These Chicken Salad Pinwheels are the perfect snack, light lunch, or appetizer! I love that they are a little sweet, a little salty, creamy, and delicious! Easy to make and guaranteed to be a hit with family and friends.

EASY CHICKEN SALAD PINWHEELS

Not many appetizers are more enjoyable than pinwheels—I don’t know a single soul who doesn’t love them! And understandably. They are affordable, portable, versatile, easy, and delicious!

They’re great for a party, simple lunch, afternoon snack, light dinner, school lunch box, or picnic. Pinwheel recipes are also beautiful, making them perfect for a holiday platter!

For this pinwheel recipe, I took my ever-popular and beloved chicken salad recipe and converted it. It’s crazy easy, with wonderful flavor and color, all wrapped up into bite-sized finger food.

Tips for Beginners

• Use soft flour tortillas: fresh, soft tortillas ensure they won’t crack when rolling. I don’t recommend using corn tortillas. Even the best quality ones don’t roll the same or deliver optimal results.
• Chop up your mix-ins really well: make sure your apples, pecans, and dried cranberries are chopped finely, so they get evenly distributed throughout the cream cheese. This will also make it easier to spread.
• Shred any hard cheese: if choosing a hard cheese instead of the recommended cheese slices, you’ll need to shred or grate it or the tortillas won’t roll properly. You can also incorporate the shredded cheese into the cream cheese mixture, if preferred.
• Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly: if the apples, pecans, and cranberries are all clumped together, redistribute them. You want great flavor in every bite!
• Roll them up tightly: the tighter they are rolled, the less chance they will unravel when sliced.
• Slice with a serrated knife: we have found slicing with a serrated knife delivers cleaner cuts than using a regular knife.

How to Make Chicken Salad Pinwheels Step by Step

Gather your ingredients.

Combine the add-ins: In a medium bowl, combine 8 oz cream cheese, ¼ cup cranberries, ¼ cup apple, 3 tbsp pecans, 2 tbsp scallions, 1 tsp mustard, and a pinch of salt and pepper; mix until incorporated.

Spread onto tortilla: Spread 1/3 of the mixture evenly onto each tortilla.

Add cheese: In center of tortilla, place 3 slices of cheese next to one another.

Layer chicken: Next, layer enough chicken slices to cover tortilla.

Top with romaine: Add your romaine lettuce on top of that.

Roll tortillas: Starting at the short end, roll tortillas up tightly and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to set up. (If chilling for longer than one hour, wrap tightly in plastic wrap before placing in the refrigerator.)

Slice and serve: When ready to serve, slice into 1-inch pieces (using a serrated knife) and place on a serving platter, either stacked or in a spiral pattern.

Recipe Variations

• Instead of a regular flour tortilla, use the spinach or herb-flavored variety.
• Swap out the chicken for roasted turkey.
• Replace the romaine with butter lettuce or spinach.
• Gouda or Havarti cheese are good replacements for the Monterey Jack.
• The tartness from Granny smith apples give great balance to the sweet cranberries, but you can use any type of apple you like!
• If you don’t like pecans, simply leave them out.

How to Store

These can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator up to 1 day in advance. I don’t recommend longer than that because the tortilla tends to soften up too much. I also recommend storing them whole and slicing right before you’re ready to serve.

Leftovers can be stored, tightly wrapped, in the fridge for up to 2 days.

What to Serve With Chicken Salad Pinwheels

If you’re serving these pinwheels on game day, they’d pair well with a warm and cheesy corn dip, this spicy creamy jalapeno dip, or a flavorful caramelized onion dip.

Other appetizers to try!

• Reuben Pinwheels
• Charcuterie Board
• Texas Caviar
• Fruit Kabobs