Air Fryer Pizza Rolls are quick and easy to make and are a great alternative to regular pizza. Golden brown on top, filled with shredded ham and cheese on a tomato base, you can have these on the table in less than 30 minutes. Easy to customise with different flavour sauces, filling, herbs and spices.
Why I’m A Fan of These
- They’re made with a few simple ingredients
- Easy to make with store bought puff pastry
- Easy to create your own flavour combinations
- You know what’s in them!
- Ideal as a snack, party food, or as a lazy weekend dinner
- They’re portable and are perfect for the picnic hamper or lunchbox
- Easy to make a double batch and freeze and reheat later
- They take just 15 minutes in the Air Fryer
I’m a big fan of pizza, from a Seafood Pizza for One, to a light and crispy Garlic Prawn Pizza, to a good old fashioned super quick Salami Pita Bread Pizza, but sometimes its nice to have something a little different.
Pizza rolls cooked in the air fryer using puff pastry is a nice change to a pizza on a bread type base. Because they're in a roll, it makes them easier to dip into your favourite sauce too!
Check out my Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls for another easy puff pastry recipe! Or my Air Fryer Garlic Bread that you could add pizza topping too.
Ingredients
Just a few simple ingredients and you can make your own homemade air fryer pizza rolls. Sure you could use frozen ones, but making your own is easy and I think they taste a whole lot better.
Ingredient Notes
- Puff Pastry: Its important to work with cold puff pastry, but not frozen, (as you won’t be able to roll it, and not room temperature because it will be too loose to roll. Once you have the puff pastry out of the freezer, separate off 2 sheets and lay them separately, covered with a towel for 5 minutes to let them gently soften and loosen, then begin working quickly with it.
- Ham: Any type of ham is fine, as is bacon. I like to make sure its thinly sliced, or diced so that it cooks properly.
- Cheese: I use a tasty grated cheese. A combination of cheeses would also work, however I’d avoid using parmesan as its not suitable.
- Tomato Paste: This creates a nice tangy tomato base. Alternatively you could use a sugar free BBQ sauce, passata, Basil Pesto, or Sun Dried Tomato Pesto.
- Other Addins: Sprinkling a few herbs onto the pizza base before rolling also adds additional flavour. Ones I use a dried basil, died mixed herbs, dried parsley. Only use a little so its not too overpowering. You could also add some baby spinach leaves (stalks removed) on top of the tomato paste, followed by the ham and cheese.
- Cooking: I have an XL Tefal Air Fryer, and I can comfortable fit 4 pizza rolls in the basket without overcrowding, and I make this recipe in two batches.
- Oil: I don’t tend to use oil when I make these as I have a non stick base, and they brown lightly on top without oil, however feel free to give them I very light oil spray once in the basket, or light brush with oil. This can also help to make them extra crispy.
How To Make
- Let Pastry Soften from Frozen: Lay out frozen puff pastry on bench (keep plastic on). Cover and let it defrost for 5 minutes until it loses its stiffness
- Add Base and Toppings: Spread tomato paste over pastry, leaving about 1cm or half and inch perimeter. Evenly scatter shredded ham and grated cheese
- Roll into a Log: Start rolling from one side, slowing pulling back plastic as you tightly (but gently) roll into a cylinder without stretching the pastry.
- Cut into pieces: Once its rolled into a log, cut into half, and then half again so you have four equal sized pieces.
- Cook: Lay flat side down into air fryer and spray lightly with oil if using. Cook for 12 minutes at 180 degrees C/ 350 degrees F. Check after 12 mins and if you want them browner, cook for a further 3 mins.
Expert Tips and Customisations
- Working with Puff Pastry: the trick is to work quickly because once the pastry begins to soften, it will become more challenging to work with. Make sure to have your base spread and filling at the ready to put on as soon as the pastry has softened and become pliable enough to roll.
