Sausage Pinwheels are a great appetizer for parties with crescent dough and a spicy sausage and cream cheese filling. A great hand-held snack that everyone will love.

Sausage Pinwheels appetizers on a platter.

Easy appetizers are a must-have for the holidays, game day parties and family gatherings throughout the year. These easy sausage pinwheels are simple to make and have so much delicious flavor.

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Why You Will Love this Sausage Pinwheels Recipe

Easy to Make: Just a few ingredients for this recipe and using refrigerated crescent dough makes this recipe a snap.
Hearty and Delicious: These sausage cream cheese rolls are packed with protein and make a filling snack that is a huge hit as an appetizer or can even be served as a main course for a quick dinner.
Perfect for Entertaining: These sausage crescent pinwheels are the perfect easy appetizer that you can serve hot or at room temperature

Ingredients for Sausage Pinwheels

Italian Sausage – we are using our homemade sweet Italian sausage, use breakfast sausage or your favorite pork sausage.
Candied Jalapenos – Pickled jalapenos work well also or leave them out if you are not a fan of spicy foods.
Picante Sauce – Salsa or salsa verde will work well too.
Cream Cheese – Brings all of the flavors of the filling together and the creamy base offsets the spicy jalapenos.
Crescent Dough – We chose crescent roll dough sheets but any can of crescent rolls dough will work.
Ranch Dressing – Makes a great dipping sauce and cools down the spicy pinwheels.

Step-By-Step Directions for Sausage Cream Cheese Pinwheels

Collage making filling for sausage pinwheels.

Brown the Sausage: Cook the sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat, breaking into crumbles a wooden spoon to brown well. Drain any excess grease and discard.
Dice the jalapenos.
Mix the Filling: Add diced jalapenos, picante sauce and cream cheese to the sausage. Cook over low heat until well combined and cream cheese is completely melted.

Filling crescent dough with sausage cream cheese mixture and making pinwheels.

Make the Pinwheels: Unroll each can of crescent roll dough onto a clean work surface. If using perforated crescent dough, press the seams together.
Top each package of crescent dough with half of the sausage mixture, spreading in an even layer.
Roll up the crescent dough from the long side, jelly-roll style.
Use a serrated knife to slice into rolls and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat with the second roll.

Baked pinwheel appetizers on a baking sheet.

Bake: Cook for 20 minutes or until crescent dough is golden brown and baked through.
Remove from oven.

Serving: Serve on a platter with ranch dressing for dipping.

Variations for Sausage Pinwheel Recipe

Mix in shredded mozzarella cheese or cheddar cheese with the cream cheese mixture.
Sliced green onions can be mixed into the sausage filling or used as a garnish.
Flaky puff pastry is a great substitute for cans of crescent rolls. Baking time may need to be adjusted.

How to Store and Reheat Pinwheel Appetizers

Storage: Store leftover pinwheels in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
Reheat: Place pinwheels on a lined baking sheet and cook at 350° for 8- 10 minutes or until heated through.

More Delicious Party Appetizers to Try

Sausage Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls are very similar to these pinwheels without the spicy kick.
Smoked Sausage Appetizers are made with link smoked sausage and wrapped in pizza dough for a super easy bite-sized snack that everyone goes crazy for.
Velveeta Cheese Dip is one of our favorite dips. It can be made in 10 minutes and is perfect for every occasion.
Lil Smokies Pigs in a Blanket are a classic appetizer and always the hit of the party!
Armadillo Eggs are sausage and bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers made on the grill. You won’t believe how fast they disappear!

Sausage pinwheel dipping into ranch dressing.

Add these spicy Sausage Pinwheels to your next party menu for a quick and delicious, hand-held appetizer that is sure to please the crowd.

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5 from 1 vote