Pinwheels for weaning babies are the most flexible food you can make, and they’re suitable all the way through toddlers and older children. Also known as roll-ups, these puff pastry delights easy to make, quick to prepare and simple to store for later, it’s really easy to see why pinwheels have become such a big part of baby led weaning – they’re the ideal finger food.
Pinwheels or roll-ups use a sheet of puff pastry, laid flat and spread with a topping. You then take one end of the pastry sheet and carefully start to roll it over onto itself. Once you’ve created a sausage like shape with the hole sheet rolled, slice it into 2cm sections, lay them flat on a baking sheet and cook – congratulations, you’ve made pinwheels!
One of the best things about baby pinwheels for weaning is that you can cook a batch of them and they’ll keep fairly well in an air-tight container. This makes them perfect for lunchboxes for school or nursery, picnics or snacks. Pair them with some veg and you’ve got a nutritious, fast meal that they’re able to feed themselves. Soft enough to easily chew, large enough for little hands to grip on to and capable of holding a lot of different flavours…
Ifyou’ve not tried pinwheel recipes yet, where have you been?!
Roll Ups or Pinwheels?
Did you know that roll ups and pinwheels for weaning are the same thing? You can make a roll up or a pinwheel for blw with either pastry or regular slices of bread. You cook the pastry (usually puff pastry) in the oven, and the bread ones are served cold. Usually you’ll find that the bread recipes are drier ingredients so that the sheets don’t go soggy.
Here, our recipes are all referring to pastry roll ups or pinwheels. As for which term you should use, it’s entirely up to you. They taste delicious either way!
What Age Can Babies Have Pinwheels?
Your baby can have pinwheels from the moment they start weaning, for most that’s likely to be from six months of age, depending on whether your little one is ready to wean or not. Signs that your child is ready for weaning include the ability to hold their head well and showing an interest in food, if you’re not sure, we share all of the signs your child is ready to wean here.
Here we share some of our favourite pinwheels for blw and the recipes you’ll need. Let us know if you make any of them!
Recipes: Savoury Pastry Pinwheels For Baby Led Weaning
Pizza Pastry Roll Ups
With a tasty tomato sauce and cheese mix, you can add in additional flavours such as ham or keep them simple. We switch between cheddar cheese and a mozzarella mix for a little extra ‘pizza’ authenticity, you could even throw in some well-chopped pineapple if you fancy it!
These pizza pinwheels for blw (or any age!) are our go-to for fussy eaters and packed lunches.
Ham & Cheese Roll Ups
Swap between cold meats such as ham and salami to keep this simple recipe fresh, or switch out your cheeses – a little red leicester would add just the right bite for this pinwheel.
These ham and cheese rolls ups are delicious hot or cold (we love them fresh out of the oven!)
Pesto Pinwheels
What better combo that pesto and cheese? We love these pesto pinwheels for all ages! Mix up the cheese you use for different flavours, or go for a combo.
Our favourites are cheddar for the kids, and parmesan for the grown ups. You can even switch between red and green pesto for yet more variety. Good hot or cold.
Tuna Roll Ups
A great way of getting fish into your child’s diet, these tuna pinwheels are packed full of goodness.
Fish is packed with benefits for growing bodies, we’ve shared all about it in our cooking fish for babies guide.
Cheesy Mushroom & Spinach Pinwheels
Use frozen ingredients to make these cheesy mushroom and spinach pinwheels even easier to whip up.
Spinach is an excellent addition to any diet, especially for growing children. Sneak it in with zero fuss with these.
Veggie Pizza Roll Ups
Get vegetables into your unsuspecting child with these veggie-stuffed pizza pinwheels for weaning. Anything that gets even more goodness into our little ones is a hit with us!
If your child isn’t keen on these, you can always make a hidden vegetable pasta sauce and use that as your pinwheel tomato base instead. Sneaky sneaky AND delicious!
Sausage and Cheese Pinwheels
Sausage meat, cheese and puff pastry. We think these sausage and cheese pinwheels sound like the ideal breakfast pinwheel, whether you’re at home or on the go.
We’re also partial to these for picnics, they’re all of that sausage roll yumminess, in pinwheel form.
Spinach and Feta Roll Ups
Whether you cook them in the oven or in the air fryer, these spinach and feta pinwheels are vegetarian and perfect for freezing.
