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French Dip Pinwheels – this easy appetizer recipe is pizza dough wrapped around roast beef and provolone cheese. The perfect hand held food for appetizers, game day food, or an easy dinner. The sauce is the best part!

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multiple pinwheels laid out on a dark cutting board


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EASY French Dip Pinwheels Appetizer

I love making little variations on sandwiches like the classic French Dip, because then it’s easier to feed lots of people. At New Year’s Eve I made these French Dip Pinwheels and everyone raved about them.

Plus, French Dip pinwheels are easy to make, and you can make them for dinner or a crowd. And the au jus is the perfect sauce!

French Dip Pinwheels are a perfect dinner or party food!

ingredients in pinwheels

Ingredients in French Dip Sliders

  • Pizza Crust – you can use homemade pizza dough or do what I did – buy Pillsbury pizza crust.
  • Roast Beef – packaged or deli sliced
  • Beef Stock – stock is better than broth
  • Beef Bouillon – optional but adds tons of extra beef flavor
  • Worcestershire and Soy Sauce – add some depth of flavor and salt to the broth
  • Onions and Garlic – we love the flavor the fresh onions and garlic add.
  • Provolone Cheese – I love my beef dips with cheese!
process shot of making French dip pinwheels
process shot of making French dip pinwheels
process shot of making French dip pinwheels
process shot of making French dip pinwheels
process shot of making French dip pinwheels
process shot of making French dip pinwheels

How to make Roast Beef Pinwheels

  • Unroll pizza dough.
  • Top with roast beef.
  • Top with cheese.
  • Roll the dough up like you would a cinnamon roll.
  • Slice into 16 slices.
  • Place pinwheels on a cookie sheet and bake until golden and cooked through.
  • While the french dips are baking, make the sauce by sauteeing the onions and garlic then adding the stock, worscestershire, and soy sauce and cooking until it’s hot.
process shot of making French dip pinwheels

Variations

  • Use sharp white cheddar or Swiss cheese for a flavor twist.
  • French Dip Pinwheels are a great appetizer for a party! They’re hearty and cheesy and everyone loves them. I also love making these for an easy dinner, because my family gobbles them up.
  • Get creative with your French dip pinwheels – they’d also be yummy with caramelized onions.
pinwheels being dipped in sauce

Expert Tips

  • You can use roast beef from the packaged food aisle, but I prefer using it from the deli counter. You can also use turkey!
  • Start with a homemade pizza dough or use a tube of pizza dough (like Pillsbury) or even frozen bread dough.
  • Roll the crust into a rectangle and then decide how many pieces you want. If you want 8-12 pinwheels, roll it up from the short end to create a shorter, thicker roll. If you are making this for a party and want more pinwheels that are smaller, roll it up from the long side to make 14-16 pinwheels.
  • You can portion the dip into single serve portions for each person at dinner, or serve it in a bowl for communal dipping.
multiple pinwheels laid out on a dark cutting board

French Dip Pinwheels

5 from 1 vote
French Dip Pinwheels – this easy recipe starts with pizza dough and is perfect for an appetizer or easy dinner. The sauce is the best part!

Recipe Video

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Yield 16 servings
Serving Size 1 roll
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Ingredients
 

  • 1 roll pizza crust (or a pizza crust suitable for a 10-12" pizza)
  • 5 ounces deli roast beef (Approximately)
  • 8-10 slices provolone cheese (Approximately)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • ½ medium onion diced (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 2 cups beef stock I like using low-sodium
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 2 beef bullion cubes or 1 tablespoon powdered bouillon (optional but adds great flavor)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
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Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  • Unroll the pizza crust into a long rectangle. Cover with a layer of roast beef and a layer of cheese.
  • Roll up starting with the long side. Pinch the end to seal. Slice into equal size rolls and place on cookie sheet. Bake for 15-22 minutes, depending on size, until the dough is cooked through.
  • While the rolls are baking, make the au jus. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook about 3-4 minutes, until semi-translucent, then add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the beef stock, Worcestershire, soy sauce, and bullion cubes, if using. Bring to a boil and cook for 4-5 minutes boiling (or until the bullion is dissolved). Taste carefully, and add salt and pepper as desired.
  • Serve hot rolls with the au jus.
  • Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1roll | Calories: 304kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 951mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Author Dorothy Kern

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French Dip Pinwheels are like sliders but rolled – make these as an easy dinner or the perfect appetizer recipe!



Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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11 Comments

  3. I LOVE this idea! So perfect for picky eaters like my family, but so customizable as well. For those that would eat it, I’m thinking of adding roasted peppers and caramelized onions so they are a cheese steak/ French dip crossover. Thanks for the great recipe!

    Reply

  4. French dip sandwiches are my go-to dinner item whenever I see it on a menu. There’s something about the au jus that I just can’t resist. These pinwheels are a great way to recreate my favorite hot sandwich in mini, party-ready form!

    Reply