- Base Alternatives: instead of tomato paste, you could try a low sugar BBQ sauce, basil pesto, or sun dried tomato pesto
- Meat Alternative: diced bacon, pancetta, peperoni, shaved salami would all work well
- Vege Fillings: my favourites are sliced onion, spinach leaves and, capsicum. I tend not to use tomatoes or mushroom as these have a higher water content that makes the pastry go soggy.
- Garlic Twist: add a little crushed garlic into the tomato paste before spreading one.
- Rolling Puff Pastry: Don’t overload the pastry with to much topping, or to many toppings as it will make it harder to roll. Less is better.
- Extra Cooking: if you tend to like your pastries a little browner than most, or you just want to make sure the cheese is melted inside, its easy to add a couple of extra minutes cooking time, however do check to make sure they aren’t becoming over crisp and drying out.
- Cooking on both sides: half way or three quarters of the way through cooking I like to turn the rolls over so that the base can dry out and crisp up as well.
Common Questions
I don’t preheat my air fryer at all. I make the pizza rolls and pop them into the basket and set it to cook straight away. They turn out golden and flaky without having to preheat like and oven.
Yes. I recommend turning the rolls at least once during the cooking process to ensure that the base cooks.
Either! I prefer to eat them hot, but other family members eat them cold.
Simple to make homemade pizza rolls in the air fryer are an easy recipe to start with if you're new to air frying, and they taste much better than store bought pizza rolls.
Just a little bit of effort scattering your toppings onto puff pastry and you can have golden, crispy pizza rolls for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
More Air Fryer Recipes
Air Fryer Pizza Rolls
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 sheets Puff Pastry
- 3 tablespoons Tomato paste
- ½ cup Shredded Ham - (or bacon)
- ½ cup Grated Cheese
Other
- Spray Oil - (optional)
Add Ins
- 1 teaspoon Dried Herbs - basil, mixed herbs, parsley, oregano
Instructions
- Let Pastry Soften from Frozen: Lay out frozen puff pastry on bench (keep plastic on). Cover and let it defrost for 5 minutes until it loses its stiffness
- Add Base and Toppings: Spread tomato paste over pastry, leaving about 1cm or half and inch perimeter. Evenly scatter shredded ham and grated cheese
- Roll into a Log: Start rolling from one side, slowing pulling back plastic as you tightly (but gently) roll into a cylinder without stretching the pastry.
- Cut into pieces: Once its rolled into a log, cut into half, and then half again so you have four equal sized pieces.
- Cook: Lay flat side down into air fryer and spray lightly with oil if using. Cook for 12 minutes at 180 degrees C/ 350 degrees F. Check after 12 mins and if you want them browner, cook for a further 3 mins.
Notes
- About Puff Pastry: Its important to work with cold puff pastry, but not frozen, (as you won’t be able to roll it, and not room temperature because it will be too loose to roll. Once you have the puff pastry out of the freezer, separate off 2 sheets and lay them separately, covered with a towel for 5 minutes to let them gently soften and loosen, then begin working quickly with it.
- Working with Puff Pastry: the trick is to work quickly because once the pastry begins to soften, it will become more challenging to work with. Make sure to have your base spread and filling at the ready to put on as soon as the pastry has softened and become pliable enough to roll.
- Ham: Any type of ham is fine, as is bacon. I like to make sure its thinly sliced, or diced so that it cooks properly.
- Cheese: I use a tasty grated cheese. A combination of cheeses would also work, however I’d avoid using parmesan as its not suitable.
- Tomato Paste: This creates a nice tangy tomato base. Alternatively you could use a sugar free BBQ sauce, passata, Basil Pesto, or Sun Dried Tomato Pesto.
- Extra Cooking: if you tend to like your pastries a little browner than most, or you just want to make sure the cheese is melted inside, its easy to add a couple of extra minutes cooking time, however do check to make sure they aren’t becoming over crisp and drying out.
Nutrition
Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners.
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