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Savoury vegan pinwheels filled with a rainbow of fresh vegetables and a delicious, easy to make spread. You can serve these vegetable pinwheels as vegan appetizers at your next get-together or potluck, or enjoy them as snacks or even for lunch.
This is one of those easy vegan recipes (gluten-free, too if you make it with gluten-free tortillas!) that's super simple to make, is filled with great flavour, and can be served for several different occasions.
You can serve them as:
- vegan pinwheel appetizers so they can be the star vegan appetizer at your next gathering.
- vegan pinwheel sandwiches for you or your kids for lunch (they're very kid-friendly!).
- snacks if you feel like a little something in between meals.
Multi-purpose recipes are the best, aren't they?
So let's talk about everything you need to know before you make yourself these veggie pinwheels, shall we?
Ingredients for Vegetable Pinwheels
You'll find that many other vegan pinwheel recipes call for hummus, but I take it a step further by making a delicious chickpea spread instead (a different version of my chickpea chicken salad).
To make the spread, you'll need cooked chickpeas, chopped onions, parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper and vegan mayonnaise.
Note: You can make this without mayonnaise by substituting it with mashed avocado.
For the veggies, you'll need red pepper, carrot, and some baby spinach. And of course, you'll need tortillas. Your favourite regular or gluten free wraps will work just fine.
How to Make Dairy Free Pinwheels
(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step for my vegan pinwheels recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions at the end of this post.)
The first step is to mash the chickpeas. Next, add all the remaining chickpea spread ingredients and mix until everything has combined.
After that, spread half of the spread on a tortilla, ensuring that it's spread almost all the way to the edges as shown in the picture below.
Next, you'll top the chickpea spread with the veggies.
Be sure to place the veggies directly on top of the spread rather than stacking them on top of each other so they have something to stick to as you roll the wrap up.
If you don't place them directly onto the spread, after you've rolled and sliced, the veggies will fall out because they have nothing to stick to.
(A mistake I made the very first time I made pinwheel roll ups 🙂 )
After you've placed the veggies, you'll roll everything tightly. Then it's time to slice!
I usually slice off each end and eat them since those pieces aren't going to be perfect...I call it taste-testing to be sure everything tastes good 🙂
You'll then slice into 6-8 pieces, and you can slice them to any thickness you like.
I usually stick to slicing them to a thickness just slightly over one inch and this gives me seven pinwheels per tortilla, but you can slice them a little thinner (for appetizers and snacks) or thicker (for lunches), if you'd like.
Your tasty little vegetarian pinwheels are now ready to serve!
Tips to Ensure Your Vegan Pinwheel Roll-Ups are Perfect:
- Be sure that your tortillas are fresh and pliable (especially if they're gluten free) or they will break when rolling. If your tortillas are a little stiff, you can soften them by warming them up for a few seconds in the microwave.
- Place the veggies on top of the spread rather than stacking them on top of each other before rolling so they stick to the chickpea spread (see the picture above).
- Slice the veggies thinly as shown in the pictures. It will make the pinwheels easier to eat and easier to roll.
- Roll the tortilla up as tightly as you can so the final pinwheels are not loose and won't fall apart.
- Use a serrated knife to slice the pinwheels, a regular knife can flatten the pinwheels and they won't be round.
- I recommend the veggies called for in my recipe, but you can use different veggies. Just be sure they aren't juicier veggies (like tomatoes) or your pinwheels will not hold up and will become soggy, very fast.
- You can also use purple cabbage (this would make them rainbow veggie pinwheels!) and yellow or orange bell peppers also work nicely.
Can They Be Made In Advance? How Do You Avoid Soggy Pinwheels?
I don't like to make my pinwheels too far in advance from the time they'll be served because, depending on the veggies used, they tend to get soggy the longer they sit.
The "drier" the veggies (like the ones I use in my recipe), the better. If you need to make them in advance, avoid using veggies that will release liquid like cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.
That being said, I've made these vegan pinwheel wraps in the morning, for serving later in the day, and I've also made them at night for lunches the next day. When I make them in advance, I roll them up, wrap tightly, refrigerate and I only slice them just before serving.
Whether you serve them as appetizers, a party snack, or lunch, these pinwheels will become an easy, go-to recipe to make. I hope you love them as much as I do!
If you like this veggie tortilla pinwheels recipe, here are a few other recipes you may also like:
- Veggie Dip
- Zucchini Fritters
- Chickpea Salad Sandwiches
- Black Eyed Pea Salad
- Vegan Garlic Herb Cheese Spread
How to Make Vegan Pinwheels
Vegan Pinwheels
Ingredients:
- 2 large tortillas (gluten-free, if needed)
Chickpea Spread:
- 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (one 15oz / 398ml can, drained and rinsed)
- 1 tablespoon green onion, finely chopped (red onion can also be used)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise (see above or below for how to make without mayo)
Vegetables:
- ½ red bell pepper washed, cored, and thinly sliced
- 1 small carrot peeled, washed, and thinly sliced
- 1 handful fresh baby spinach
Instructions:
Make Chickpea Spread:
- Add chickpeas to a large bowl and mash using a fork or a potato masher. See picture above.
- Add green onions, parsley, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and mayonnaise to the bowl and mix well.
Assemble Pinwheels:
- Spread half of the chickpea mixture onto 1 tortilla, spreading right to the edges.
- Place the red pepper, carrots, and spinach in 3 rows on top of the chickpea spread, as shown above.
- Roll the tortilla tightly and with seam side down, slice into 7 pinwheels.
- Repeat with remaining tortilla, chickpea spread, and vegetables.
Recipe Notes:
- Please read all of the helpful info above and below to ensure recipe success.
- I use no salt canned chickpeas but you can make this recipe with chickpeas you cooked from dry. After they have cooked, simply measure out the 1 ½ cups needed.
- Be sure that your tortillas are fresh and pliable or they will break when rolling. If your tortillas are a little stiff, you can soften them by warming up for a few seconds in the microwave.
- To make this recipe without mayo, simply mash a medium avocado with a fork, so no chunks remain, and use it in place of the mayonnaise.
- Nutrition info is based on 1 pinwheel, made as written, and only to be used as a rough guide. Click to learn how nutrition info is calculated on this website.
Suzy says
Tasty little pinwheels!!! I needed my chickpeas to be a bit creamier - I might just use hummus instead so the veggies stick better - or add extra mayo. I'm thinking maybe adding some brown mustard or prepared horseradish to add a bit of kick! Either way, kicked up or as written, these are great!
Gwen Leron says
I'm so glad you like them, Suzy! And yes, feel free to add a little kick if that is what you prefer! I like your idea of adding a little brown mustard, I may try that! Enjoy!
Linda says
I made these yesterday to take to my friends for our dinner. Everyone loved them. I might try making them next time with more herby seasonings or substitute vegan ranch dressing for Mayo. However, they were delicious and I got rave reviews. Thank you.
Gwen Leron says
I'm so glad everyone liked them, Linda! And yes, feel free to swap the herbs in the recipe for what you like. Enjoy!
Grace says
Hello Gwen,
I can't wait to make these veggie pinwheels. They look delicious. Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes. I made the chocolate pumpkin pie. It came out great!
Gwen Leron says
Hi Grace! My pleasure, I love sharing my recipes 🙂 I'm happy you tried and liked the chocolate pumpkin pie, let me know how things turn out with the pinwheels, we love them here. Take care, thank so much for taking the time to leave your note.