Spinach and Vegetable Pinwheels

October 15, 2023

Spinach and Vegetable Pinwheels

Spinach and Vegetable Pinwheels make a nice snack or appetizer. Serve with your favourite tomato or cheese sauce.

These little mouthfuls of savoury vegetables and pastry are delicious and not very hard to make. They would come under the category of appetizers but they would make a nice light supper served with a salad and maybe a bowl of soup. And don't forget picnics and lunch boxes. As they can be served hot or cold they make a nice change from sandwiches. Include a little container of sauce for dipping if you pack them in a picnic basket or lunch box.

The pastry is very forgiving and even a non baker will have success with this recipe. I use the same pastry on my Vegetarian Chicken Pot Pie. I have made them with and without the optional cheese and mushrooms and my favourite would be with both cheese and mushrooms. But if you leave out the cheese the recipe is vegan by default. The recipe says to use Parmesan or Feta cheese but use whatever you have on hand.

Don't leave out the nutmeg (unless you absolutely have to) as it lends such a lovely and subtle flavour to the pinwheels and is a classic seasoning with spinach.

(Don't confuse these for cinnamon rolls, lol. I have a friend who likes neither spinach or mushrooms pop one into her mouth expecting a sweet cinnamon roll. The look on her face was priceless!)

Printable recipe at end of post.

Spinach and Vegetable Pinwheels

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup oil
½ cup boiling water

1 tablespoon oil
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped and pressed down in the measuring cup*
2 medium onions, diced
1 green or red pepper, diced
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon salt (decrease to ⅛ teaspoon if using feta cheese?)
½ cup sautéed chopped mushrooms, optional
½ cup parmesan or feta cheese, optional

How to make it:

Line a cookie or baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Combine ½ cup oil and boiling water and add all at once to dry ingredients. Stir until well blended. Cover and let stand 30 minutes to overnight. If making the pastry the day before, refrigerate until ready to use.

While the dough rests, prepare filling by sautéing spinach, onions, green pepper in the 1 tablespoon oil. Add seasoning and simmer until any liquid has been evaporated. Add sautéed mushrooms if using. Let the filling cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll dough to a 14x12-inch rectangle between two pieces of parchment paper. Don't worry if the dough is a little larger, just don't make it smaller or it will be too thick to bake through. Spread filling evenly over the dough and sprinkle with cheese if using. Starting at the longer end roll up as you would for a jelly roll or cinnamon rolls. Cut in ¾-inch slices. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Serve pinwheels hot or cold with your favourite tomato or cheese sauce.

Makes 16-20 pinwheels.

*You may substitute 1 cup of thawed frozen chopped spinach, squeezed dry.

Place flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Combine ½ cup oil and boiling water.

Add the oil and water all at once to dry ingredients. Stir until well blended. Cover and let stand 30 minutes to overnight. If making the pastry the day before, refrigerate until ready to use.