Pickle roll ups are most perfect appetizer for any type of gathering! Only 3 ingredients, 10 minutes of prep time and guests will be raving! These pop in your mouth so easily and will be gone in no time.
Why This Recipe Works
During my first year in college, my roomie and I had a few foods that we ate all the time. Vanilla ice cream with a heaping pile of gummy bears on top and grilled cheese sandwiches made with Texas toast were at the top of the list. Another favorite were these totally delicious Pickle Roll Ups.
We’d load up on ingredients at Hy-Vee and go back to our dorm room and eat roll up after roll up until all of the ingredients were gone. This is the simplest little appetizer recipe and I have been in love with them since those college days.
I learned post-college that Pickle Rollups are an ideal party food because they are a super easy appetizer and guests will rave every single time. They are also a definite Midwest thing!
The salty-sweet combination is so simple yet so tasty. Pickle Roll ups are easy, guest-pleasing appetizers that are great for parties or football games or any type of gathering. Or for dorm-room snacking.
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Recipe Ingredients
Corned beef – Use thinly sliced lunch meat for this recipe. Thinly sliced deli ham slices can be used in place of corned beef to create a ham roll up.
Cream cheese – Use full fat spread cream cheese or room temperature brick cream cheese (or soften a brick in the microwave before spreading).
Dill pickles – Either use small or medium whole pickles or large dill pickle spears.
How To Make Pickle Rollups
Lay four stacks of corned beef slices (2 per stack) on a flat work surface. Top each slice with a thick layer of cream cheese mixture (it does not have to be pretty) and a medium-sized dill pickle.
Roll the corned beef slices around the pickles, wrapping as tightly as possible. The cream cheese will act as the delicious glue that holds everything together.
Cut each pickle cream cheese roll into four equal slices and place on a serving plate.
Recipe Notes
- This is a great gluten-free appetizer to serve at parties.
- It helps to pat the pickle dry with a paper towel before rolling.
- Allow cream cheese to sit out prior to preparing your roll-ups up to an hour ahead so it’s ready to spread.
- Once you have sliced your pickles into roll-ups, place them back in the fridge so the cream cheese firms up on your bite size pieces.
- Wrap leftovers in plastic wrap and snack on them the following day!
Pickle Recipes
- Combine cream cheese, sour cream, fresh dill weed and chopped pickles to create a delicious pickle dip. Serve with veggies and crackers or spread onto flour tortillas to create a savory tortilla roll (aka pinwheels).
- Pickle pizza
- Save time by making quick sweet refrigerator pickles!
- Pickle relish
- Dill pickle pasta salad
How Long Can Pickles Last Unrefrigerated
If you have a jar of pickles staring at you and you are wondering whether to toss or eat, read this post about how long pickles can be left out of the fridge. You will learn everything you need to know about diving into a batch of pickled cucumbers safely.
FAQ About Pickles
Pickles can be considered both a fruit and a vegetable. Since they are made by bathing cucumbers in a brine liquid, they are a vegetable. However, technically speaking cucumbers are considered to be a fruit because of their seeds.
Pickles are made from cucumbers after soaking in a vinegar-seasoning mixture that well-preserves them.
Pickles are very low in calories, making them a healthy snack. Since the only ingredients are cucumbers, salt and vinegar, one medium pickle contains a mere 7 calories.
Pickles are keto-friendly when they don’t contain added sugar. Generally speaking, if following a keto diet, opt for dill or sour varieties and avoid sweet and bread and butter varieties.
Pickles are made when fresh cucumbers are fully immersed in an acidic pickling solution (a salty brine) until they are fermented.
Easy Appetizer Recipes
These Pickle Roll Ups are one of my favorite party foods ever, but if you need other ideas check out these yummy party food ideas:
- Air Fryer Fries with Seasoned Sour Cream
- Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches served with Homemade Pickle Relish
- Veggie Cheese Stromboli
- Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
- Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese
- Best Ever Chili
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Pickle Roll Ups Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 slices corned beef lunch meat
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 4 dill pickles small to medium in size
Instructions
- Lay corned beef in stacks of two on a hard surface.
- Spread 1 ounce of cream cheese onto each stack. Place a pickle directly in the center of each. Roll corned beef around the pickles and cut each roll into four equal parts.
Notes
- Allow cream cheese to sit out prior to preparing your roll-ups up to an hour ahead so it’s ready to spread.
- Corned Beef lunch meat can be substituted for ham or turkey.
- Once you have sliced your pickles into roll-ups, place them back in the fridge so the cream cheese firms up on your bite size pieces.
Can you use olds fashion black forest ham instead not much of a corn beef person
Yes, definitely! Thanks for asking Liz!
Can I make this the day before?
Yes, you could!
I just made these with fresh dill and chopped garlic added to the cream cheese.
The cream cheese spreads much easier of you let it sit out at room temperature for a couple of hours. Once I roll them I put them in the refrigerator for about an hour to stiffen up the cream cheese before slicing them.
They are delicious, Thank you.
That sounds amazing – thank you for sharing that tip!
Thanks for the idea and associated tips! I’m making mine with seasoned roast beef and dill spears (instead of rounds).
That’s delicious – there’s so many great variations on this recipe but ultimately it’s a great tasting snack or app!
How do you keep the corned beef from ripping all up when spreading on the cream cheese?
Just keeping it room temperature and light pressure seems to do the trick!
That is why you put two pieces of corned beef so it doesn’t tear as much. If you use turkey or roast beef they are thicker. Just make sure the cream cheese is softened and spread lightly.
Aren’t these often referred to as “Midwest Sushi” ? They are a must for our family at every holiday dinner!
So glad to find this recipe for pickle rollups that my college roommate and I used to make! Time to make them again!
You and your roommate had good taste! They will be enjoyed, I promise.
I love these with deli ham too! So yummy
Yes, you can use so many different kinds of meat and its so good. Thanks for sharing!
What’s the trick to preventing them from ripping and getting ruined when you cut? Mine are so messy!
Your cream cheese has to be really soft, room temperature and sometimes its worth it to buy a thicker cut of deli meat. But they are so good so I don’t mind taking my time with them!