Description
Delicious sausage pinwheels featuring savory ground breakfast sausage blended with cream cheese and spices, rolled in crescent dough, and baked to golden perfection. A perfect appetizer or snack that's easy to prepare and packed with flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
Sausage Mixture
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground breakfast sausage
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Dough and Toppings
- 1 can crescent roll dough (seamless sheet, not precut)
- ½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 3 tablespoons green onion, minced
Instructions
- Heat oil and garlic. In a large saucepan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add minced garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it begins to develop color and becomes fragrant.
- Cook sausage. Add ground breakfast sausage to the pan and sauté until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Drain excess fat and transfer the sausage to a mixing bowl.
- Mix in cream cheese and season. Stir cream cheese into the warm sausage until fully combined. Season with kosher salt and black pepper, adjusting to taste if your sausage is already seasoned. Let the mixture cool in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes until it reaches room temperature.
- Prepare dough. Lay out a large rectangle of plastic wrap on the counter or cutting board. Unroll the crescent roll dough onto the center of the plastic wrap.
- Spread sausage mixture. Evenly spread the cooled sausage and cream cheese mixture over the dough, leaving a ½ inch strip along one long side clear for sealing.
- Add cheese and green onions. Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese and minced green onions evenly over the sausage layer.
- Roll up the dough. Using the plastic wrap to help, roll the dough tightly along the long edge into a log shape. Moisten the bare dough strip with water to seal the log, pinching along the seam to secure.
- Chill the log. Wrap the log tightly in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for 20 minutes until firm enough to slice cleanly.
- Preheat oven. While chilling, preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Slice and arrange. Remove the chilled log from the freezer and cut into 8 equal slices. Place the pinwheels on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them apart to allow for expansion.
- Bake. Bake the pinwheels in the preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
Notes
- Ensure the sausage mixture has cooled before spreading on the dough to prevent it from becoming soggy.
- If you prefer spicier pinwheels, add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the sausage mixture.
- You can substitute cheddar cheese with mozzarella or pepper jack for a different flavor profile.
- The chilling step is important to help the pinwheels hold their shape when sliced.
- For a lower-fat option, use turkey sausage and reduced-fat cream cheese.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pinwheel
- Calories: 250 kcal
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 500 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Cholesterol: 50 mg
