Who else enjoys making fun and festive holiday treats? With Valentine’s Day coming up, I thought I’d share a cute recipe for pizza roses! Instead of being made with store-bought canned dough, these homemade pizza roses use an easy three-ingredient dough made from self-rising flour, sweetpotatoes, and Greek yogurt. You’ll then cut the dough in strips, add some cheese, sauce, and turkey pepperoni, roll it up, and bake it – and you’ve got these adorable pizza roses to serve to your family (or just for yourself, because why not).
Disclosure: This recipe was developed in a paid partnership with the North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission.
Ingredients
Here’s a photo of all the ingredients you’ll need – just six! – along with selected ingredient notes:
- Sweetpotatoes – The slight sweetness of these balances the tanginess of the Greek yogurt for a perfect homemade dough. Plus, sweetpotatoes add extra Vitamin A, fiber, and phytonutrients to this recipe. If you’re making sweetpotato puree specifically for this recipe, I recommend saving some extra to make for this strawberry shortcake with sweetpotato biscuits, as it makes a fabulous Valentine’s Day dessert to serve afterwards.
- Mozzarella cheese – You want to look for sandwich-sized slices of mozzarella cheese (rather than the long logs or shredded cheese). Cutting those slices into thirds makes it easier to layer along the long strips of dough.
- Turkey pepperoni – I prefer this since it’s a lighter option, but you can use regular pepperoni if you’d like.
- Self-rising flour – This is key as it already has a leavening agent in it, so it’ll help the dough be fluffy and not super dense. If you don’t have self-rising flour, you can substitute with 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, and ¼ tsp salt.
Instructions
You’ll find the full recipe amounts and instructions in the recipe card below. This recipe is very simple as far as ingredients go, but sometimes envisioning the prep can be difficult. These photos should help!
If you haven’t yet made sweetpotato puree, start with that. Peel and chop two small sweetpotatoes. Place those in a pot and cover with water. Bring that to a boil over high heat, then continue to cook for about 15 minutes, until fork tender (Picture 1).
Drain them, let cool for a few minutes, then carefully puree in a mini food processor or blender (Picture 2). You might have extra puree leftover after this recipe; save it for another recipe or to blend into pancakes, smoothies, or oatmeal.
Once you’ve got the sweetpotato puree done, chill it in the freezer for about 15 minutes, then mix it with the self-rising flour and Greek yogurt. It should form a shaggy dough (Picture 3).
Knead the dough with your hands for a few minutes right in the bowl, helping to fully combine the ingredients and make it into a workable ball. If it’s too sticky, add an extra tablespoon of flour. If it’s too dry, add an extra tablespoon of sweetpotato puree or Greek yogurt. It should be somewhat soft but workable. (Picture 4).
Roll out the dough out into a large rectangle, about 14 inches wide by 8-10 inches long. Cut the edges of the dough if needed to create a clean rectangular shape. Now cut this widthwise into four long strips, each about 2 to 2 ½ inches long by 14 inches wide (Picture 5). It doesn’t have to be perfectly even, just do your best!
Place the mozzarella cheese along the strips (Picture 6). Then drizzle a little line of pizza sauce in the center along the strip (Picture 7). You don’t want to put too much sauce in or it’ll get all over the place when you roll it; save extra sauce for dipping after cooking.
Take the turkey pepperoni and place them along the strip of dough. Position them so that they are just above the edge of the dough, layered along most of the strip (Picture 8).
Start from one edge and roll the dough gently to the end. Place in a greased muffin tin. Repeat with the other dough strips to get four pizza roses (Picture 9).
Bake those at 375 degrees for 16-20 minutes, until the dough is cooked throughout the pizza rose and turning a light golden brown on the edges (Picture 10).
Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then enjoy slightly warm with the remaining pizza sauce for dipping. Yum!
Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days and reheat in the microwave.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Here are some of my favorite things about this recipe (as a dietitian that enjoys making fun treats for myself and my family):
- Fun to make for Valentine’s Day – a nice savory option that makes for a good alternative to all the sweet treats.
- 20 grams of protein per pizza rose, helpful for muscle repair and recovery after a workout, as well as keeping you full longer.
- Rich in Vitamin A, thanks to the sweetpotatoes! Vitamin A is key for immune health and eye health.
- Excellent source of calcium to promote bone health.
- Good source of iron, a mineral that is essential for active folks.
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you get a chance to try it, feel free to leave a recipe rating or comment below. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Pizza Roses with Sweetpotato Dough
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 ¼ cup self-rising flour (spooned and leveled)
- ⅔ cup sweetpotato puree (made from 2 small North Carolina sweetpotatoes; see notes)
- ⅓ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
For the filling:
- 1 cup pizza sauce, divided
- 5 slices mozzarella cheese, sliced in thirds
- 30-40 pieces turkey pepperoni
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease four spots in a muffin tin.
- Prepare the dough: Mix together the flour, sweetpotato, and Greek yogurt in a medium mixing bowl. Stir together until a shaggy dough forms, then knead by hand for a few minutes until the dough forms a ball that is not sticky and workable.
- Pour dough out on a floured work surface, and sprinkle a little more flour on top. Roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 8-10 inches long by 14 inches wide, cutting the edges of the dough if needed to form a clean rectangle shape.
- Cut the rectangle into four strips, each about 2 to 2 ½ inches long by 14 inches wide.
- Place the cheese over the strips of the dough. Drizzle a line of pizza sauce along the center of the strips, being careful not to use too much sauce. You should use about half of the pizza sauce here; reserve the rest for dipping after cooking.
- Place about 8 to 10 pepperoni along the long edge of the strip of dough so that the rounded edge of the pepperoni is slightly overlapping the edge of the dough.
- Start from the top and carefully roll the dough down to the end. Place this in the greased muffin tin (with the pepperoni edge face up) and repeat with the other strips of dough.
- Bake the pizza roses at 375 degrees F for 16 to 20 minutes, or until the dough is fully cooked through and turning golden brown on the edges. Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then carefully remove and serve with the remaining pizza sauce for dipping.
Notes
- To make the sweetpotato puree for this recipe: Peel and chop two small sweetpotatoes. Place those in a pot and cover with water. Bring that to a boil over high heat, then continue to cook for about 15 minutes, until fork tender. Drain them, let cool for a few minutes, then carefully puree in a mini food processor or blender. Chill for at least 15 minutes in the freezer and measure out ⅔ cup for this recipe. Save any remaining puree for other recipes!
- If the dough is too sticky, add an extra tablespoon of flour at a time until it’s workable. Be sure to make sure there is ample flour on your work surface and sprinkled on top of the dough when rolling it out.
- If the dough is too dry, add an extra tablespoon of sweetpotato puree or Greek yogurt at a time until it’s workable.
- The amount of turkey pepperoni will depend on how long your dough rectangle is; generally between 8-10 turkey pepperoni per pizza rose will be used.
Nutrition
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