Mexican Tortilla Pinwheels

Mexican Tortilla Pinwheels

Make Mexican Tortilla Pinwheels your go-to snack for any party! The ultra-flavorful cream cheese filling is tasty on tortillas and everything is made ahead.

As far as I’m concerned, some kind of cream-cheese based snack should be required for all Game Day Entertaining situations.

Whether you’re talking about veggie pizza or beer cheese dip or turkey roll ups, I prefer to watch near-super-humans in supreme physical condition perform mind-boggling athletic feats while gorging myself on full-fat dairy. It makes me feel like an integral part of The Team.

Mexican Tortilla Pinwheels are one of those staple recipes that show up all the time because they are so darn easy to make, even easier than these veggie roll ups. It goes something like: Mix filling, Spread on tortillas, Roll, Slice.

But even the oldie-but-goodie recipes can use a makeover once in a while (By the way, if I ever use “punched up” and “flavors” in the same sentence, please punch me in the face immediately).

For Mexican Tortilla Pinwheels, the upgrade comes in the form of spicy, flavorful La Morena pickled jalapenos.

If you’ve never enjoyed a Mexican Tortilla Pinwheel before, they are customarily prepared with canned green chiles. Canned green chiles are fine, if a bit lack-luster in the flavor department.

The Filling

I have always wanted something with a little more backbone in this recipe because hello: Cream cheese AND sour cream AND shredded cheese. The green onions and black olives have a lot of zip on their own, but green chiles just can’t stand up to all that dairy.

But pickled jalapenos? They have the heat and flavor I’ve been seeking. Even before I decided to work on this sponsored post, I tried out the La Morena pickled jalapenos to see if they’d be a good fit for this recipe, and I was delighted with the quality and authenticity.

How to Seed a Jalapeno Pepper

Here’s a quick tutorial on how to stem, seed, and dice a pickled jalapeno. In case you’ve never tried. By the way, La Morena also sells a sliced version of their pickled jalapenos. I prefer the whole version so I can remove the seeds (and extra heat), but if you dabble in ghost peppers or other crazy things, you can use the sliced ones.

Make Them Ahead

I love the make-ahead factor here. You want to chill the tortilla pinwheels for at least 2 hours, but you might as well make them in advance. The flavor improves as they chill, and then you can wake up, roll out of bed, and put your game face on.

Shop at Ralph’s for La Morena products and everything else you need to make a batch (or two or seven) of Mexican Tortilla Pinwheels.

Mexican Tortilla Pinwheels

Yield: Serves 6 to 8

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 2 hours 20 min

Total Time: 2 hours 30 min

Make Mexican Tortilla Pinwheels your go-to snack for any party! The ultra-flavorful cream cheese filling is tasty on tortillas and everything is made ahead.

Ingredients:

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and sour cream and mix thoroughly.

Stir in cheddar cheese, jalapenos, olives, green onions, garlic powder, and seasoned salt. Stir until uniformly combined.

Lay one tortilla on a flat surface and spread evenly with about 1/2 cup of the filling. Roll the tortilla tightly and wrap in plastic wrap.

Repeat with remaining tortillas, wrapping each in plastic wrap. Place all tortillas in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. Slice in 1-inch pieces to serve.

Notes:

Reduced fat cream cheese may be substituted for the regular cream cheese.

10-inch tortillas are sometimes labeled "burrito" tortillas. 8 (8-inch) flour tortillas may be substituted.

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