Pesto Feta Rolls is a homemade dough filled and rolled with cheese, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach, baked and brushed with garlic butter. It’s a savory roll that you will crave! For another savory, mouth-watering roll, try my Garlic Cream Cheese Rolls.
Pesto Feta Rolls
I am all for savory rolls. Yes, I have my share of sweet rolls; in fact, this recipe starts with the same dough recipe I use for my Raspberry Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls. But, it works just as deliciously with these pesto feta rolls. And with three kinds of cheeses, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and homemade pesto rolled up in the dough, I am all in!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Dough: The dough is a tried and true yeast dough recipe for rolls. If you do not want to mess with the rise time of homemade dough, you could also use store-bought pizza dough or Rhodes rolls.
Pesto: Pesto is a popular topping that is used on many foods for both flavor and color. Once you make homemade pesto, you will want to figure out all the ways you can enjoy it! But, if you have to start somewhere with using pesto, make these rolls!
Cheese: I used three kinds of cheese in these rolls: parmesan, feta, and mozzarella cheese. If you don’t have feta cheese on hand, you could use ricotta, goat cheese, or try the rolls with queso fresco.
Sun-dried Tomatoes: You will definitely get lots of flavor from the sun-dried tomatoes, so if you are not a fan, use less or leave them out altogether. I used sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, so I just needed to drain and chop them. However, if using dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes, be sure to soak them in water for about 30 minutes before draining, patting them dry, and chopping; this will soften them up.
Topping: I added a garlic butter topping for even more flavor and to keep the rolls from becoming dry.
Can I Make Pesto Feta Rolls Ahead of Time?
Yes! This recipe is great to get assembled a day ahead of time. After you have rolled up all of the ingredients into the dough, cut it into 12 rolls. Then, place the rolls in a baking dish. Cover and place them in the refrigerator overnight. When ready, remove the rolls from the refrigerator and let the dough rise for an hour and a half before baking. Then, don’t forget the garlic butter and parmesan cheese on top!
How to Store
These rolls can be baked and enjoyed for a couple of days. Store them in the refrigerator, covered. The rolls can be eaten warm or cold.
More Rolls
Pesto Feta Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- ⅔ cup (163 g) whole milk, warmed to 105°F-115°F
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2¾ cups (344 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature
- ½ tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 1 jar (6.5 ounces) pesto
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
- 1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 jar (7 ounces) oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
Garlic Butter Topping
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated and sprinkled on top
Instructions
Dough
- In a medium bowl, combine the milk and 1 tablespoon sugar. Sprinkle yeast over the milk and whisk to blend. Let sit until the yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes.
- Add eggs. Whisk until smooth.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, combine the remaining 4 tablespoons sugar, the flour, and the salt.
- Add the milk mixture. With the mixer running, add butter, 1 piece at a time, blending well between additions.
- Knead on medium speed for 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium-high speed and knead until the dough is soft (about 5 minutes). Add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, if the dough doesn't come together. (I added 2 tablespoons.)
- Brush a medium bowl with some melted butter. Place the dough in the bowl and brush the top of the dough with the remaining melted butter. Cover with plastic wrap.
- Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
- When ready, punch the dough, turn it out onto a floured surface, and roll it into a 10×15-inch rectangle. (It should be about ¼-inch thick.)
Toppings
- Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Spread the pesto over the dough. Top the mixture with parmesan, feta, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and mozzarella.
- Roll the dough up tightly, starting on the long edge.
- Using a very sharp knife, cut the log into 12 rolls. Place them into the prepared baking dish. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
Baking
- While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes.
- Remove the rolls from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes.
Topping
- To make the butter topping, combine the melted butter with the garlic, and salt in a small bowl.
- Brush the buttery topping over the warm rolls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
- Serve warm.
Did you make this recipe?
You can tag me at @iamhomesteader.
Looking forward to making tbese! Could end up on my Tbanks giving table tbis year.
Dough was MUCH too wet – even with 5-6 extra tablespoons of flour, and seemed to be too much filling as well. Tasty, but the wet dough was very difficult to handle and they really were a mess. I’m going to try this again with less milk and simply mix the filling ingredients into the dough and make a large loaf.
I’m usually a big fan, but this one needs some work…
Hey Raymond – this is a great recipe. But you are also making dough in literally the hottest and most humid time of year, so yes, your dough may need more flour. If you were to make this same dough in 2 months, you will see that. I can’t account for individual and specific conditions like humidity, but would certainly hope that the people making the recipes would have a basic understanding of it.
I think I do have a basic understanding of dough making, but thanks for the observation. Maybe I will try again in the fall. Cause it certainly is indeed humid and hot here in central Georgia!
For someone who can’t have yeast. Can we use any other dough or is the rising doughs best?
I meant, could this be made with frozen bread dough?
This is what it says in the post:
Ingredients & Substitutions
Dough: The dough is a tried and true yeast dough recipe for rolls. If you do not want to mess with the rise time of homemade dough, you could also use store-bought pizza dough or Rhodes rolls.
I can’t wait to try these! I love the versatility with the recipe too. I may or may not make my own dough. We shall see. Thank you for your additional notes. I find that helpful. I may need to half the recipe since I will be eating it solo. Although I am pretty sure I could eat all of the full recipe! Ha. Keep up the great recipes!!
Super delicious and easy to make 😋