Classic Easy Stromboli Recipe (Dinner or Quick Appetizer!)
This easy stromboli recipe is basically rolled up pizza. The classic ingredients include mozzarella, ham, and salami. It’s so good dipped in marinara! A perfect quick dinner (that kids love) or appetizer for football-watching. It’s simple to learn how to make stromboli!
Originally posted September 5, 2017
How was your Labor Day weekend?? Today Eric and I were doing yard work (okay, mostly Eric. I was making Stromboli ☝) and he said he was about to take down the 4th of July bunting that I put up way back in June. Then he remembered it was Labor Day and decided to leave it up in the name of patriotism. He also pointed out that September 11 is coming up, as well as Veteran’s Day in November, so really we HAVE to keep it.
I’m the worst at taking down decorations. We still have a string of homemade snowflakes hanging up high in our living room from Christmas. IT’S SEPTEMBER GUYS. May as well just leave it up til December I guess. (Yes, I realize this is how old ladies who leave their Christmas villages up all year are born. Send help.)
There were some killer sales this weekend, was anyone else doing some shopping? I love that shopping these days consists of me sitting on my couch googling promo codes. We’re so spoiled. Actually in some ways online shopping is harder for someone like me because the choices are basically infinite. But I finally decided on buying this desk:
This photo is from City Farmhouse. The desk is the same one I bought (on sale!) from Cost Plus.
It will double as a nightstand, like in the photo below. I don’t have an office.
Now my task is to find a chair that is ergonomic and somehow not hideous. Anyone have any suggestions? The two requirements seem to be mutually exclusive. I’m writing this post from my couch right now, where I always sit because I don’t have a desk. My lower back hurts, the fingers in my right hand are numb (I have tendonitis), and I have 1-2 hours of work ahead of me.
(Did you know it takes me several hours to write a blog post? Usually between 4-6 hours of computer time*, if I’m lucky. This does not include grocery shopping, recipe testing, photo sessions, or the the promotion that needs to be done after I hit publish. And that’s just posting content for you guys. Forget about all the time I spend on SEO, research, social media promotion, fielding emails, responding to comments, negotiating contracts, etc…
I know food blogging is this weird new industry that’s a little misunderstood. (“oh, you have a blog? That’s so cute!”) It makes sense that people don’t understand, and it doesn’t bother me. How long has the internet been around, anyway? How many hundreds of thousands of jobs has it created? Why would the average person investigate details about how to make money online, unless you had a reason to learn about it?)
Anyway, that’s why I need a desk space with a decent chair that is designed to be used for hours at a time. Also I need a physical therapist probably, but I can’t buy that online in my pajamas, so it will have to wait. I’ll find one right after I take down my 4th of July bunting and Christmas snowflakes.
*I just listened to this podcast from The Life Coach School about Productivity (Episode #179) and it was mind bogglingly helpful. She talks about how whatever amount of time you assign yourself to do a task, that’s how much time you will take. So the idea is to assign yourself less time and work faster. It’s well worth the listen, I’m already implementing some of her ideas. Thanks to Liz from The Lemon Bowl for the recommendation!
How to make Stromboli
Raise your hand if you’ve had stromboli?? It’s so good. It’s basically pizza that’s rolled up like a cinnamon roll. Minus cinnamon and sugar, plus pepperoni, cheese and marinara sauce. You bake it as a long roll and slice it after it’s baked. My kids loved it. It makes a great quick dinner or would be an awesome appetizer for football watching this fall. If you make it for a meal it would serve about 4 (with a couple sides, I’m thinking broccoli and a big salad) or if you make it as an appetizer then it serves 6-8, depending on how hungry your guests are.
What do you put in a stromboli?
The fillings for stromboli are as limitless as pizza toppings. You could literally put anything in. Next time I think I’m going to try a combination style one: green peppers, sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, olives. Yum!
More delicious dinners that are appetizers!
- Mini Chicken Pot Pies (Quick & Easy!) << One of my favorite meals in a mini-individual serving!
- Chicken Mushroom and Cream Cheese Stuffed Rolls << my mom used to make these all the time!
- Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers << I perfected this classic party food!
- Carol’s Legendary 7-Layer Dip << This is the bean dip of your life.
- Chicken Flautas (Taquitos) << Another great dinner or appetizer that I love.
- Easy Cheeseburger Sliders << Watch these disappear so quickly.
- Pepperoni Cream Cheese Crescent Rolls << Pizza and a yummy dough – so good.
- Jalapeno Popper Cheesy Bread with Bacon << Bacon, Cheese, Jalapeño. Yummmmm.
