Pizza Roll-Ups

Pizza roll-ups are the freezer-meal hero every busy household should have in rotation. Roll pizza dough thin, blanket it with seasoned ground turkey and a generous layer of mozzarella, then roll it up like a jelly roll and slice into 1-inch pinwheels. Twenty-four pieces per batch, baked until golden, cooled, and stashed in freezer bags with a container of marinara tucked alongside.

The secret is the lightly-seasoned filling. Browning the ground turkey with salt, pepper, mozzarella, and Italian seasoning (the cheese goes right into the hot pan and helps bind everything together) before rolling means every slice gets a tight, meatball-like interior rather than a greasy puddle. Letting the sliced roll-ups sit 10 minutes before baking gives the dough a light proof, which is what gives them a softer bread bite instead of a cracker crunch.

Kitchen Tips

• Roll the dough to a full 14 by 24 inches before filling. Too thick and the center stays doughy.
• Spray your knife with cooking spray between cuts to keep the dough from snagging.
• Space the roll-ups at least an inch apart; they puff up significantly in the oven.
• Reheat frozen roll-ups straight from the freezer at 350°F (175°C) for 12 to 15 minutes.

Variations

• Swap ground turkey for Italian sausage, ground beef, or chopped pepperoni.
• Add a thin layer of pizza sauce on the dough before the filling for a wetter, more pizza-forward bite.
• Stir finely chopped spinach, roasted red peppers, or olives into the filling for extra color and flavor.