French Dip Roast Beef Pinwheels are everyone’s favourite beefy sandwich all wrapped up and baked as an appetizer. Enjoy them au jus at your next gathering, game day, brunch, or dinner party.
Baked appetizers are the ultimate comfort food flavour bombs. They usually involve gooey cheese like this amazing Cheesy Baked Shrimp Scampi Dip or buttery flaky pastry like this Holiday Sausage Roll Wreath. They’re so tasty, you can’t help but have a second helping.
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French Dip Roast Beef Pinwheels
These beef pinwheels are my latest obsession. As a farmers’ daughter and proud Albertan, I love anything that contains beef. I also love any appetizer recipe that doesn’t take all day to make but still looks impressive. From start to finish, these baked pinwheels take just under an hour to make, including the beef dip.
In this appetizer recipe, the beef pinwheels contain thin slices of roast beef stacked with sautéed golden onions and provolone cheese. Those tasty fillings are rolled up in a rich dough, then baked to golden perfection. While they bake, whip up the beefy dipping sauce so you can start dipping as soon as they’re out of the oven!
You can serve these Roast Beef Pinwheels hot with au jus for dipping as recommended. However, they make a fun cold addition to any picnic basket or potluck lunch.
Ingredients
There are no fancy ingredients in this recipe; only a few grocery store deli goods and some canned biscuit dough.
- Butter
- Onion
- Crescent Roll Dough
- Provolone cheese
- Roast Beef
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Everything Bagel Seasoning
- Beef Stock
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Pepper
Every great recipe begins with butter. In this case, the onions are sautéed in butter until they turn a beautiful golden colour. Use either salted or unsalted butter in this recipe. You won’t need any special onion, just use regular yellow or white onions in this recipe.
While I’m usually a fan of ‘from scratch’ cooking, there’s something to be said about the ease of store bought Crescent Roll dough. Yes, the kind that comes in a can. This is a quick and easy appetizer, perfect for busy home cooks who may or may not enjoy baking.
Thinly sliced Provolone cheese works really well in this recipe because it melts easily. It also has a nice subtle aroma and flavour. Other cheeses that would work well in place of provolone are thinly sliced mozzarella and fontina.
Similarly, you can head to the deli section of your grocery store for thinly sliced or shaved roast beef. If you have leftover flank steak, you can turn these into flank steak pinwheels or any other cut of steak pinwheel recipe. Use any beef cut as long as it is thinly sliced; such as roast beef, beef tenderloin or even ground beef.
This pinwheels recipe is a great way to use up those beefy leftovers!
Beef and Worcestershire Sauce go so well together that I have used this umami rich sauce twice in this recipe. It serves as a little glaze added just before baking and as a flavour enhancer in the beefy dipping sauce.
Everything Bagel Seasoning is popular for a reason. It adds an interesting finished look to the beef pinwheels while also boosting flavour. If you don’t have this seasoning, you can scatter black and/or white sesame seeds and black pepper over the top of the rolls before baking.
Au Jus Ingredients
The most important ingredient in the au jus is high quality, flavourful beef stock. If you can, make your own ahead of time. You may or may not need to doctor it up with garlic and onion powder but a shot of Worcestershire Sauce is highly recommended!
If you cannot make your own stock, try to buy the highest quality stock you can find. I promise, the beef pinwheel/au jus combo is worth using quality ingredients.
How to Make French Dip Roast Beef Pinwheels
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with cooking spray.
In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter (or olive oil) and add the minced onions. Cook the onions until they are caramelized and golden in colour. Set aside and allow them to cool to room temperature.
Next, open and unroll the cans of crescent dough on a cutting board and separate the dough into two rectangles. Pinch together all the seams so they become relatively uniform rectangles.
Carefully spread each rectangle with half of the caramelized onions. Next, layer half of the provolone on one rectangle and the other half on the second rectangle. Top each layer of cheese with half of the roast beef.
Roll each rectangle up, starting on the longest side. Pinch the edges of the dough to seal. Finally, use a sharp knife or length of dental floss to cut each roll into 12 slices. I know it seems weird but using unflavoured dental floss is an easy way to cut any kind of roll. I use it to cut cinnamon buns and cheese buns all the time!
