Broccoli And Cheese Pinwheels

👩🏻‍🍳 Why you should try my recipe

• Easy to make with just a few simple ingredients.
• Suitable for babies from 6 months old.
• Freezable for up to 2 months.

🥘 Ingredients

To make these broccoli and cheese pinwheels, we'll be using just 5 ingredients, a broccoli head, a puff pastry sheet, cream cheese, garlic powder and shredded cheese. For toddlers and older kids, you could add some salt to the broccoli.

For hard cheese, I like to use cheddar or mozzarella that is easy to melt when baked or Swiss cheese (low in sodium) for babies under 12 months.

To thaw the puff pastry, you could either leave it out at room temperature for 30–40 minutes or in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight.

For full quantities and to print the recipe, see the recipe card below.

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

So get your ingredients ready and let's get started!

01. I wash the broccoli and I fill in a pot with water and bring it to a boil. Then I add the broccoli florets and boil or steam until fork tender, for about 10 minutes. Don't overcook the broccoli, as most of its nutrients will be gone and it will get mushy.

02. While the broccoli is cooling down, I prepare the puff pastry. You could sprinkle some flour on your kitchen surface and lay it on, or use some parchment paper. Make sure you thaw the puff pastry in the fridge until you are ready to work with it. If it's left out at room temperature for too long, it might be difficult to work with and very sticky.

03. In a bowl, I add the cream cheese and garlic powder and mix it up. Then using a spatula or a spreading knife, I spread it over the puff pastry evenly.

04. By now, the broccoli must be cool and easy to handle. With a knife, I cut it roughly into smaller bits to be easier to spread. If there are any hard stems then you could remove them or cut them into smaller size.

05. I spread the broccoli pieces over the cream cheese covering all the area. If you are not making the broccoli pinwheels for babies under 12 months, you could add a little bit of salt on top of the broccoli.

06. Finally, I spread the shredded cheese on top of the broccoli. I start rolling the puff pastry from the longer side that is closer to me all the way up. Before, cutting it into slices, I place it in the fridge to get firm while I preheat the oven, just for 8–10 minutes.

07. Using a serrated knife, I slice the roll into pieces about 0.6 inch (1.5 cm) thick. I place them on a lined baking tray, leaving about a finger’s width of space between each.

08. I bake the broccoli and cheese pinwheels for 25 minutes, or until they have a nice golden brown color around the edges. Then you could place them on a rack to cool down for a few minutes.

📖 Substitutions

• For older kids, you could add a little bit of salt on top of the broccoli.
• Instead of puff pastry, you could use a crescent roll.
• You could use any melting cheese you like, cheddar, swiss, mozzarella etc.

🍽 Serving suggestions

If you are serving the broccoli and cheese pinwheels for breakfast, then you could add some fruit on the side or a homemade smoothie. For babies under 12 months, you could cut them in half to be easier to hold and bite.

The pinwheels are also great for snacking as they are easy to hold and not very messy. You could also add a couple to your kid's lunchbox along with some protein like scrambled eggs and some fruits or veggies.

🧰 Storage

If you have any leftover broccoli and cheese pinwheels, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4–5 days. To reheat, pop them in the microwave or oven—just be sure they’ve cooled down before serving to little ones.

❓ FAQ

📋 Recipe

🥣 More to try

If you liked my broccoli and cheese pinwheels, you should try some of these recipes too: