Alex and I love making our own pizza, so why not calzone pizza? Wrap our best pizza dough and pizza sauce around a tasty filling, and you’ve got the best calzone recipe. Sharing half of a pizza is nice. But eating that same pizza in the form of your own personal pizza pocket—it’s even more fun! You can use any vegetables you like in this calzone recipe. Even better, use any cooked vegetables or meat that you have on hand, which is the traditional Italian way! Here are all our secrets.
What is a calzone?
The calzone pizza originated in Naples, Italy (where all the best food comes from, right?). It’s essentially a giant pizza pocket. They’re traditionally filled with cured meats, cheeses, and whatever veggies you have on hand. Calzones usually don’t have any tomato sauce in them, since you’re supposed to dunk them in sauce before each bite. (This calzone recipe has just a bit of sauce stirred into the filling for a burst of flavor.) Calzones are folded over and crimped along the edges to seal all the fillings in. Then they’re baked until the outside is golden brown and the cheese filling is bubbly.
Tips on making this calzone recipe
How to make a calzone from scratch? Many people mistakenly believe that calzones are a tricky dish best left to the professionals at your local pizza joint. But homemade calzone pizza can be easy to make once you know a few tips!
Use our master pizza dough recipe (or shortcut with purchased dough). The part of this calzone recipe that requires the most skill is making the dough. Our Master Pizza Dough recipe is our tried and true method, and has all the instructions you need to break down making pizza dough at home. Fully sauté veggies before filling. Make sure to sauté your veggies before filling the calzone. Sautéing the vegetables releases most of their liquid, so you won’t wind up with a soggy calzone. Don’t overstuff! When filling a calzone pizza, put in less cheese and vegetables than you think you’ll need. An overstuffed calzone will start oozing in the oven and the crust will get soggy. Overfilling it will also make it tougher to crimp the edges of the calzone closed and will make the whole process incredibly messy (it’d still be delicious though!).
Make ahead instructions
If you’re planning to make this easy calzone recipe for guests, we’d recommend making the pizza dough in advance. Our easy pizza dough recipe can be refrigerated for up to 3 days before making it, and it also enhances the flavor! This way it’s on hand the day you’re ready to start baking: you’ll just need to let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes while making the filling. You can also make the red sauce ahead of time as well, although it’s not much trouble to whip it up while the calzones are baking.
What side dishes to serve with calzones?
How to make these calzones part of a meal? This calzone recipe is best served with anything you’d serve with pizza, really! Here are a few sides we’d recommend:
Side salad. Some salads that would pair perfectly here: The BEST Kale Salad or Favorite Chopped Salad. Or, you could even go with Radish Chopped Salad or Beet Salad.Veggies & dip: Try our Healthy Ranch Dressing with an assortment of veggies. Roasted veggies: You’ll just need to fight over oven space! Try Garlic Roasted Broccoli, Roasted Green Beans, or Spiced Roasted Cauliflower.
This calzone pizza recipe is…
Vegetarian.
Looking for more Italian dinner recipes?
Looking for easy Italian recipes? Here are some tasty Italian-inspired meals you should try: No reviews
15-Minute Gnocchi with Romesco SauceTomato Basil Gnocchi SoupPumpkin Sage Stuffed ShellsSkillet Eggplant MarinaraSpicy Arrabbiata SauceItalian Soup with Vegetables and GnocchiEgg Pizza with ScallionsEasy Marinara SauceHow to Make Artisan PizzaPerfect Neapolitan PizzaOur Best Vegan PizzaHealthy Dinner Recipes 10 Romantic Dinner Recipes Easy Dinner Recipes for Family All our Italian recipes!
Last updated September 2019