- Baked Potato Skins from Small Town Woman
- Toasted Ravioli from Chef Savvy
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Classic Stromboli Recipe (Easy Dinner or Quick Appetizer!)
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded (I like to shred fresh mozz.)
- 12 thin slices ham
- 4 ounces Pepper Jack cheese, sliced
- 15-17 salami slices
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
- 15 slices pepperoni
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped fine
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheee
- cracked black pepper, to taste
- more chopped parsley, to garnish
- marinara sauce, for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Lightly flour a work surface or a square of parchment paper. Roll your pizza dough into a rectangle about 12 by 14 inches. I prefer to roll out my pizza dough on parchment paper, because you can just put the paper straight into the oven without trying to transfer it.
- Brush the top of the dough with melted butter.
- Sprinkle garlic over the top. You can either use fresh garlic or the kind in the jar.
- Sprinkle the top with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Leave a 1-2 inch border around 1 long edge and the two short ends.
- Top with 12 slices of ham.
- Layer slices of Pepper jack cheese on top of the ham.
- Layer salami on top of the Pepper jack.
- Add another 1/2 cup mozzarella.
- Layer on the pepperoni.
- Sprinkle the last 1/2 cup mozzarella on top, then sprinkle with parsley.
- In a small bowl, beat the egg with a fork. Add 1 tablespoon water. Use a brush to coat the 3 exposed edges of your stromboli (short, short, and 1 long edge) with egg wash.
- Carefully roll up the long edge of your stromboli, starting with the one edge that didn't get the egg wash. Roll it tightly so that it stays together.
- Seal the seam with wet fingertips, then roll over the stromboli so that the seam is facing down. Seal the ends with wet fingers, folding the dough underneath if there is extra.
- Transfer the stromboli to a baking sheet or pizza stone.
- Brush with melted butter or the extra egg wash. Whatever is most handy. I actually used a little of both.
- Sprinkle the stromboli with Parmesan cheese, then sprinkle with black pepper. Use a sharp serrated knife to make shallow diagonal cuts on top of the stromboli.
- Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, until the top is brown. If you are nervous that it's not done, lift an edge with a spatula and make sure the bottom is brown.
- Let sit for a few minutes so you don't burn your fingers off. Use a sharp serrated knife to chop into 8-10 slices.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley and dip in warm marinara sauce to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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Excellent and easy
I have read the comments. I love this recipe! My son wants it for his birthday. Can I make it. Roll it in parchment and foil freeze. Then thaw and bake the day of the birthday. I am feeding 14.
Hi Valerie! I think that’s a great idea! I think it will work fine. I would be concerned about lots of veggies in your stromboli, as they will release more moisture as they thaw. Maybe stick to just meat and cheese as the recipe indicates. Also, when you thaw in the fridge, I would brace the wrapped stromboli against something to help it maintain its shape as it thaws, if that makes sense. Let me know how it goes!
Hi Karen,
Can this recipe be made ahead and frozen?
Hi Deborah! I haven’t tried it but I think it would be fine. It won’t be quite as crispy and delicious the second time around. I would freeze, then thaw in the fridge, then heat in the oven at 350 until warmed through. Enjoy!
You had me with the picture. I have never ever seen a Stromboli rolled. This is going to be amazing. Rolling it has to be a taste game changer. So excited to try this.
This is so delicious! We’ve added it as a regular to our rotation
Howdy, Karen!
I am in love with your recipes! Thank you for the clear instructions. The details that you give help this inspiring “chef” out.
Question: I am wanting to make this for my church. (We have dinners on Sunday night and the next one is “Italian” themed.) I know that I will need to make several of these, but I was wanting your thoughts on the best way to prepare so that they are still warm and fresh when it’s time to eat. Do you think it’s best to make the dough the day before, assemble them right before I leave my house, and then bake during church? Or do you think it’s possible to already have them baked BEFORE leaving my house and keeping them warm somehow for a couple of hours? Is it even possible? Am I crazy? Wait! Don’t answer that. ;) Anyway… thoughts?
Thank you!
Hi Brittany! So happy you are enjoying the recipes, thanks for telling me! I think you can totally do this stromboli ahead of time. Personally, it sounds like a nightmare to transfer several raw strombolis. I would bake ahead of time at home on Sunday, bring them to the church and keep them on warm in the oven, covered so they don’t dry out. You can definitely try baking them at church but I feel like it would be a little stressful! Hope this helps! Also, it’s important to remember that stromboli is actually delicious at room temp. So even if it cools while serving, don’t stress about it. Still tasty.
