These delicious pickle roll ups are the perfect appetizer for any 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.
Original post: March 2020 | Updated: October 2023
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, grilled cheese sandwiches made with Texas toast and these totally delicious pickle rollups (aka Midwest Sushi or Minnesota Sushi).
Here’s why you will love them, too:
- These tasty little bites require only 3 simple ingredients and 10 minutes of your time. That’s it!
- When these are served, guests rave every single time. It’s one of the best appetizers you’ll make all year.
- The salty-sweet combination is so simple yet so tasty.
- Cream cheese pickle roll ups are easy, guest-pleasing appetizers that are great for family get-togethers, football games or literally any type of gathering.
- It’s the perfect make ahead appetizer! Prepare as directed and store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve.
50+ Make-Ahead Recipes For Your Holiday Table
Do you feel overwhelmed just thinking about planning a menu this holiday season? Then you anticipate the exhaustion that comes after the meal has been eaten?
Within each recipe in this ebook are tips for making the recipe ahead of time to open up space for the people you’re excited to spend the holiday with. Sample menus included, along with mouth-watering photos and tried-and-tested recipes!
Recipe Ingredients
Corned beef – Use thinly sliced lunch meat to create this recipe.
Thinly sliced deli ham slices can be used in place of corned beef to create a ham roll up. Or use salami to create salami pickle roll ups. Sliced roast beef can be used, as well.
Literally any thinly sliced deli meat tastes delicious! Avoid thick slices of meat when possible.
Cream cheese – Use full fat spread cream cheese spread or brick cream cheese.
Allow the cream cheese to sit at room temperature prior to preparing your roll-ups up to an hour ahead for easier spreading.
If you don’t remember to do this, simply soften it in the microwave for just a few seconds before spreading.
Dill pickles – Either use small or medium whole pickles or large dill pickle spears.
How To Make Pickle Roll Ups
Step 1
Lay four stacks of corned beef slices (2 per stack) on a flat work surface or cutting board. Using a butter knife, top each slice with a thick layer of cream cheese (it does not have to be pretty).
Step 2
Now place a dill pickle in the center of each stack.
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.
Step 3
Using a sharp knife, cut each pickle cream cheese roll into four equal slices and place on a serving plate.
Recipe Notes
- Cream cheese roll-ups are the perfect gluten-free appetizer to serve at parties.
- Pat each pickle dry with a paper towel before rolling to avoid it slipping around.
- Once you have sliced your pickles into roll-ups, place them back in the fridge right on the serving tray. This will allow the cream cheese to firms up around pickles, creating perfect bite-sized appetizers.
- Wrap leftovers in plastic wrap and snack on them the following day!
- If you want to increase indulgence points, serve alongside a small bowl of ranch dressing to act as a dipping sauce.
- Dress up the cream cheese roll ups by sprinkling bagel seasoning or ranch seasoning over the cream cheese mixture before rolling.
What Kind of Pickles For Pickle Roll Ups
Use small or medium whole dill pickles or large dill pickle spears to create corned beef pickle roll ups. If the pickles are too big, the sliced meat won’t be able to wrap around it the whole way.
Best Pickle Recipes
- Create a bloody mary with food! Add pickles, cheese and salami to the savory drink.
- 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 Do 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.
Are Pickles Vegetables
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.
Where Did Ham and Pickle Rollups Come From
I’ve always known corned beef or ham and pickle roll-ups to be a Midwestern “thing.” It is believed that this delicious little finger food may have originated from an old German recipe, according to this article in the Des Moines Register.
Easy Holiday Appetizers
These pickle wraps 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
- Veggie sheese 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
- Cream cheese roll-ups are the perfect gluten-free appetizer to serve at parties.
- Pat each pickle dry with a paper towel before rolling to avoid it slipping around.
- Once you have sliced your pickles into roll-ups, place them back in the fridge right on the serving tray. This will allow the cream cheese to firms up around pickles, creating perfect bite-sized appetizers.
- Wrap leftovers in plastic wrap and snack on them the following day!
- If you want to increase indulgence points, serve alongside a small bowl of ranch dressing to act as a dipping sauce.
- Dress up the cream cheese roll ups by sprinkling bagel seasoning or ranch seasoning over the cream cheese mixture before rolling.
