Tortilla pinwheels for 12: flour tortillas spread with ranch cream cheese, cheddar and peppers, layered with ham or turkey, rolled tight and sliced into about 48 pieces. There's no cooking, so they're a cold tailgate appetizer that works in any lot. Roll them the night before in about 25 minutes and keep them on ice.
Feeds: 12 (about 48 pieces) · Hands-on: about 25 min · Total: about 2½ hours, mostly chilling
Home gear: plastic wrap and a sharp serrated knife
Pack for the lot
- Pinwheels, sealed, in the cooler
- Serving tray
- A larger pan or tray to fill with ice under the serving tray
- Bag of ice
- Toothpicks
- Napkins
- Trash bags
Lot notes
- Fuel: none. No grill means these work in any lot, including ones that don't allow fires, and the grill is free for everything else. Charcoal or propane, it doesn't matter.
- Holding them cold: cream cheese needs to stay at 40°F or below. Keep them on ice and out of the sun, and toss anything that's been out more than 2 hours, or 1 hour when it's over 90°F.
- Keep them crisp: pat the peppers and jalapeños dry before they go in the filling. Wet vegetables make the tortillas soggy overnight.
- Cleanup: toothpicks and napkins go in the trash bag. The container goes home.
Can you make tortilla pinwheels the night before?
Yes. Roll and wrap them the night before, then slice them the morning of the game. They hold well for up to 24 hours wrapped in the fridge.
How do you keep pinwheels cold at a tailgate?
Leave them in the cooler until you eat, then serve them on a tray set over a pan of ice, in the shade. Put out half at a time and toss anything left out after 2 hours.
How many pinwheels do you need for 20 people?
Plan on 4 or 5 each, so 80 to 100 pieces. Double the recipe: 12 tortillas, 4 blocks of cream cheese, 2 packets of ranch mix, 2 cups of cheddar and 1½ lb of ham or turkey. That makes about 96 pieces.
How do you keep tortilla pinwheels from getting soggy?
Pat the vegetables dry, spread the filling all the way to the edges and keep the rolls wrapped tight until you slice them. Slice the morning of the game, not the night before.