Spinach is great for growing bodies too!
Garlic and Herb Pinwheels
These garlic and herb pinwheels are like a puff pastry version of garlic bread.
Garlic has lots of good immunity boosting benefits, and kids seem to love it – so do we!
Cheese and Marmite Pinwheels
Are you a Marmite lover or hater? Either way we think these cheese and marmite pinwheels will be a hit and with just three ingredients, you really can’t go wrong.
Marmite can be a little salty, so if you’re concerned about sodium levels, just switch our your regular Marmite for the lower sodium version.
Minced Beef Taco Pinwheels
These taco pinwheels are stuffed with minced beef, herbs and spices to give you a taco in pinwheel form.
Minced beef can be a bit tricky for little hands – and super messy! In this pinwheel format it’s much easier for them to get to grips with (it’s still messy, but not AS bad!)
Savoury Breakfast-Style Roll Ups
Eggs, bacon, onion… these savoury pinwheels are another roll up recipe that are perfect for breakfasts.
Eggs are full of goodness for little ones and their development, bacon can be high in salt but fine in moderation.
Pumpkin & Basil Pinwheels
This vegan recipe combines the sweetness of pumpkin and basil to make a savoury delight – we love the sound of these pumpkin and basil pinwheels.
Pumpkin’s usually get left as decor but it’s a fabulous addition to any meal – easy to cook, easy for little hands to eat and adds a wonderful natural sweetness.
Simple Greek Pinwheels
Think Mediterranean delights; roasted peppers, spinach, olives and feta. All full of Omega-3 that’ll help with your child’s brain development (and great for parents to tuck into as well).
These simple Greek pinwheels are sure to please adults and children alike.
Recipes: Sweet Pinwheels for Weaning
Easy Cinnamon Swirls With Sultanas
Save on bakery fees with our quick, easy cinnamon swirl recipe (shown above).
These sweet cinnamon and sultana puff pastry swirls are guaranteed to make every family member happy – skip the icing for little ones or those that don’t like things too sweet. We’ve been known to leave out the sultanas but honestly, they take it to another level.
Honestly, I’m drooling just thinking about them.
Apple & Cinnamon Roll Ups
Basically Autumn in baby pinwheels form. We can’t help but love these apple and cinnamon pinwheels that melt in the mouth.
We think they’re best served warm but we’ll let you try them a couple different ways and decide!
Chocolate Pinwheels
Two ingredients but they’re two of the best ones; chocolate spread and puff pastry. The combo in these chocolate pinwheels will give you major pain au chocolate vibes.
The best bit about these is that they are SO low effort, it’s almost unbelievable. You get pro points for baking, your house will smell fabulous and the hardest bit of it will be not eating all of the chocolate spread before you get it on the pastry.
You. Are. Welcome.
Chocolate and Banana Pinwheels
Take those chocolate roll ups and add in a bit of goodness with banana – these chocolate and banana pinwheels are an ideal combo of naughty and nice.
You can use dark or milk chocolate, we like a little bit of dark, it’s healthier (that’s our reasoning) and it offsets the sweetness of the banana preventing them from being sickly.
Date & Orange Pinwheels
Don’t knock them until you’ve tried them, these date and orange pinwheels use natural sugars from chopped dates and orange juice to give a beautifully sweet combo with the puffed pasty.
A healthy alternative and great for helping keep them regular (thanks dates!)
Sweet Jam Pinwheels
Definitely not the healthiest of options but one of the tastiest, this sweet jam pinwheel recipe is take on an easy to make fancy Danish pastry will kick the sweetest tooth – one for the older kids as a treat!
Our three year old LOVES a jam pinwheel. Super simple, super quick, super yummy.
Nutella Roll Ups
Mmmm, nutella stuffed pinwheels with a sprinkling of nuts.
These pinwheels are a definite treat and probably more suited to slightly older toddlers upward… and adults.
In fact, we’re not sure the kids will like these. Probably best we eat them all!
Mincemeat Swirl Pinwheels
Looking for something a little festive? These mincemeat swirl pinwheels make a great alternative to a mince pie and are far easier for little hands to get involved in.
Maybe Santa would like one too?!
Looking for more weaning ideas? Try our Baby Led Weaning Meal Ideas post, packed with inspiration for baby and toddler meals!
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