These pepper pinwheels are the perfect easy appetizer for game days, dinner parties, school lunches, or “just because”. They have a bit of pizzazz since they include fresh jalapeños, pickled banana peppers, and jalapeño cream cheese.
The key to this recipe is my homemade sweet and spicy pickled banana peppers (recipe here), which add that tangy, sweet, and spicy component that mixes perfectly with diced jalapeño. They are really quick and easy to make, so I highly recommend trying them and using them in these pinwheels. However, as Ina Garten would say, store-bought is fine too. Just don’t expect that same sweet tanginess from the store-bought peppers.
Now, let’s get right into this recipe!
RECIPE: Sweet and Spicy Pepper Pinwheels
Ingredients:
- 1 large tortilla (12″ across)- I use these restaurant-style ones (shop on Amazon)
- 2 tablespoons finely diced pickled banana peppers
- 1 medium jalapeño (no seeds or veins), or about 1 tablespoon finely diced (See Note 1)
- 4 tablespoons jalapeño cream cheese
- 8 thin slices genoa salami
- 3 tablespoons Mexican blend shredded cheese
- 1 tablespoon chive and onion cream cheese (optional)
Instructions:
1. Spread the jalapeño cream cheese in an even layer across the entire 12″ tortilla. Then lightly sprinkle the Mexican blend shredded cheese across the cream cheese.
2. Add your thinly-sliced salami, evenly spacing it out across the tortilla.
3. Add the chive and onion cream cheese to the top of each slice of salami, to help the pinwheel stay together as you roll it. Of course, you can use more jalapeño cream cheese instead if you want. The chive and onion cream cheese cuts the spice a tiny bit while adding some flavor, but use whichever kind you like.
4. Time for peppers! Remove the seeds and veins from your jalapeño before finely dicing. Also, finely dice the pickled banana peppers and then mix with the diced jalapeño.
Place the pepper mixture along the bottom of your tortilla, about a quarter of the way in. Then, cut off the bottom edge of the tortilla, as seen below.
5. Place a bit of extra cream cheese (either jalapeño or chive and onion) at the top and bottom edges of the tortilla to help the edges of the tortilla stick. Then, beginning at the bottom, roll up your tortilla tightly.
Cut off the ends of the rolled-up tortilla that don’t have much of the filling inside. Slice the the rest into 1/2″ to 3/4″ pinwheels. You should be able to get approximately 15 pinwheels out of one 12″ tortilla.
6. Enjoy! Serve these pinwheels immediately or store in the fridge until you are ready to eat them.
Notes from the Happy to Be Here Kitchen:
1. If you do not have any raw jalapeños, you can easily substitute pickled ones from the store. I prefer the flavor of either fresh jalapeño or leftover grilled jalapeño, but pickled ones will still give you that spice you’re looking for.
Have you tried these sweet and spicy pepper roll-ups?
If you have, let me know how you like them down below! If you’re looking for some more pinwheels to snack on, check out my very popular recipe for easy dill pickle roll-ups. And, make sure you try out my sweet and spicy refrigerator pickled peppers. They really are the secret to the sweet and spicy flavor of these pepper pinwheels.
Pin the image below to come back to this recipe later!
