I’m so excited to be sharing this recipe with you today for so many reasons. To start, I’m actually re-sharing this recipe. I first posted it WAY back in 2010 when I had no idea what I was really doing with this whole blogging thing. Just look at those pictures – I showed them to Anna and she was shocked and very disappointed in my lack of good lighting, lmfao!
Let’s look at the positive here though: I first posted this recipe to Kitchen Trials 14 years ago and I’m STILL making them. If that’s not enough to sell you on these, well, I’ll just have to keep trying
So, what the hell are pizza egg rolls anyway?
Yeah, the name is pretty darn descriptive, so that helps. It’s literally an egg roll wrapper that’s stuffed with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni. You can add whatever fillings you like though, the world is your oyster, or egg roll, go forth and experiment.
If you haven’t actually eaten one before you might be a little weary about making them. I get it, pizza is amazing, why should you mess with that concept. Well, here are 5 quick reasons I can think of:
- They’re snack-able, and anything snack-able is always good.
- They’re easy to make ahead of time.
- They freeze really well, great for a quick and easy last minute dinner
- They’re delicious no matter how you cook them: in the deep fryer, the air fryer, or pan fried!
- They can be a snack, an appetizer, or your main meal. Versatility baby!
- Leftovers are great in lunches. I have three kids, anything that makes lunches easier is ★★★★★!
If those weren’t enough reasons to trust me here, next time you’re on Tiktok or Google do a search for “Disney World Pizza Egg Rolls”. They’ve had cheeseburger egg rolls that were breaking the internet for years, until they introduced pizza egg rolls*. Don’t believe me, just listen to Jason Kelce’s first experience with them:
*ok, Disney calls them spring rolls, but I’ve done it both ways and they are way better tasting with more chew while still being super crispy. They’re also way easier to make using egg roll wrappers.
The nostalgia factor of Pizza Egg Rolls. Yeah, that’s a thing, at least for me.
I still remember the first time I ever ate a pizza egg roll. It was at Melanie Pringles Restaurant, and I was probably 6 years old (I double checked, they opened when I was 6 which is when we moved to Whitby, good job memory, you’ve still got it!)
You probably won’t know the place unless you lived in Whitby, Ontario or were one of my friends, because I kept dragging my friends there until my 18th birthday. That place was a vibe. Is a vibe. It’s still around. Check it out:
I can still remember being so excited when the song I picked on the table side jukebox started playing. They always had a popcorn machine in the back corner constantly pumping out hot buttery kernels to help yourself to while you waited for your food.
Mostly though, I remember the first time I ate a pizza roll and became obsessed with them. I wanted to go here ALL the time. As soon as I had kids of my own I just had to figure out how to make them at home.
How to make Pizza Egg Rolls: Step-by-step Pictures
Pizza egg rolls are the easiest things in the world to make, I swear. I almost feel like I should apologize to you because of the addiction you’re about to have for them. So, sorry? More like sorry, not sorry, because I know you’ll love them!
First thing is to clear off a nice big section of your countertop. Lay your egg roll wrappers out with a little bit of space between them because it can get a bit messy. That’s ok, accept the mess, it’s not for long. I lay out as many of them as I can fit so I can do a bunch at the same time.
Now, put a spoonful of pizza sauce in the centre, slightly more towards one corner. I use a soup spoon, so it’s roughly a tablespoon of sauce. I tried a new bougie pizza sauce this time and while it tasted great, it was a little runny. A thicker pizza sauce is easier to work with for pizza rolls – I usually just buy the cheap one in a can.
Top it with some shredded mozzarella cheese, again, about a tablespoon. The one thing I won’t skimp on is the type of cheese that I use for all my pizza. I’m in Canada, and my go-to is Saputo’s Mozzarellissima Cheese. I’m no more expensive than the typical store brands, but the flavour and stretch is SO much better than the big name blocks in the same section.
Next up add your pepperoni. I use 3 big slices of pepperoni per egg roll. Don’t forget, you can and should add whatever other toppings you like. Once the last topping is added, use the cornstarch and water slurry to wet all around the edges. You can use a pastry brush for this, or just your finger.
Fold two corners in towards the centre. Notice that I did the two corners that were on either side of the corner the sauce was slightly closer to. Once you’ve folded them over press down along the edge of the fold to seal the two sides. Through the whole process you basically want to press down anywhere the egg roll wrapper touches itself.
