Ingredients
Dough
- 25 frozen dinner rolls, thawed and risen
Frozen yeast rolls are commonly used in pizza bombs and pull-apart breads because they bake up soft and fluffy with minimal work.
Filling
- 1 jar pizza sauce, approximately 14 ounces
- 3 cups mini pepperoni slices, divided
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 25 cubes, divided
Stuffed pizza roll and pizza bomb recipes typically use jarred pizza sauce, pepperoni, and cubed mozzarella for easy, gooey centers.
Garlic-butter finish
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (1/2 stick)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
Garlic butter with herbs and Parmesan is a standard finish for pull-apart garlic breads and pizza breads.
Step-by-step instructions
1. Thaw and proof the rolls
Allow the frozen dinner rolls to thaw and rise according to the package instructions. Most brands suggest either 3–5 hours at room temperature or an overnight rise in the refrigerator followed by time at room temperature until the rolls have doubled in size.
Working with fully thawed and risen dough gives you enough stretch to flatten and fill each roll without tearing.
2. Preheat the oven and prep the pan
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Parchment helps prevent sticking and makes cleanup easier, which is frequently recommended for cheesy pull-apart breads.
3. Fill and shape the pizza bombs
Flatten each thawed roll into a small disc with your fingers or the palm of your hand. Place about 1 tablespoon of pizza sauce in the center, a few mini pepperoni slices, and one cube of mozzarella.
Gather the edges of the dough up and around the filling and pinch tightly to seal, forming a ball with the seam side down. Ensuring a good seal is a key tip in pizza bomb recipes to minimize cheese leakage. Repeat until all 25 rolls are filled.
4. Arrange into a wreath
On the prepared baking sheet, arrange the filled dough balls in a circle, seam side down, so they touch or nearly touch, forming a wreath shape. You can make a single ring or a slightly staggered double ring if your sheet is large enough.
Leaving minimal gaps helps the wreath bake into a cohesive pull-apart ring, similar to other pull-apart wreath breads.
5. Bake
Place the wreath in the preheated oven and bake for 30–34 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown and fully baked through. Baking on a lower oven rack can help crisp the bottoms a bit more, a common tip for cheesy pull-apart breads.
If needed, loosely tent with foil near the end of baking if the tops are browning too quickly before the centers are done.
6. Make and brush the garlic butter
While the rolls are baking or right after they come out, combine the melted butter, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and grated Parmesan cheese in a small bowl.
As soon as the wreath comes out of the oven, brush the hot rolls generously with the garlic-Parmesan butter mixture, letting it soak into the crevices like in garlic pull-apart bread recipes. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley if desired for color.
7. Serve
Serve the Pizza Bomb Wreath warm, with additional pizza sauce in a bowl in the center or on the side for dipping. It’s designed to be pulled apart with hands, similar to other pull-apart pizza breads and cheese bomb wreaths.