Air fryer pizza rolls are super easy to make from frozen in just minutes! No more waiting for the oven to preheat and no more soggy microwaved pizza rolls! They come out perfectly crispy on the outside and cheesy on the inside. Enjoy as a snack or appetizer with or without some marinara sauce on the side.
Jump to Recipe
When I was a kid, my favorite part about New Year's Eve was eating loads and loads and loads (you get the picture) of hors d'oeuvres.
And the one hors d'oeuvre I just had to have was the pizza rolls (or pizza bites as I remember calling them way back when in the '80s).
Waiting for the oven to heat up and then for the dang things to cook was enough to drive a hangry red-haired girl crazy. 😉
But today, all that waiting is a distant memory thanks to modern technology and a godsend of a kitchen appliance - the air fryer!
Now it takes about half the time to make them than in the oven and there's no preheating involved either.
And yes I know that microwaving is even faster, but let's just say I'm not a fan of soggy, rubbery pizza rolls.
I'm also of the belief that the words "pizza" and "microwave" don't belong in the same sentence. 😉
Anyway, I may or may not be a tad bit overly obsessed with not just air frying these pizza rolls, but with cooking all kinds of frozen foods in the air fryer including bagel bites, mozzarella sticks, pierogies, egg rolls, potstickers, sweet potato fries, hash browns and tater tots.
Jump to:
Ingredients you'll need
To make pizza rolls in the air fryer, you'll of course need some frozen pizza rolls. 🙂
I used the Market Pantry brand by Target cheese pizza snack rolls which are noted to be vegetarian on Target's website. I also recommend Annie's three cheese pizza poppers.
Aside from the pizza rolls, you'll also need some olive oil spray.
Just be sure to use a non-aerosol, propellant-free oil spray to avoid damaging your air fryer's non-stick finish.
You can also use a spritzer bottle and fill it with your own oil if you prefer.
How to air fry pizza rolls
If your air fryer has a separate elevated crisping tray or plate, be sure to insert it.
Lightly grease the crisper plate or bottom of the air fryer basket with the olive oil spray.
Place pizza rolls in a single layer in the air fryer so that they are not overlapping.
Air fry at 375° F for 5-7 minutes until pizza rolls are golden brown, shaking the basket after 3 minutes.
Enjoy the pizza rolls alone or with a side of marinara sauce.
Tips
- The pizza rolls should be cooked from frozen and not thawed.
- Be sure to place the pizza rolls in the air fryer in a single layer so that they are not overlapping.
- You do not need to preheat the air fryer before cooking the frozen pizza rolls; however if you do, note that you may need to reduce the cooking time by 1-2 minutes.
- If you are cooking more than one batch, you may need to reduce the cooking time by 1-2 minutes for subsequent batches.
- Don't overcook the pizza rolls or the filling will ooze out resulting in not only a messy air fryer but also cheeseless pizza rolls...and nobody wants that. 😉
- If you want them extra crispy, spray the tops of the pizza rolls after putting them in the air fryer.
Equipment
I used a 5.5 quart Ninja air fryer, but you can use any air fryer make and model.
Gluten-free version
For a gluten-free version, I found the three cheese bites from Feel Good Foods to work well in the air fryer.
Note that there are only 10-11 pizza rolls in a box, but I used the same cooking time and temperature which worked out perfectly.
The dough is made with cauliflower and rice flour and I found them to taste pretty good when I tried them.
Are Totino's pizza rolls vegetarian?
Totino's cheese pizza rolls do not specify on the packaging whether the rennet listed in the ingredients is from an animal source or microbial.
However, according to VegBlogger, who reached out to the company for an answer, Totino's responded by noting that they use both animal and microbial rennet sources depending on the supplier.
Therefore, you cannot be sure if they box you are purchasing is vegetarian as it it could go either way.
Storing and reheating
Wrap leftover pizza rolls and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
You can reheat them in the air fryer at 350° for about two minutes or until warmed throughout.
Recipe
Air Fryer Pizza Rolls
Ingredients
- 12 frozen cheese pizza rolls (*see notes below regarding a gluten-free option)
- non-aerosol, propellant free olive oil spray
Instructions
- If your air fryer has a separate elevated crisping tray or plate, be sure to insert it. Lightly grease the crisper plate or bottom of the air fryer basket with the olive oil spray.
- Place pizza rolls in a single layer in the air fryer so that they are not overlapping. Optional: If you want them extra crispy, you can spray the tops of the pizza rolls with the olive oil spray.
- Air fry at 375° F for 5-7 minutes until pizza rolls are golden brown, shaking the basket after 3 minutes.
- Allow the pizza rolls to sit for a few minutes before eating as the filling will be hot.
(Please refer to the post above for instructional photographs and other helpful information for this recipe)
Suggested Equipment/Tools
Notes
Nutrition
©Watch Learn Eat. All content and images are copyright protected. Recipes and images are not to be used or republished without prior permission. If you adapt this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, and link back to this post for the original recipe.
Leave a Reply