Italian Antipasto Pinwheels

Italian Antipasto Pinwheels are loaded with delicious antipasto flavors like salami, pepperoncini, kalamata olives, and mozzarella cheese. Rolled in a tortilla, these easy to make pinwheel roll ups are sure to become your new favorite Italian appetizer.

If you love all of the flavors you find on a traditional Italian antipasto tray, then you are going to love these pinwheels. Full of those classic antipasto flavors, these Italian Antipasto Pinwheels are a great snack anytime.

Pinwheels are a super easy to assemble and a make-ahead friendly appetizer that’s perfect for a party, game day, or after school snack.

One of my most popular pinwheel recipes is Chicken Bacon Ranch Pinwheels; which uses rotisserie chicken and bacon bits. However, pinwheels don’t necessarily have to be made on a tortilla so long as they have that pinwheel effect. For instance, Bacon and Parmesan Pinwheel Bread Rolls consist of a spread rolled into a bread dough and then baked into that pinwheel shape.

How to Make Pinwheels

Pinwheels are super easy to put together and are make-ahead friendly; making them the perfect party treat.

Pinwheels consists of a base spread that goes on the tortilla. This base spread is customarily made of cream cheese with different toppings and flavors added in. These flavorings could include things like ranch seasoning, caramelized onions, or something sweet like a strawberry spread.

Then, the toppings you add on to the cream cheese base spread are up to you. Here I used salami, but you could also add the flavorings directly into the spread like diced rotisserie chicken, cut up veggies, whatever!

Lastly, the type of tortilla you use is again up to your preference. Spinach tortillas or any type of flatbread would be great. You could also do whole wheat tortilla or save calories and use the Flatout Flat Bread.

The key to making pinwheels is to roll them tight. Once rolled, I like to wrap mine in Saran Wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before cutting. This gives the pinwheel time to form and stay rolled.

Italian Antipasto Pinwheels

Simple and easy to make, this will be your new favorite way to serve up those antipasto flavors for your next party. Note that if you don’t have any of the ingredients listed, or if you wanted to substitute a thing or two, pinwheels are the perfect recipe to do so.

Firstly, you will need to make the antipasto cream cheese spread for the pinwheels. Here I used some of my favorite antipasto flavors like kalamata olives, roasted bell peppers, and pepperoncini. However, you could include things like diced giardiniera or roasted garlic, depending on what you have on hand.

Be sure that you are using room temperature cream cheese for the base. You will need to mix everything into the cream cheese, and if it’s cold, then nothing will blend and you’ll end up with big chunks of cream cheese.

Here, I added shredded mozzarella to the base. But you could use whatever cheese blend you have on hand such as provolone or parmesan.

Spread the mixture over the tortilla. I like to do a thicker layer so you can really taste the flavors.

Next, add on the salami slices on top of the cream cheese mixture. Here, again, you are free to substitute the meat for whatever you have on hand and add slices of cheese or greens if you’d like.

Lastly, roll up the pinwheels and wrap tightly in Saran Wrap. If you can, let the pinwheels refrigerate for at least an hour before slicing. This will allow them to keep their shape better and give the flavors a chance to meld.

Be sure to check out my Pasta e Fagioli Soup – updated with pinto beans and bacon!