. We aren’t remaking the wheel here…pun possibly intended 😉

This simple appetizer recipe looks and tastes great which is a real plus considering how simple and straight forward the recipe is, check it out below!

sausage pinwheels on a paddle cutting board ready to share

What are pinwheels?

Well, they’re a goofy toy that catches the wind and looks adorable. Usually found at festivals, fairs, and anywhere else a child might spot one and start begging for it!

In this case they’re also a rolled finger food that usually has a pastry dough or tortilla base and then is filled with things like cream cheese, meats, vegetables, seasonings, and more. Once the fillings are added the base is rolled up to create that swirled look and then they are sliced into bite sized pieces.

For these sausage and cream cheese pinwheels you’ll see that the crescent rolls act as our base so they get sliced and then baked after the filling and rolling is completed.

side view of a serving of the finished pinwheels ready to eat

What do I need to make sausage and cream cheese pinwheels?

For this recipe you will need a handful of simple and easy to find ingredients. I like making these for appetizers at parties and family gatherings because they’re easy to prepare and relatively inexpensive as well.

You will need bulk pork sausage, diced bell pepper, cream cheese, crescent rolls, shredded cheese, salt/pepper, and then some garnish of green onions and diced tomatoes if you like!

You can absolutely leave off the onions and tomatoes if you don’t want to bother with a garnish. They’ll still taste great and look fabulous without that. Sometimes I like to simplify things down as far as possible and in this case those five main ingredients are all it takes to whip up some baked sausage and cream cheese rolls!

ingredients for making sausage and cream cheese pinwheels

How to make baked pinwheels with sausage:

When we are making these baked pinwheels with sausage they are a little different from our cold pinwheel recipes in that we have to bake them. Like the Recipe For Taco Pinwheels which have some cooking steps involved and the Baked Ham and Cheese Pinwheels which are also a pastry dough shell, we have to do a bit more prep…but it’s worth it!

These easy baked pinwheels with sausage make for a hearty appetizer, lunch, or snack. You can even serve them up for a finger food dinner on those nights when you want all smiles around the dinner table. They’ll be a hit, no doubt about that.

prepping veggies.

In a skillet, preheat the skillet to medium-high and then crumble the sausage into the pan. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Cook until it is no longer pink, approximately 7 minutes. 

Add in the diced red pepper and cook until the pepper is tender, about another 2 – 3 minutes. 

Add in the cream cheese, stirring until ingredients are thoroughly blended. Turn off heat. 

Prepare your baking sheet by either lining it with parchment paper or a silicone mat. 

lined pans ready for the recipe to begin.

Open each of the crescent roll tubes. Unroll the crescent rolls and separate into 4 rectangles total. Seal the perforations with your fingers. Gently press out the crescent roll dough into rectangles that are about 6”x4” and 1/2” thick. 

Using a measuring cup and spoon, spoon the sausage filling into a 1/3 measuring cup and spread onto a rectangle. Carefully spread to within ¼ inch of the edge. 

filling mixture in a bowl.

Carefully, start to roll up the dough, jelly-roll style and pinch the seam to seal. Make sure the seam side is down. Repeat this process until you have used all of the crescent roll dough. 

filing spread on crescent roll dough

Place the baking tray with the sausage roll logs into the freezer for one hour. 

rolled up logs ready for the freezer

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

evenly spaced slices on baking tray ready for the oven.

Carefully cut each log into 8 to 10 slices (depending on how thick you want them) and arrange them on prepared baking sheets (either lined with parchment paper or silicone mats).

finished sausage and cream cheese pinwheels ready to eat

Place in the oven and back until they are golden brown 15 – 18 minutes. 

garnish in dishes ready for pinwheels

Remove from the oven and serve while warm. Serve up with sliced green onions and diced tomatoes. 

finished and garnished baked pinwheels with sausage and cream cheese

How many servings does this recipe provide?

This recipe will make about 6 dozen pinwheels depending on how large or small you cut your slices. We usually consider 3-4 a serving size when planning for parties and meals.

This recipe can be scaled back if you don’t want to make quite as many or if you just need a smaller amount for snacking, etc. Feel free to cut the ingredients in half so you only end up with the amount you need.

The same goes for doubling the recipe, just increase your ingredients, the steps don’t change for preparing the sausage and cream cheese pinwheels.

I like to serve these when they’re still a little warm but don’t worry, you can eat them cold or reheat them as well!

top down look at the finished sausage and cream cheese pinwheels ready to serve

Do you have other pinwheel recipes to share?

Absolutely. I love making pinwheel recipes and I’ve been sharing quite a lot of them here at Moneywise Moms! Check out some of our other favorite pinwheel recipes below and try them all out! You will have a hard time choosing your favorite after you give them all a go.

pin showing the finished sausage and cream cheese pinwheels ready to eat

Printable Sausage and Cream Cheese Pinwheels Recipe:

Yield: 6 Dozen Pinwheels

Sausage and Cream Cheese Pinwheels

Finished sausage pinwheels with garnish ready to eat.

These delicious baked pinwheels with sausage and cream cheese are excellent for appetizers, lunch, and snacking. My sausage and cream cheese pinwheels recipe is easy and quick!

Prep Time 15 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Bake Time 18 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 33 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb bulk pork sausage (regular or spicy)
  • ½ cup diced red pepper
  • 1 block cream cheese (8 oz)
  • 2 tubes crescent rolls (8oz each)
  • kosher or sea salt
  • black pepper
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • green onion, sliced (topping, optional)
  • diced tomatoes (topping, optional)

Instructions

  1. In a skillet, preheat the skillet to medium-high and then crumble the sausage into the pan.
  2. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Cook until it is no longer pink, approximately 7 minutes. 
  3. Add in the diced red pepper and cook until the pepper is tender, about another 2 – 3 minutes. 
  4. Add in the cream cheese, stirring until ingredients are thoroughly blended. Turn off heat. 
  5. Prepare your baking sheet by either lining it with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Open each of the crescent roll tubes.
  6. Unroll the crescent rolls and separate into 4 rectangles total. Seal the perforations with your fingers.
  7. Gently press out the crescent roll dough into rectangles that are about 6”x4” and 1/2” thick. 
  8. Using a measuring cup and spoon, spoon the sausage filling into a 1/3 measuring cup and spread onto a rectangle. Carefully spread to within ¼ inch of the edge. 
  9. Carefully, start to roll up the dough, jelly-roll style and pinch the seam to seal. Make sure the seam side is down.
  10. Repeat this process until you have used all of the crescent roll dough. Place the baking tray with the sausage roll logs into the freezer for one hour. 
  11. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
  12. Carefully cut each log into 8 to 10 slices (depending on how thick you want them) and arrange them on prepared baking sheets (either lined with parchment paper or silicone mats).
  13. Place in the oven and back until they are golden brown 15 – 18 minutes. 
  14. Remove from the oven and serve while warm.
  15. Serve up with sliced green onions and diced tomatoes. 

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 96Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 232mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 5g
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