Italian Beef Crescent Pinwheels are an easy appetizer or dinner for your family. The bottom crust is crispy and the cheesy is melty perfection.

Take this dish to backyard barbecues or pot luck dinners. They will be requested again and again!

What are Italian Beef Crescent Pinwheels? 

This Italian sub crescent ring is made with beef cooked in a slow cooker with Italian seasonings, beef broth, and banana peppers.

The beef is melt-in-your-mouth good and is piled on pizza dough, topped with provolone cheese, rolled up, and baked in wheel shapes.

They’re perfect served with the reserved broth for dipping, a green salad, fruit salad, or roasted vegetables.

Ingredients: 

Here are the ingredients to turn this delicious homemade slow cooker recipe in to pizza pinwheel perfection. Say that 5 times fast!

• Chuck roast
• Beef broth
• Italian seasoning
• Garlic powder
• Butter, sliced
• Banana peppers
• Pizza dough
• Provolone cheese

How to make Italian Beef Crescent Pinwheels: 

Here’s a brief overview of how to make this dish. See the recipe card below for the specific recipe instructions. 

Spray the pot of a slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray and add the roast to the pot.

Add the beef broth and season with Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Top with the butter slices.

Spread the banana peppers in an even layer over the top of the roast, then add the liquid from the banana pepper jar.

Place the lid on the slow cooker and set to cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.

When the meat is finished cooking, remove it from the pot and shred it with a fork. Set it aside to cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Unroll the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out until it’s around 1/8 inch thick.

Layer the cheese slices evenly on top of the dough.

Spread the Italian beef in a thin layer over the top of the cheese.

Roll the dough up tightly until it resembles a long log. 

Cut the log into 10 even slices, around one inch thick. Place the slices cut sides down on the baking sheet.

Bake in the oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until the pizza dough is golden brown.

Serve with liquid from the slow cooker for dipping (au jus).

Tips for success: 

Here are a few tips for success and variations you can try to make the best easy Italian pinwheels you’ve ever had.

• Instead of making pinwheels, you can make Italian crescent casserole by putting the meat mixture in a casserole dish and place dough over the top of the dish. Brush an egg yolk wash over the top and make slits with a sharp knife.
• Make this dish into different designs like a spoke pattern, or a crescent ring.
• Instead of the jelly-roll style, turn these into Italian sandwiches or French dip sandwiches with au jus.

Other pastry to use  

These Italian beef pinwheels are made with pizza dough but you can make them with another flaky crust if you’d prefer or if your grocery store doesn’t carry crescent dough.

Some other options are puff pastry dough, pie crust, or crescent roll dough. You can find these either in the refrigerated section or the freezer aisle of the grocery store.

Another option is to make them from scratch at home. These are easy doughs to make and can be frozen to use later on busy nights when you don’t have time to make homemade dough. 

Add vegetables to beef crescent rolls  

These cheesy roast beef pinwheels are made with banana peppers but you can add other vegetables if you’d like more robust rolls.

Some options are:

• roasted red peppers
• corn
• zucchini
• yellow squash
• mushrooms
• fresh bell peppers

How to store:

To refrigerate: Keep any leftover crescent rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

To freeze: You can also freeze these wheels after they’re baked.

Allow them to completely cool and then store them in an airtight bag in the freezer.

Let them thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat them in an air fryer to get the rolls crispy again.

Otherwise, reheat them in a microwave until they’re hot all the way through.

To meal prep: You can easily prepare these roll-ups ahead of time to bake later.

Follow the recipe up until baking, wrap them individually, and put them in an airtight zip-top bag.

When you’re ready to make them for dinner, let them thaw in the fridge overnight and then bake them the next day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Print the Recipe Card

This is such a great dinner recipe and so versatile! If you love easy meals like this, try our crescent roll empanadas and buffalo chicken rolls!