To use dental floss: Slide the dental floss under the log of rolled dough until it reaches the centre. Bring the floss ends upward and over the dough, criss crossing them over each other. Pull them tight until they cut the dough in half. Repeat along the length of the dough until it is sliced into 12 pieces. Repeat with the other roll.
Arrange the sliced rolls in the prepared baking dish. Melt the other 2 tablespoons of butter in a microwave. Then, mix in 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce. Pour the melted butter mixture over the rolls, then scatter the Everything Bagel Seasoning over all. Bake in the 350 F preheated oven until the pinwheels are golden, about 35 minutes.
To Make the Aus Jus/Beef Dipping Sauce
Add the beef stock, remaining worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder to a small saucepan. Warm them gently over medium high heat, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the pinwheels warm with au jus for dipping, French Dip style.
Beef Pinwheel Flavour Variations
- Vary the cheese: Use thinly sliced mozzarella, fontina, or even cheddar.
- Change up the veggies. Instead of caramelized onions, use thinly sliced chopped roasted red peppers, sautéed spinach, or well drained chunky salsa.
Storage and Reheating Leftovers
Cover any leftovers with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven at 350 F for 7-10 minutes.
If you make these French Dip Roast Beef Pinwheels, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe, please tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see what you guys are making! Thank you so much for reading my blog.
French Dip Roast Beef Pinwheels
French Dip Roast Beef Pinwheels are everyone's favourite beefy sandwich all wrapped up and baked as an appetizer. Enjoy them au jus at your next gathering, game day, brunch, or dinner party.
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Butter; divided
- 1 large onion; minced
- 2 (8oz) cans crescent rolls
- 8 slices Provolone Cheese
- 10 slices deli style Roast Beef
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Everything Bagel Seasoning
FOR THE AU JUS
- 1 1/2 cups beef stock
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F and spray a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter (or replace with 1 tbsp olive oil) and add the minced onions.
- Cook the onions until they are caramelized and golden in colour. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- Unroll the cans of crescent dough on a cutting board and separate into two rectangles. Pinch together all the seams.
- Spread each rectangle with half of the caramelized onions.
- Place half of the provolone on one rectangle and the other half on the second rectangle.
- Place half of the roast beef on one rectangle and the other half on the second rectangle.
- Roll each rectangle up, starting on the longest side.
- Pinch edges to seal and the use a length of dental floss or sharp knife to cut each roll into 12 slices. Repeat with other roll.
- Arrange the sliced rolls in the prepared baking dish.
- Melt the other 2 tablespoons of butter in a microwave. Then, add the 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce and everything bagel seasoning.
- Pour the melted butter mixture over the rolls in the baking pan.
- Bake at 350 F until the pinwheels are golden, about 35 minutes.
FOR THE AU JUS
- Add the beef stock, remaining worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder to a small saucepan.
- Warm gently over medium heat, then season with freshly ground pepper to taste.
Serve the pinwheels warm with au jus for dipping, French Dip style.
Notes
To use dental floss for slicing: Slide the dental floss under the log of rolled dough until it reaches the centre. Bring the floss ends upward and over the dough, criss crossing them over each other. Pull them tight until they cut the dough in half. Repeat along the length of the dough until it is sliced into 12 pieces.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 63Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 199mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 4g
Nutritional calculation was provided by Nutritionix and is an estimation only. For special diets or medical issues please use your preferred calculator.
Just made these and thought they tasted DELICIOUS, they didn’t come out at all like the pics!! I would’ve loved to see photos throughout the post of the stages of the recipe. I got confused around how to divide the crescent roll dough and also how to distribute the fillings so that they achieved the spiral you have in your pictures. Also confused on the thickness of the cuts – I wound up with pretty flat, ugly appetizers… albeit delicious! I think it’s because based on how I read the recipe I didn’t realize that there were multiple turns we should’ve gotten when rolling the pinwheel – would be useful to see in the recipe how many you get. Progress pics please!! Also curious why crescent roll dough and not puff pastry sheets – because I found that the pressure of rolling the crescents reopened all the seams again, which made the process feel a little more frustrating than it would’ve otherwise!
