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Sausage Pinwheels are the ultimate easy to eat appetizer for any gathering. A cream cheese sausage mixture gets rolled up inside buttery flaky crescent dough, and then cut to resemble pinwheels. Bake them up to golden brown perfection for an irresistible snack!
Sausage Cream Cheese Pinwheels (BEST Appetizer Recipe)
This sausage pinwheel recipe is always a hit! They don’t look like anything special, but after one bite everyone is always hooked. The creamy sausage filling is perfectly seasoned and then the best part is that flaky and buttery crescent dough pinwheel.
I love making these as an easy to eat appetizer for game day, gatherings or parties. Place them onto a serving platter and watch them disappear!
Ingredients Needed
- Ground Pork Sausage : This provides the flavorful and savory filling for the pinwheels. The fat content in sausage also keeps the filling moist and delicious. I use the Jimmy Dean brand either in the flat ground pork sausage or in the log of ground sausage.
- Cream Cheese : Adds creaminess and richness, and also helps to bind all the ingredients together and balance the flavors. Use softened room temperature cream cheese because it will blend and mix in easier with the sausage and spices.
- Crescent Rolls : This is the store-bought refrigerated crescent rolls that comes in a can of 8 and in the perforated triangle shapes for the crescent rolls. I use the Pillsbury brand. Store-bought crescents are a convenient and easy way to provide the flaky dough that wraps around the sausage mixture and provides the pinwheel shape along with a buttery flavor.
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder : I love using onion powder in this recipe because it provides that savory onion flavor without the moisture of fresh onions.
- Dried Thyme : This compliments the sausage perfectly with it’s earthy and herbal flavor.
- Dried Oregano
- Smoke Paprika : Provides a smoky and slightly sweet flavor and adds a bit of color to the filling.
- Black Pepper
- Egg : Crack the egg into a bowl and whisk with a fork. This is used for the egg wash to make the sausage pinwheels golden brown, flaky, and gives the pinwheels a nice sheen once baked.
How to Make This Sausage Pinwheels Recipe (Printable Recipe Card)
In a large skillet pan, over medium-high heat, cook and crumble the pork sausage until browned and cooked fully. Drain any excess fat/grease from the skillet pan.
Add the cream cheese into the cooked sausage and stir until melted and combined.
Add the dried seasonings into the creamy sausage mixture and stir until the spices are evenly distributed. Remove the pan from the stove and place pan aside to cool slightly while you prepare the crescent roll dough.
Unroll the crescent dough onto a cutting board. Do not separate the perforated triangles, just unroll the dough from the can. Use a rolling pin to roll the rectangle smooth, while smoothing out the seams and making the rectangle shape more even. Repeat this with the other can of crescent dough.
Use a rubber spatula to spread a thin layer of the sausage mixture evenly over each of the crescent dough rectangles, leaving a small border around the edges.
Roll each rectangle tightly into a log, starting from a long side. Cover the logs with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge for 30 minutes.
While the logs are chilling, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Remove the chilled sausage logs from the fridge and slice each log into 1/2-inch thick pinwheels using a sharp serrated knife. Place the pinwheels onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet or baking sheet. You can also just spray the baking sheet with cooking spray if wanted.
Crack the egg into a bowl and whisk with a fork. Use a pastry brush to brush the top and sides of each pinwheel with some egg wash.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pinwheels are golden brown and the dough is cooked through.
Serve warm & enjoy!
How To Store Leftover Pinwheels
Store any leftovers inside an airtight container, in the fridge, for up to 3 days. To reheat, you can microwave on medium power for about 1-2 minutes, but take note that they will lose some crispness when reheated in the microwave. To keep crispness, you can use the air fryer or in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 5-7 minutes.
Recipe Tips
- Keep the crescent dough in the refrigerator until right before you’re ready to use it. Be gentle when handling the dough to avoid tearing. If it does tear, you can easily pinch it back together and smooth it out with the rolling pin.
- If you can find it at your local grocery store, you can use two cans of the crescent dough sheet from Pillsbury. Rather than the perforated 8 triangles, it comes in a full sheet of crescent dough. You will still want to use a rolling pin to smooth it out into an even rectangle shape.
- Make sure the cream cheese is softened before adding it into the skillet pan. It will mix and blend in more smoothly and easily when softened. You can leave the block of cream cheese out at room temperature for up to 1 hour before using, or unwrap the cream cheese and put it on a microwave-safe plate, and heat for about 25 seconds to get it softened.
- If you want some spice then here are some suggestions; add 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes in with the other dried seasonings, use spicy Italian sausage or hot sausage, and you could even add a can of well drained green chilis or diced jalapeños into the sausage cream cheese mixture.
More Appetizers & Finger Foods You’ll Love
- BLT Dip
- Dill Pickle Cheeseball
- Cajun Deviled Eggs
- Crockpot Cranberry Meatballs
- Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Smokies
- Roasted Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus
Sausage Pinwheels
Ingredients
- 24 ounces ground pork sausage (1½ pounds)
- 1 bar (8 oz) cream cheese cubed
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cans (8 oz each) refrigerated Pillsbury crescent rolls
- 1 large egg (for the egg wash)
Instructions
- In a large skillet pan, over medium-high heat, cook and crumble the pork sausage until browned and cooked fully. Drain any excess fat/grease from the skillet pan.24 ounces ground pork sausage
- Add the cream cheese into the cooked sausage and stir until melted and combined.1 bar (8 oz) cream cheese
- Add the dried seasonings into the creamy sausage mixture and stir until the spices are evenly distributed. Remove the pan from the stove and set the pan aside to cool slightly while you prepare the crescent roll dough.2 teaspoons garlic powder, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Unroll the crescent dough onto a cutting board. Do not separate the perforated triangles, just unroll the dough from the can. Use a rolling pin to roll the rectangle smooth, while smoothing out the seams and making the rectangle shape more even. Repeat this with the other can of crescent dough.2 cans (8 oz each) refrigerated Pillsbury crescent rolls
- Use a rubber spatula to spread a thin layer of the sausage mixture evenly over each crescent rectangle, leaving a small border around the edges.
- Roll each rectangle tightly into a log, starting from one of the longer sides. Cover the logs with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- While the logs are chilling, preheat the oven to 375℉.
- Remove the chilled sausage logs from the fridge and slice each log into 1/2-inch thick pinwheels using a sharp serrated knife. Place the pinwheels onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet or baking sheet.
- Crack the egg into a bowl and whisk with a fork. Use a pastry brush to brush the top and sides of each pinwheels with some egg wash.1 large egg
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pinwheels are golden brown and the dough is cooked through.
- Serve warm & enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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