Spinach and Artichoke Puff Pastry Swirls

The ultimate appetizer for any occasion, these Spinach and Artichoke Puff Pastry Swirls (or Pinwheels) are perfect. They encompass the beloved flavors of spinach and artichoke dip in a refined, delicate bite.

(This recipe was originally published in March 2009, but was updated with new photos and content in 2020).

Once upon a time I was a poor college student. In a tiny, ill-equipped kitchen at Boston University, I created this masterpiece to take to a friend’s Oscar party. Before I headed off to the party, one of my housemates sampled one.

She immediately begged me to make her a whole batch if she paid for all the ingredients. I, of course, accepted and happily turned out another batch the following day. The rest, my friends, is history. Thus was born the greatest appetizer of our time: Spinach and Artichoke Puff Pastry Swirls. And years later this recipe has stood the test of time.

Imagine your favorite qualities of spinach and artichoke dip wrapped with flaky, buttery puff pastry. Not only is it delicious, but it’s perfect for parties, and really impressive considering how easy it is to make. It requires very little prep work since nearly all of the ingredients are commercially available as required in the recipe.

You can easily purchase good quality puff pastry, frozen chopped spinach, and canned artichoke hearts at well-stocked supermarkets. You could use pre-shredded Swiss cheese too, but I encourage you to splurge for the pricier Gruyère and grate it yourself.

Which brand of puff pastry should I use?

I’ve turned out many batches of these addictive spinach and artichoke puff pastry swirls over the years. I find Pepperidge Farm brand puff pastry to be a bit easier to work with because it’s thicker (it comes in the 17.3-ounce package) and less sticky. Because it’s folded instead of rolled, the seams create an easy guide for cutting the pastry into slices.

With that said, Pepperidge Farm brand uses vegetable oils instead of butter to create its layers. If the French have taught us anything, it’s that real butter is always better.

Trader Joe’s has their own brand of puff pastry (an 18.3-ounce package), which is rolled instead of folded. It’s considerably thinner and sticky in comparison, but it’s made with REAL BUTTER and more natural ingredients than the Pepperidge Farm counterpart. If your dough is on the softer side, you may want to refrigerate or freeze your assembled rolls briefly before cutting them, to ensure less messy slices.

I absolutely prefer the Trader Joe’s puff pastry. The one downside is that they only sell is seasonally, usually between September/October and the end of December. I tend to stock up on it when it’s available, and it will last for a long time in the freezer.

Because Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry is thicker but smaller dimensions, the yield is lower, but you will have larger spirals with thicker puff pastry throughout. Trader Joe's has slightly larger dimensions. It yields more dainty, super crispy morsels. You’ll get about 10 to 15 more pinwheels from this brand (about 40 to 43 vs 30 to 33).

If you live outside of the United States, or in an area where you don’t have access to either of these brands, I would encourage you to seek out a brand of all-butter puff pastry in approximately the same or similar size (about 17 to 18 ounces in weight).

How to make them

Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion, minced garlic, and chili flakes, cooking until the mixture is softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a mixing bowl and cool (PHOTO 1).

Add thawed and squeezed frozen chopped spinach, and roughly chopped canned, drained artichoke hearts (PHOTO 2). Next, add the cheeses and seasonings (PHOTO 3). Mix to combine (PHOTO 4). The filling is ready!

Unroll or unfold 1 sheet of thawed, frozen puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface. If the puff pastry is sticky, lightly dust it with a bit of flour on the top as well. The long side of the pastry should be at the top and bottom of your work surface, with the shorter sides on the left and right.

Cover it with half the filling, leaving a ½-inch border (PHOTO 5). Brush the furthest edge with egg wash, and then roll the puff pastry away from you, like a jelly roll. You want to roll it tight enough that the fillings don’t fall out, but not too tight. You still want the puff pastry inside the coil to have room to expand. The egg wash edge will seal the roll closed (PHOTOS 6-7).

Now you can carefully slice the roll into portions, and set onto a parchment-lined baking sheet (PHOTO 8). If the roll is very soft, you can chill it briefly to firm up the dough before slicing.

Repeat with the remaining dough and filling before brushing the whole batch with egg wash. I recommend you blot or dab the egg wash with a pastry brush around the sides and over the top to ensure you don't get big drips of egg wash on your sheet pan, nor dislodge any of the filling from inside the pinwheels.

Bake the spinach and artichoke puff pastry swirls for about 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans partway through. The puff pastry pinwheels should be golden brown. The cheese gets bubbly and crisps up beautifully within the spirals.

Depending on the resistance of your parchment paper brand these will either slide right off is stick a little in the middle where the cheese melts, but gently pry them free with a spatula with minimal effort. Serve them warm or at room temperature.

These spinach and artichoke pinwheels will be super crispy the day they are baked and soften significantly by day 2. They are still tasty but the texture won’t be the same, so bake them the day you plan to serve them.

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• Easy Cheese Borek
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• Venezuelan Black Bean and Cheese “Domino” Empanadas
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