I’ve never tried to hide the fact that I am a junk food junkie. I just might eat Ruffles and Rolos for dinner every night if it were PC…and if I wouldn’t gain 1,000 pounds.
This trait runs in the family. While my little brother and Mom forget to eat at times (to which I always reply, really?) my Dad and I are always on the hunt for a sweet treat or crunchy snack. My older brother? Well, he hides bags of Skittles around his house. I’ll let you decide what side of the gene pool his taste buds came from. 
As much as I love me some Doritos and Thin Mints though, I never EVER keep junk food in the house.
Gretchen from the Real Housewives of the OC said it best, when asked if she’d have kids with her boyfriend who can’t even afford child support for his existing son, “I’m madly in love. But I’m not madly in love, and stupid.“
Well said, Gretch.
Because yes, while I’m madly in love with BBQ potato chips, Sour Patch Kids and Oreos, I’m not stupid. If I kept them in the house, empty chip bags would blow around like shiny tumbleweeds, sugary hand prints would cover the doorknobs and sleeves of those sweet, cream-filled cookies would disappear overnight. I have Z-E-R-O self control around junk food.
Not to mention, I feel like hell when I eat it.
So, I try and do the right things. I don’t pass by the cookie aisle at the grocery store. I plan out meals so I’m not tempted to get fast food when weeknights get crazy and there’s nothing to make for dinner. I try to avoid the open chip bags at potlucks and parties…ok lets be real, I never avoid the chip bags at potlucks and parties. Oh and all bets are off when it comes to road trips. I can’t imagine a long drive without a bag of sour gummy worms in my hot little hand!
All of that to say…
I made homemade Pizza Rolls tonight, and they were freaking fantastic. 
Yeah, me and Totino’s Pizza Rolls go way back. That chewy crust and cheesy filling is the stuff pizza dreams are made of. I like to bite the corners off first, squeeze the filling out, then pop the whole thing in my mouth.
However, pizza rolls are disgusting and they make me feel disgusting after eating them.
While I was eating my spicy, tangy Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls earlier this week I was struck by a thought. Hey… The texture of these egg rolls totally remind me of pizza rolls…I love pizza rolls…I SHOULD MAKE HOMEMADE PIZZA ROLLS! So I did.
And you should too. They are soooo easy to make and soooo much healthier than that fried & frozen crap!
First, I assembled the ingredients for my Garden Veggie Sausage & Cheese Pizza Rolls: cheddar cheese, baby spinach, cooked chicken sausage and black olives.
Here’s the chicken sausage I used:
Trader Joe’s Garden Vegetable Mushroom & Asiago Chicken Sausage. These are wonderful. There are huge chunks of veggies like carrots & mushrooms in the sausage (which I obviously picked out) but the taste is awesome.
To the ingredients, I added a couple spoonfuls of pizza sauce.
I used this Muir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce I picked up from Target. Great flavor!
After everything was mixed up, I laid out an egg roll wrapper (leftover from Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls) put about 1/4 cup filling into the middle, wet the edges with water, then rolled it up the same way as last time.
Snug as a bug!
When all my pizza rolls were made, I lined them up on a non-stick sprayed, foil-lined baking sheet, generously sprayed the tops with non-stick spray, then baked at 425 for 20 minutes, flipping and re-spraying the other side halfway through.
Dunh-dunh-dunnnnhh!!!
Best thing ever. Gold star. First Place. Amazing!!!
The great thing about making homemade pizza rolls is that 1.) YOU control the ingredients that go into your rolls, 2.) they’re baked not fried and 3.) They’re about 4 times the size of regular pizza rolls – muwahahaha!
Eaten with a side of broccoli.
I suppose that while I am cursed with a wicked sweet & salty tooth, I also LOVE fruits & vegetables. And I love cooking. I can’t even imagine how big of a train wreck I’d be it that weren’t the case!
And while I do my gosh-darned very best to avoid junk food as much as possible, and eat as healthy as I can everyday, I still always make room for dessert. Every night. Life is too short not to.
The way I see it, dessert doesn’t necessarily mean junk food. I mean it doesn’t mean health food, but I consider a homemade crispy chocolate peanut butter cup made with natural peanut butter and chocolate chips, a whole lot healthier than a processed, won’t-mold-for-50-years Twinkie. Know what I mean?
Great, now I want a Twinkie.
~~~~~
Do you struggle with being a junk food junkie? Do you keep junk food in the house?
I have a stash of chocolate in the house at all times. I eat a little bit pretty much everyday. However, I don’t keep any other form of junk food in the house. I live alone, so I know that if I buy a bag of chips or Oreos, I am the only one who will be eating them!
My problem is that I never keep junk food around the house, so when I have it I overindulge. Even non junk food like cheese from TJ’s or Peanut Butter… because I love those things I have a hard time using moderation. It’s something I really need to conquer.
Well said, Iowa sister! Whenever my boyfriend and I fall victim to the chip aisle, the bag is gone in two days–one if AE Party dip is involved! I love all of your easy/healthy dinner ideas and that they don’t involve crazy weird/expensive health food ingredients. Can’t wait to try the rolls… Thanks!
I am making these ASAP, done and done.
I try to keep the junk food to a minimum because yeah… self control is lacking. My weakness is less chips and cookies and more like if I’m at a bar and I can order late night mozz sticks… sometimes I just can’t resist!!!!!!! Dang you fried cheese!
