Air Fryer Recipe
Sausage and Spinach Pinwheels
Sausage and spinach pinwheels are a delicious and easy-to-make snack, perfect for air frying.
Ingredients
- 1 sheet of puff pastry (preferably ready-rolled)
- 250g of good quality sausages (removed from their casings)
- 100g fresh spinach, chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 50g cream cheese
- 1 egg, beaten (for glazing)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Preheat air fryer to 180°C.
- Cook minced garlic in a pan until fragrant, add spinach and cook until wilted, then cool.
- Mix cooled spinach and garlic with sausage meat and cream cheese, season with salt and pepper.
- Unroll puff pastry, spread filling evenly, leaving a 1cm border, roll into a log and seal.
- Slice roll into 1-1.5cm thick pinwheels, glaze with beaten egg.
- Line air fryer basket with baking paper, arrange pinwheels with space between them.
- Air fry in batches for 10-12 minutes until golden brown and puffed.
Why this works in an air fryer
Air fryer convection dries and browns the exposed pastry edges quickly while the sausage fat renders into the filling, keeping it moist. Cooling the spinach first prevents steam from softening the pastry, and the 1–1.5cm slices expose enough cut surface for fast, even cooking without the centres staying raw.
Equipment notes
Assumes a 4–6 litre basket holding 6–8 pinwheels with gaps; in a single-drawer model cook in batches on the centre of the basket, while in a dual-zone fryer split them evenly and check the outer corners early as smaller drawers can brown the pastry 1–2 minutes faster.
Common pitfalls
- Soggy, pale bases after 10 minutes usually mean wet spinach or too much baking paper coverage; squeeze the cooked spinach dry and trim the paper so airflow can reach the underside.
- Pastry puffing open into spirals is a sign the log was loosely rolled or the seam was not sealed; chill the rolled log for 10 minutes and place slices seam-side tucked underneath where possible.
- Dark pastry but pink-looking sausage in the centre means the slices are too thick or the fryer is running hot; cut to 1–1.5cm and reduce to 170°C for a few extra minutes until the filling is cooked through.
- Filling leaking and greasy puddles forming indicate very fatty sausage meat or overfilled pastry; use a leaner good-quality sausage and spread a thinner, even layer leaving the stated border.
Variations & substitutions
- Use Cumberland or Lincolnshire sausages for a stronger herby filling; the cooking time is similar, but watch browning as higher-fat sausages can colour the bases faster.
- Swap cream cheese for ricotta for a lighter filling; drain it well first or the extra moisture will soften the pastry layers.
- Add finely grated mature Cheddar, keeping it to a small handful; it increases browning and saltiness, so check the pinwheels a minute earlier.
- Use frozen spinach instead of fresh, but thaw and squeeze it very dry; otherwise the released water will steam the pastry rather than crisp it.
Storage & reheating
Keep cooled pinwheels in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheat in the air fryer at 170°C for 4–6 minutes until the pastry is crisp and the centre is hot.
Nutrition
Calories: 250
