Bread Rolls Turn Into Appetizer Goals

Sweet dinner rolls are such a versatile staple item that every pantry should be stocked with. They’re perfect to eat plain with some butter, you can make sliders with them, or you can get creative and make something crazy like a 36-piece pull-apart dinner roll loaf filled with different flavors and ingredients. Here are three recipes you probably never thought you could make using loaves of bread.

Giant Pull-Apart Bread

This massive selection of dinner-rolls offers 6 rows of customizable flavors. This appetizer platter makes for the perfect handheld snack bites to serve during your next picnic. Our pull-apart loaf included takes on mini bacon cheeseburgers, chicken Parmesan, Sloppy Joes, Jalapeño poppers, chicken Cordon Bleu, and beef tacos.

Ingredients for inside the rolls:

• 1 6 x 6 container of dinner rolls
• 18 meatballs
• 12 chicken nuggets
• 2 cups shredded cheddar
• 4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• 6 Boccocini (mozzarella cheese balls)
• 1 cup Sloppy Joe sauce (if you don’t have this, you can use barbecue sauce)
• 1 cup sautéed bell peppers
• 1 cup cream cheese
• 6 Jalapeños, sliced
• ¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 6 slices Swiss cheese, quartered
• 6 slices ham
• ½ cup cream sauce
• ½ cup taco sauce

Ingredients for the garnishes:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Butter lettuce
• Shredded basil
• Pickled red onions
• Chopped parsley
• Salsa
• Chopped avocado
• Sour cream

Preparation:

1. To begin, core each of the dinner rolls and save the middles to make a delicious bread pudding later. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In the first row, place 6 meatballs in each divot and top with half of the cheddar and all of the crumbled bacon. This is your cheeseburger layer.
3. For the second row, place 6 chicken nuggets in each divot and add the Parmesan cheese, a spoonful of marinara sauce, and a Boccocini (and if you don’t have them, use shredded mozzarella). This is your chicken Parmesan layer.
4. For the third row, crumble the meatballs into the divots and top with Sloppy Joe sauce and sautéed peppers. This is your Not-So-Sloppy Joe row.
5. The fourth row has no meat. Add a scoop of cream cheese, sliced jalapeños, and the rest of the cheddar into the rolls. Top with Panko breadcrumbs. This is the jalapeño popper roll.
6. The fifth row is very layered: start with a quarter of Swiss cheese, followed by a chicken nugget, ham, a spoonful of cream sauce, and another slice of Swiss cheese. This is your Cordon Bleu row.
7. Your final row is SUPER SIMPLE, hooray! Crumble the meatballs into the row and top with taco sauce.
8. Once all of the rows are filled, bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Since everything is fully cooked, you’re really just melting the cheese and warming everything up, so it doesn’t need to bake for a super long time.
9. Allow the rolls to cool slightly before adding garnishes:
   1. For the cheeseburger layer we added a toothpick with cherry tomatoes and lettuce.
   2. For the chicken Parmesan layer we added shredded basil.
   3. For the Sloppy Joe layer we added pickled red onions.
   4. For the jalapeño popper layer we added some extra jalapeño slices.
   5. For the fifth layer we added parsley.
   6. For the sixth layer we added salsa, chopped avocado, and sour cream.

Strawberry Bread Pudding

This is the perfect dessert to follow up your giant pull-apart dinner roll appetizer because it uses the middles of the Hawaiian rolls you cut out earlier.

Ingredients:

• 1 pint strawberry ice cream, melted
• 3 eggs
• The middles of Hawaiian rolls (or 3 cups of torn bread)
• 1 cup strawberry frosting
• Sliced strawberries, for garnish

Preparation:

1. Place the bread fragments into two small spring-form pans. Whisk together the melted ice cream and eggs. Pour the ice cream mixture over the bread and let it sit for a couple minutes to soak.
2. Bake the bread pudding for 35 minutes at 350°F and if it’s still too soft/wiggly, continue baking in 5 minute increments. If you are frosting your bread pudding, cool it completely.
3. Put your strawberry frosting in a piping bag with a star tip. Pipe small dollops of frosting all over and then place your second layer on top. Pipe more dollops and add sliced strawberries to garnish.

If you want the full recipe for the poke sheet cake, check out the ingredients and instructions here.