Now you’re going to fold in the corner that the sauce was slightly closer to. Again, press/pinch down where the egg roll wrapper touches itself. This will help keep it well sealed while it cooks.
This is the only kind of tricky part to explain in text, but once you do the first one you’ll get exactly what I’m asking you to do. I wish I had gotten a video of it but none of the kids were home to hold my phone for me, lol. You want to kind of fold/roll the sealed edge up over were the filling is, and at the same time pull it back tightly onto itself. What you’re trying to do is squish all of the filling into a log in the sealed pocket that you’ve created.
Now you just finish tightly rolling the pizza egg roll until it’s completely rolled up. Pinch down across the last corner to really get the egg roll wrapper to stick to itself. Do the same thing at each of the ends, pinching together any areas that look a little lose.
You can fill up a whole tray of these in no time at all! Just remember to put a piece of parchment under them so they don’t stick to the metal. I made two trays full of them in less than 20 minutes once I had the cheese grated and all of the ingredients laid out ready to go.
3 Ways To Cook Your Pizza Egg Rolls: Air Fryer, Deep Fryer, or Pan Fried.
Now it’s time to cook them up! I’ve got a deep fryer that I bust out for things like this with kind of a go big or go home attitude. BUT, I’ve also cooked them in the air fryer and in a pan with just a bit of oil. Don’t worry, they’re delicious, quick, and easy any way you make them, and I’m including all of this information in the printable recipe, along with info for making them ahead of time and storing in the fridge or freezer.
Air Fryer: Preheat your air fryer to 390°F and lightly spray both sides of the pizza egg rolls with canola oil. Fry for 6-8 minutes, turning them half way through.
Pan Fry: Add canola or vegetable oil to a large skillet set over medium-high heat. You want enough oil to cover almost half of a pizza roll, roughly half an inch. Carefully place pizza rolls into the pan, making sure they aren’t crowded. Fry for 3 minutes, then carefully flip them and cook for another 3 minutes. Place them on a baking sheet lined with paper towel to drain off any excess oil before eating.
Deep Fry: Pre-heat your oil to 350°F. Place as many pizza egg rolls into your fryer basket as will fit without crowding. Fry for 5 minutes. You can check on them after 3 minutes and if it seems like the top isn’t browning, use tongs or a wooden spoon to carefully flip them in the oil. Place them on a baking sheet lined with paper towel to drain off any excess oil before eating.
Pizza Egg Rolls Recipe
Alright, time to let you get cooking! If you make them I’d love for you to come back and let me know. Hit up the comments with your favourite fillings to inspire other people too. My kids are classic pepperoni and cheese, but my husband would love it if I snuck some mushrooms in for him.
Pizza Egg Rolls
Make delicious homemade pizza egg rolls with this easy recipe. Perfect as a meal, appetizer or snack! Crispy outside, gooey inside - you're going to absolutely love them!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 package of egg roll wrappers (the package I buy is 1 pound and has 18 wrappers that measure 5.5" x 5.5")
- 1 can of pizza sauce, 14oz
- 1 block of mozzarella cheese, 450g, grated (I like Mozzarellissima pizza mozzarella)
- 1 bag of sliced pepperoni, around 400g
- Canola or vegetable oil (for pan frying, deep frying, or a spray oil for air frying)
Instructions
- Make a slurry by mixing together 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 1 cup of water in a small bowl with a fork. You want the mixture to be very runny, so if you feel like the fork is sticking in cornstarch on the bottom just add a bit more water.
- Clear off a section of your countertop and get everything laid out so that you can make them in batches. You'll need your egg roll wrappers, pizza sauce with a spoon, grated mozzarella cheese, and slurry with a brush if you're using one. I also like to have a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper beside me to put the finished pizza egg rolls on.
- Lay out as many egg roll wrappers as you can, leaving a bit of space between each one. I try to do seven or eight at a time if I have the space.
- Put a spoonful of pizza sauce, roughly 1 tablespoon, in the centre of each wrapper, slightly closer to one of the corners.
- Top the sauce with some grated mozzarella cheese, roughly one tablespoon.
- Top the cheese with your pepperoni slices. I use three large slices in each pizza roll. Add any other toppings you want now as well.
- Using a pastry brush or your finger, wet around all four edges of the egg roll wrapper.
