Calzone Recipes
Submitted by hotwingman
Easy calzones use refrigerated pizza dough cut into squares, folded over a sausage-mushroom or ham-spinach filling, brushed with egg, and baked golden. Six personal-sized handheld pizza pockets ready in 25 minutes.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
10 minREADY
25 minCalzones are the perfect handheld answer to pizza night, and this version uses store-bought pizza dough to put them on the table in 25 minutes flat. The dough rolls out into one big rectangle, then cuts into six squares, each one folded into a triangle around a generous spoonful of filling.
Two classic fillings come built in. A sausage-mushroom mix bound with pizza sauce and mozzarella, or a spinach-and-ham combination with Swiss cheese and green onion. Both work beautifully because they’re seasoned, drained, and ready to go before they hit the dough. Wet filling is the enemy of any calzone. Excess moisture turns the bottom crust into wet cardboard.
Pro Tips
- Drain everything aggressively. Mushrooms, cooked spinach, sausage. Soggy filling means a soggy calzone.
- Press the seam with a fork firmly all the way around. Steam pressure inside the calzone will pop a weak seal during baking.
- Prick the tops with a fork before baking to vent steam. Skip this and the dough balloons up and the bottom won’t crisp.
- The egg wash is what gives the tops that bakery-shop golden sheen. Don’t skip it.
Variations
- Try a four-cheese filling of mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan, and provolone with fresh basil for a vegetarian classic.
- Add a thin layer of pesto under the filling for a richer, more aromatic bite.
- Fold pepperoni, mozzarella, and a pinch of red pepper flakes into the dough for a quick pepperoni pocket the kids will love.
Ingredients
Directions
Unroll pizza dough.
Roll or stretch dough into a 15×10 inch rectangle. Cut into 6 5inch squares.
Divide desired filling among squares. Brush edges with water.
Lift one corner and stretch dough over to the opposite corner.
Press edges of dough well w/fork to seal.
Arrange on a greased baking sheet.
Prick tops with a fork. Combine egg and 1 teaspoon water. Brush onto calzones.
Sprinkle w/Parmesan, if desired.
Bake 425 for 8 to 10 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Makes 6 calzones.
Sausage-Mushroom Filling: In a skillet cook 12oz bulk pork sausage or Italian sausage until brown. Drain. Stir in 1/2C pizza sauce, one 4oz package shredded mozzarella cheese (1C), and 1 2-oz can mushroom stems and pieces, drained. Ham-spinach filling: cook 1 10oz pkg frozen chopd spinach according to pkg dirs; drain well. In a bowl combine spinach, 1C finely chopped fully cooked ham (5oz), 1C shredded Swiss cheese (4oz), and 2T thinly sliced green onion.
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