[...] made me think about other comfort foods we serve together: fries with chilli, Oreos in milkshakes, pizza in egg rolls; I wonder which epic combinations we’ve yet to think [...]
Every time I read your blog it makes me hungry ~ you make such great, healthy, easy recipes and your pics are always so beautiful.
I try not to keep junk food in the house either, but the man loves to snack so we traded chips, etc, for pistachios, dried fruit and my personal fav, Wasabi peas from Trader Joes. I’m not usually into spicy stuff, but they are addicting!
these look great, i can’t wait to try them! i’ve made a southwest version before (http://www.thesweetslife.com/2010/12/baked-southwestern-egg-rolls.html) that we absolutely loved!
i am a candy/ice cream/dessert lover and like you, think life is WAY too short to not enjoy…and on a daily basis! i eat healthily most of the time, esp in my meals, so i try not to feel guilty about my dessert indulgences!
[...] Comments « Homemade Pizza Rolls [...]
We used to eat pizza rolls ALL the time when we were kids. It was all about pizza rolls, bagel bites, lucky charms, and way too much Dr. Pepper for little kids to consume.
These look awesome and I can’t wait to give them a try
OMG! I have a sick obsession with Totino’s Pizza Rolls too! But now I’m so excited by your recipe I can’t wait to try it. Thanks
I am a few days late, but OMG. I finally found egg roll wrappers and we had these for dinner on Saturday. Oh, and Sunday. We’l probably have them again this weekend. They. are. life changing. You need some kind of award for this.
i’m going to make these for dinner tomorrow night! what were the approximate quantities of each ingredient you used? how many servings did it make? i can’t wait!!
I actually didn’t measure anything, sorry!!! I just kind of threw everything into a bowl! It made 3 big pizza rolls!
haha, i’m with ya lauren christine! i’m awful at throwing this and that together.. i’m a recipe girl! did you use all four sausages for the 3 big pizza rolls?
I just used one! I squeezed it out of the casing and cooked it like ground beef in a skillet.
I made these tonight and they were delicious! The only changes I made were to add a little onion & fresh oregano to the mix. I also used Trader Joe’s red wine & cheese chicken sausages which were great, but might be a little spicy for some.
Thanks for sharing your recipe; I look forward to trying the buffalo Rangoon recipe next! : )
My friend just sent me this recipe and cannot wait to try it out this weekend! Pizza is my weakness. I could eat it all the time and probably take down a whole pie.
I love sweets, but don’t keep too many options around, otherwise it’s too tempting. I try to treat myself to something sweet a couple of times a week…PB and chocolate are my favorite combo.
So I took this whole eggroll idea and rolled with it (no pun intended). Last night I did BBQ chicken, carmelized onions and brie. It was so good! Next up I’ll try these pizza rolls. They look delish! Thanks for introducing me to a whole new way of cooking!
[...] as I’m done here), I’m going to use up the rest of my egg roll wrappers, and make some Homemade Pizza Rolls, a la Iowa Girl Eats. Normally I’d get the hot Italian sausage, but the bambino’s [...]
[...] Dinner was actually more pizza, ie (or ige!) Iowa Girl Eats Homemade Pizza Rolls. [...]
Do you think these could be frozen and reheated?
Hmmm….I bet they could because I use wonton wrappers to make pot stickers and freeze/cook those just fine!
I’m a recent addict to your site. Just made this for me and my man. Holy moley! Delicious! Thanks for, yet again, another fun recipe.
I love love love home made baked eggrolls. I make pork eggrolls with soy sauce and coleslaw all the time.
I was SO pleased with my friend linked me to this because pizza is my FAVORITE!
I’m already planning my dinner for later in the week. I’m thinking: Sauce, cheese, sausage, mushrooms, onions, and black olives. Mmmmmmmmmmmm Yes!
Thank you Iowa Girl Eats!
[...] Chang’s Lettuce Wraps (less grease!), Food Court Baked Ziti (less cheese!), Pizza Rolls (less shame!), Chipotle Burrito Bowls (less funky chicken!) rise to the top as some of my top [...]
My husband had been giving the kids frozen pizza rolls on the nights I work late. I was in a hurry tonight and grabbed the bag out of the freezer, turned it over, and read the ingredients. Oh my god! There is no trace of real food in those things! So they are officially banned from the house. My son freaked out, so I promised him we would make pizza rolls that taste better and are better for you. Et voila! Here you are. I can’t wait to make these.
ok, seriously?! you’re killing me. I need a friend like you that lives closer! I could have written this post, but not made the yummy recipe to follow! I seriously just shopped at Trader Joes, have my menu planned out for the next 2 weeks, THEN I come across your blog and decide to revamp my menu!! not a bad thing, but where do I start?!! I do not keep junk food in the house, but I discovered TJ’s vanilla wafers…yummo. I just pop a few in my mouth and it seems to curb my desire for a smothered warm piece of chocolate cake and ice cream.
Just when I think I’m going to find some kind little sweet baby recipe for homemade pizza rolls, I get smacked in the face with this supersized freakshow of a recipe! BOO-YAH! My kids will be thrilled. Ya know, if they even get to try them…!
Those pizza rolls look amazing!! I will definitely be making those in the very near future.
How can you make these bite size?