Are these Roll-Ups low-carb?
Yes, they are! Enjoy!
To kick these up, add horseradish to the cream cheese. Also use 2 buddig rounds ‘glued with a smear of cream cheese. Ice the pickle first with a fork then place on one end of beef and roll.
Great suggestions Carolyn! Thank you!
Love the idea but I have never seen round corned beef lunch meat and have looked all over my area!
Interesting! Well, it’s great with corned beef but you can also enjoy it on turkey or ham or roast beef.
Looks like the Budig corned beef in the little packages
You can use whatever kind of deli meat you prefer!
Generally, how many carbs are in these?
This is definitely a low carb recipe! I don’t have calorie information on my site but I know there are several free websites that calculate that easily based on the quantity, size and brand of food you use. I linked one below as a suggestion.
https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
What could u use besides corned beef
Ham, turkey or any lunch style thin sliced meat works deliciously!
I love it when my aunt makes these for thanksgiving. I was wondering if I could use this for an event? Whats the cost?
The cost for making pickle rollups? If you’re going to make a lot of them, I would recommend buying a large container of pickles at Costco or Sams club or any place that sells in bulk as well as your meat and cream cheese. The price will vary depending on where you buy your ingredients and how much you purchase. Good luck!
Thank you for sharing! I can’t wait to try some.
Yay! Let me know how you enjoy them!
My bosses wife used to make these for parties back in the 70s and when I told people outside work about they would say yuck. I loved them.
Me too. More for you!
Thanks!
These look so easy to make and my kids will love them. I shared it on my blog along with 6 other dill pickle recipes. Hope you’ll get a chance to hope on over and check them out!
http://www.diyhsh.com/2018/02/7-craving-busting-dill-pickle-recipes.html
That’s great – thank you for the link up! I saw some delicious recipes.
Megan
I’m curious to try with Corned Beef, my family always made them with sliced pastrami meat. The peppery meat gives it all a little kick.
I’m partial to corned beef. You’re gonna love it!
Megan
My family usually does ham, cream cheese, and green onion. I love pickles and never thought to try any other way.
Hi Tracey! I’ve never tried them with ham and green onion. It’s on my list now! Thanks for the inspiration!
Megan
We love these with sandwich ham and pickels Spears
I’ve never tried these with ham, Lynn. I’ll have to give it a try!!
Megan
My old college roommate used to make these for us, too! And like you, she used corned beef as well – they were sooo good! I haven’t had these in years. Thanks for jogging my memory; I will be making these very soon! I bet my 3 year old will love them, too!
Hi Liz! How funny that your college roommate made them, too! They are sooo good. Thanks for the comment!
Megan
So simple and so delicious! Thank you for posting this brilliant snack idea! I used sliced ham instead of corned beef and sprinkled my cream cheese with some fresh chopped dill. They were a huge hit this Christmas 🙂
Awesome snack! I add horseradish to it! Yummy!
I have been making these for years, thanks to my sister-in-law giving me the recipe..the only differences in her recipe is she uses dill pickle spears and herb cream cheese and she uses the dried beef that comes in a jar and is sold on the grocery shelf…I just can not stop eating these…delish………….
Love these!!! We call them redneck sushi and served them at my daughter's duck dynasty birthday party! We used dill pickles and pickled okra!
I have been making this forever, it's not a holiday/party without them. I add a tbsp horseradish & a couple dashes of whorsteshire (sp) sauce to the cream cheese……..yum!
To cut carbs even further, try cutting your pickles into spears (into fourths lengthwise) before wrapping them in the lunch meat. Nothing says you have to use a whole pickle!
My mom taught me about these 30 years ago. NOT a new recipe. The only problem is your version is not the proper recipe. If you want to make these correctly, do it this way.
Use same amounts of ingredients, just use these specific things:
Clausen Kosher Dill pickles – better crunch and flavor
Boars Head Tavern Ham – Most flavorful ham they make
Philadelphia plain original cream cheese.
I promice that if you use these three things, this will be the hit of your get together
Dcook: I Have NO IDEA how I have never noticed that mistake! Thank you for pointing it out. YES, I meant 4 pickles and definitely not 14! 🙂 Thanks!!
Megan