Sorry you had such a frustrating time Tyler but I’m glad you ended up with something you enjoyed in the end. The key is rolling out the dough into two large rectangles and pinching those seams together well! After that, arrange the filling and roll them up just like you would a cinnamon bun. Each roll makes 12 appetizers so make one slice in the middle of each roll, then slice each half again so that you have 4 rolls. Next, slice each of those into three to get 12 in total. Repeat with the other roll. You could 100% use puff pastry too! Follow the directions for this rolled appetizer recipe–> https://dishnthekitchen.com/spanish-lentil-puff-pastry-pinwheels/ using your desired filling mixture.
Can you make these in advance & reheat when guests arrive? If so, will they taste just as good?
You betcha! From the post: “Cover any leftovers with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven at 350 F” until heated through. They freeze well too. I would say if you want to make them ahead of time, bake them first then cool and freeze for a week or two. Reheat as instructed from frozen or thaw overnight in the fridge.
OMG – yes! This is going on my next finger food night menu! You’ve taken 2 amazing things and made them into something even better!
Thank you for the great compliment Terri, I know you love to cook and invent new treats so I’m happy you love them.
Love these savory mini sandwich rolls. The provolone cheese is fantastic with the beef and the everything bagel seasoning really seals the deal. I’m adding this to my list of “keepers”.
OH, that’s so excellent to hear Amy. Thank you for letting me know.
Great flavor and so easy to make. My family absolutely loved these french dip pinwheels!
That’s awesome Brianna! I’m glad your family loves them as much as we do.
So happy that I found your recipe in time to try it before Super Bowl. They came out SOOO good, they will definitely be on the menu!
ooh, excellent to hear. These will be on our superbowl menu as well. The boys love them!
Count me in also as having recipes that don’t take all day to make but still looks impressive. I love the shape of these! I’ll try my hand of forming these pinwheels. Thanks for the inspiration!
Those are the best recipe, indeed!
Bernice, this is a wonderful recipe! The pinwheels came out so delicious. I will make these again. The best appetizer I have made for a while!
Excellent to hear Jenny, thank you so much for letting me know.
Oh my these pinwheels looks incredibly delicious! Sharing this with my friend who is hosting a birthday party end of this month and was looking for something similar to make.
Excellent! I hope she gives them a try and shares them with you.
Oh my, these look so good! The roast beef pinwheels with the sauce sound delightful, and I love all the flavors you combined. I can’t wait to make this recipe this weekend!
Happy snacking Aya!
These are soooo good! Why I have never had French Dip in pinwheel form I do not know. Thanks for the inspo!
I hope you love them as much as we do Megan!
I love everything about these pinwheels. What a fantastic party appetizer or even a lunch idea. My son would love these so we’ll be making them soon. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m sure he will! Thanks for stopping by Julia.
Love this recipe, such a fun bitesize recipe, so delicious and easy to make.
Thank you Sadia, glad you enjoyed them.
French Dip sammies are my favourite – these bite sized treats are amazing
Thanks for stopping by Dave, enjoy!
Bernice what a wonderful recipe! I love these bite sized pastries that i simply can not get enough of!
Thank you Nancy! Happy snacking.
French Dip sandwiches are my favorite lunch and cinnamon rolls my favorite breakfast. These french dip pinwheels were like the best of both worlds, minus the cinnamon, of course. I’ll definitely be making these for my family on a regular basis.
Thank you Marta! I love the sandwiches too and it’s so nice to have a tiny snackable version.
These pinwheels ar absolutely amazing! I mean, is there a better entertainer than this? Great recipe that is quick and easy at the same time.
Exactly! Happy New Year Elaine and thanks for stopping by.
Just pour me a glass of wine and pass over the plate. I could make a meal out of these. Party food is so good.
I’m the same! I do love having a few appetizer options that are great at any time, especially with wine.
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing french dip roast beef pinwheels recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Glad you enjoyed it Alyssa, thanks for stopping by.