How can you sneak more veggies into your child’s lunch? We’ve got the answer – HIDE them in a food your family already loves, like pizza! Buy fresh dough from a local pizzeria or grocer, and these rolls bake up in 20 minutes or less. They’re tasty hot or cold – just like pizza! And the Hidden Veggie Sauce can be made in large batches and stored in your freezer. Just get some out whenever you need it for Pizza Rolls, pasta, or to dip breadsticks into. Need a shortcut? Just use jarred sauce!
For this recipe, we tested it with several kinds of dough. Pictured is Trader Joe’s pre-made Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (from the refrigerator case) and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Pizza Crust mix. Both worked well, as did regular crust dough from our local pizzeria and the Gluten-Free Crust Mix from King Arthur’s Flour.
As written, this recipe is vegan, nut-free and can be made gluten-free with gluten-free pizza crust.

- HIDDEN VEGGIE SAUCE
- 1/3 cup broccoli florets
- 1/3 cup cauliflower florets
- 1 carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1 tsp. dried or fresh basil
- 1 tsp. dried or fresh parsley
- 1 tsp. dried or fresh oregano
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- salt/pepper, to taste (optional)
- PIZZA ROLLS
- 16 oz. pizza dough (regular or gluten-free, as desired)
- extra all-purpose or gluten-free flour, to roll dough
- 1 cup vegan mozzarella shreds
- 2/3 cup of toppings (optional)
- - mushrooms
- - olives
- - green peppers
- - onions
- - pineapple
- - spinach
- - vegan sausage
- - vegan pepperoni
- - sun-dried tomatoes
- - roasted red peppers
- - artichokes
- - roasted garlic
- - banana peppers
- SAUCE
- To prepare sauce, steam broccoli, cauliflower and carrots for about five minutes on the stovetop, in the microwave, or in a steamer. When veggies are very tender, add to a large pot with can of tomato sauce, basil, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, and salt/pepper, to taste. Stir together and warm through, about 5 minutes over medium heat.
- When warm, turn off heat and use an immersion blender or regular blender/food processor to make completely smooth. If using regular blender/food processor, be sure to leave a vent in the lid, so prevent pressure build-up. Sauce can be used immediately or stored in the fridge/freezer for future use.
- PIZZA ROLLS
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Flour a cookie sheet. Roll out pizza dough until it's the shape of a large rectangle, the size of the cookie sheet. Use extra flour if your dough is very sticky.
- Spoon sauce onto entire surface of rolled pizza dough. Top with optional veggies or vegan pepperoni/sausage. Sprinkle with vegan shreds.
- Starting on the long side of the dough rectangle, fold the edge over and begin to carefully roll into a log. Roll until the entire sheet of dough is a thick pizza cylinder. Carefully squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the pizza log into 1-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down on the baking sheet.
- Bake according to dough directions. Most traditional wheat-based pizza dough will bake in 6 to 10 minutes; gluten-free pizza dough usually needs 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool thoroughly before removing from baking sheet, at least ten minutes.
- Pack for hot or cold lunches - these are delicious cold, just like cold pizza slices!
- For vegan mozzarella shreds, try Daiya, Galaxy, Follow Your Heart or Trader Joe's.
the dirty hippie and the bohemian girl
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Comments
Pingback: Sandwich Fillings - Sister Eden
This looks AMAZING!! Yummm!
Let us know if you try it out, Nickole!