Oh, no. It DEFINITLY sounds like a nightmare! But that’s my life. My tombstone will probably say “she always bit off more than she can chew”. Awesome! I have never made it before so I wasn’t sure what sitting in the oven on warm would do; whether it would dry it out or make it hard. I really appreciate your thoughts! Thank you!
came out really good. was always afraid to make stromboli. You can easily substitute ingredients if you dont have all the ingredients on hand. My husband really liked it. I cooked it about 10 minutes longer just to make sure it was done.
Yes, it’s so versatile, right? I love it! So glad the recipe was a hit Bridget, thanks so much for reviewing!!
Absolutely delicious!! They were a hit at our super bowl party!!
That’s awesome Mary, I’m so glad they were a hit! Thanks for sharing your review!
Oh my gosh! My husband and I just had this tonight and we LOVED it!! He was so impressed!! I followed everything to a T! I was almost going to get lazy and not do the egg wash, but I kept going and so glad I did! I just sent our leftovers with him to work and he just messaged me that they were already gone and so good! :) Thanks!!
Hi Courtney! I’m glad the stromboli was a hit! Hard to go wrong with pizza ingredients, right :) Thanks for commenting!
I made this as well as a garden zucchini pesto, mushroom, spinach, green onion and mozzarella. My family as well as our neighbor was impressed with this. Many thanks for this recipe. We are talking about doing this for our annual teacher xmas party
Ooh I want to try this with all those fresh veggies from the garden! Sounds amazing! I’m so glad you all liked it, thanks for reviewing :)
I want to love this; it looks and smells so delicious! But my dough is raw in the middle!!! Any tips? Followed the instructions exactly.
Hey Stephanie! A sad case of under baking :( Every oven is different unfortunately, and baking times are always approximate (on any recipe.) The top of the stromboli should be a deep golden color. You could also try using a bread thermometer next time. Another way to tell if it is done is to carefully use a spatula to lift the edge of the stromboli to look at the underside that is touching the pan. It should be golden. Good luck!
My family (especially husband) loved this! It’s going into our recipe rotation and I plan to make it for our next family gathering!
I’m so glad you like the recipe Lindsay! It’s so nice when you find something the whole family likes. Thanks for the comment!
This recipe is amazing. I can’t wait to make it again,,
I’m so glad you liked it Angela! Thanks for commenting! Stromboli is so good.
I’m making this today. I’m using provolone and mozzarella . I also add just a touch of sauce inside and it doesn’t get soggy. So yummy sounding. I’ve tried bread dough but don’t like the slightly sweet flavor of the dough compared to the pizza dough. But everyone’s taste is different.
Good tip Kim! How did it turn out?
Can you make this ahead of time and save it in the frig rolled up in parchment paper till the next day?
I made this once and I absolutely loved it!
I haven’t tried that but I imagine that the dough would get pretty soggy from all the toppings. I would make the dough ahead of time and then roll out the day of. Or just bake it in advance, it makes pretty amazing leftovers!
Could you put this together in advance then refrigerate for a few hours before cooking? Thanks!
I haven’t tried it Jenn but I think the toppings would make the uncooked dough a little soggy. Let me know if you try it out!
Looks delish and want to try to make it!
I hope you get to try it out Deborah! It’s so delicious!
If you are making this recipe, check out THIS PIN for more reviews:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/242068548704716340/activity/tried
You can see comments on Pinterest from people who actually tried this recipe. I wish people would come to the blog to make these comments (it would be so much easier to find!) but I don’t want you guys to miss out on more info and reviews.
Love, The Food Charlatan :)
I like veggies on my pizza, will this recipe work with one meat and peppers, mushrooms, etc. .
Hey Lynn, yes, you can add any veggies that you think would be good on pizza! Keep in mind that they are cooked inside the dough, so onions for example might not crisp up as much as they would on pizza. Let me know what you try! Thanks Lynn!
Thanks for the easy recipe! I found that the pepper jack was a bit overpowering so the meat flavors didn’t come through as much, so I might try a different cheese it the future. But overall, definitely a success!
I’m so glad you liked it Kate! Yes, if you don’t love spicy food you may want to use mozzarella or Monterey jack. i’ll add a note to let people know. Thank you so much for the review!
That is not a stromboli… I do consider my self an expert when it comes to stromboli.
.
Hey Mike! What is stromboli then? Please, educate us!! :)
Well Mike, Google disagrees with you. Thanks for this recipe , my family loves stromboli!
It’s so good right! Thanks for the comment Amber!