Name: Ham and Cheese Pinwheels
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 puff pastry sheet (thawed); 1 egg; 1 tablespoon water; 1 teaspoon dijon mustard; 6-8 ham slices; 1.5 cups swiss cheese (grated); 1/4 cup dijon mustard; 3 teaspoons honey; 2 teaspoons mayonnaise

Ham and Cheese Pinwheels made with puff pastry is a super simple and delicious appetizer or fun dinner idea. These ham and cheese puff pastry swirls have a savory, cheesy filling with a flaky, buttery pastry crust. With the simple honey mustard dipping sauce, they are always a huge hit!

Looking for other simple appetizer ideas? Check out my recipes for: Caramelized Onion Dip, Lil Smokies Recipe or Cranberry Salsa.

flaky ham and cheese swirled in puff pastry on a wooden serving platter

Ham and Cheese Puff Pastry

This super simple and delicious appetizer starts with a flaky puff pastry. What is puff pastry? You can just buy it pre-made in the freezer section of your local grocery store. Puff pastry is layers of butter and dough that when baked puff up from the air pockets in the dough creating a flaky, buttery crust.

Puff pastry is perfect for using in recipes that are both sweet and savory. In this recipe, we are going savory with the addition of salty ham and Swiss cheese.

Ingredients for Puff Pastry Pinwheels with Ham

As you can imagine, this recipe has very minimal ingredients, which makes this an easy appetizer or snack to whip up in a hurry. To make these ham and cheese pinwheels you will need:

puff pastry– buttery, flaky pastry sheet found in the freezer section of the grocery store. You only need one sheet for this recipe, you can save the other for a different recipe like this Tuna on Toast.
ham– thinly sliced deli ham works best when rolling up the pastry
Swiss cheese– this is the cheese that we prefer in this recipe, but you could choose a different variety if you prefer. Just thinly slice or grate the cheese.
egg– for brushing of the pastry to make a crispy crust and help it stick together
honey mustard sauce– this is made by mixing together dijon mustard, honey and mayonnaise.

puff pastry sheet topped with ham and grated swiss cheese

How to make Ham and Cheese Pinwheels

First, make sure that your puff pastry is thawed. Just place on the counter for about 30 minutes, you still want it to be cold, just no longer frozen.

Get your oven heating to 400º F and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray to be ready to bake the pinwheels.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry dough until it is thin.

In a small bowl, mix together egg, a little bit of water and dijon mustard. Then, brush this all over the puff pastry, going right to the edges.

puff pastry filled with ham and cheese, rolled up and sliced into smaller rolls

Next, layer on the ham slices so that they cover the full pastry underneath. Then top with the shredded or sliced Swiss cheese so that it covers all of the ham and pastry as well.

Carefully roll the puff pastry up on the long edge, tightly roll from one end to the other and place seam side down on the counter.

Slice into 16-18 even pieces. I like to do this by starting in the center of the roll, then slice each half in half, then those pieces in half again until all of the pastry has been sliced.

rolled up ham and cheese puff pastry rolls on a baking sheet, uncooked

Place the ham and cheese rolls cut side down onto your prepared baking sheet. Brush each of the tops of the pinwheels with more of the egg and mustard mixture. This will make them golden brown on top.

Bake the cheese and ham pinwheels for 12-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted, bubbly and golden brown. The pastry will puff up, become brown and flaky when done cooking. Serve while still warm with honey mustard dipping sauce.

cooked ham and cheese pinwheel sandwiches cooked on a baking sheet

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

To make the honey mustard dipping sauce, simply whisk together dijon mustard, honey and mayonnaise. This mustard dipping sauce goes perfectly with these savory ham and cheese pinwheels, makes them feel more like a sandwich and adds so much flavor.

How to Store Ham and Cheese Pinwheels

If you are making these ahead or have some left over, place into an air tight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven or microwave if you want them warm.

These can be frozen in an air tight container or zip top bag for up to 3 months. Place into a 400º F oven and cook for 8-10 minutes until the cheese is melted.