- Fold in the first two corners so that they almost meet in the centre but not quite, they should be about a finger width apart. These corners need to be opposite each other, and not the corner the sauce was put slightly closer to. Press down along the fold everywhere the egg roll wrapper is touching itself now to seal it.
- Next, fold up the corner the sauce was slightly closer to, and again, pinch together where wrapper touches wrapper to seal.
- Now you're going to fold/roll that same side towards the last corner. Once you've kind of made the first roll you need to pull it tightly back towards you by gently using your fingers. What you're trying to do here is slide all of the toppings into a log shape in the pocket you've already created. You can refer back to the photos in the blog post to make this part easier to understand as well.
- Now just finish rolling it up towards the final corner. Pinch the edges where wrapper meets wrapper to ensure a good seal. Make sure to pinch around the folds at the two ends as well incase there are any open spots.
- Now it's time to cook or store them. Here are instructions for 3 different cooking methods. For storage instructions, see the "Notes" area below.
Air Fryer: Preheat your air fryer to 390°F and lightly spray both sides of the pizza egg rolls with canola oil. Fry for 6-8 minutes, turning them half way through.
Pan Fry: Add canola or vegetable oil to a large skillet set over medium-high heat. You want enough oil to cover almost half of a pizza roll, roughly half an inch. Carefully place pizza rolls into the pan, making sure they aren't crowded. Fry for 3 minutes, then carefully flip them and cook for another 3 minutes. Place them on a baking sheet lined with paper towel to drain off any excess oil before eating.
Deep Fry: Pre-heat your oil to 350°F. Place as many pizza egg rolls into your fryer basket as will fit without crowding. Fry for 5 minutes. You can check on them after 3 minutes and if it seems like the top isn't browning, use tongs or a wooden spoon to carefully flip them in the oil. Place them on a baking sheet lined with paper towel to drain off any excess oil before eating. - Serve on their own, or with any kind of dip you like. We like to dip them in more pizza sauce or a garlic dip, but hot sauce or BBQ sauce are great options too.
Notes
Storage Options:
Fridge, uncooked: You can make these ahead of time and keep them in the fridge for a couple of days. Just put them in an air tight container, spaced so they aren't touching each other, with parchment paper between layers.
Fridge, cooked: Once completely cooled, place any leftovers in an airtight container or zip lock bag along with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture. These will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350° oven for 10 minutes, an air fryer for 3-5 minutes, or a microwave for a 2 minutes.
Freezer, uncooked: You want to make sure that all of the egg rolls are separated by parchment paper before freezing so they don't end up stuck together. I just take a long piece of parchment and cut it into strips slightly wider then the pizza egg rolls. Then I roll one pizza roll up until it's completely covered by parchment, add another pizza roll, and repeat to the end of the parchment strip.
Put all of the parchment packages into a zip lock bag and seal it up, getting as much air out of it as possible. I do this by closing the bag, opening one end just enough to fit a straw in, and then sucking out all the air. Quickly remove the straw and seal the end back up. If you do this you won't end up with any freezer burn on them.
They'll keep in the freezer for up to 6 months, and this method makes it really easy to take out only the number of pizza egg rolls you need.
You can cook them from frozen in the air fryer for 18 minutes (spray both sides with cooking oil first, and flip them half way), or in the deep fryer for 8 - 10 minutes. I do not recommend pan frying them from frozen because there is too great a risk of being splashed with hot oil. If you defrost them first, you can cook them using any of the methods in the recipe above.
Freezer, cooked: Like the uncooked rolls, you want to make sure that all of the pizza egg rolls are separated by parchment paper before freezing so they don't end up stuck together. I just take a long piece of parchment and cut it into strips slightly wider then the pizza egg rolls. Then I roll one pizza roll up until it's completely covered by parchment, add another pizza roll, and repeat to the end of the parchment strip.
Put all of the parchment packages into a zip lock bag and seal it up, getting as much air out of it as possible. I do this by closing the bag, opening one end just enough to fit a straw in, and then sucking out all the air. Quickly remove the straw and seal the end back up. If you do this you won't end up with any freezer burn on them.
They'll keep in the freezer for up to 6 months, and this method makes it really easy to take out only the number of pizza egg rolls you need.
You can reheat them from frozen in the air fryer for 12-15 minutes, or in the oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes.
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